Esprit de Corps

The Conservative government has pledged to continue sending 1,000 military trainers to assist the Afghan National Army until at least 2014, but the reality is that there is only four months left in Canada’s combat mission to Southern Afghanistan. Therefore, the question for the Canadian Forces leadership is: “What’s next?”

After five years in the public spotlight and being at the top of the government’s priority list for equipment purchases, many of the top brass believe the military needs to find a new viable and vital role to maintain its re-born prestige.

The current commanders remember all too well the post-Cold War era that chief of defence staff Rick Hillier dubbed the “Decade of Darkness.” Despite taking on a multitude of peacekeeping missions in the ‘90s—such as the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Somalia and East Timor—successive governments of the day continued to slash the military budget and personnel numbers.

At one point, the army was so short of combat clothing they had to take out ads in base newspapers asking non-combat personnel to donate their old uniforms in order to outfit battle groups for deployment. Helmets and body armour were in such short supply that incoming troops at the embattled Sarajevo airport in Bosnia had to take these items from departing soldiers—and hope that they would eventually find one that fit. But I digress.

Last spring, in one rather desperate attempt to find a meaningful high-profile, post-Afghanistan mission, some generals floated the idea of Canada taking a lead role in the current UN mission in the Congo. Former army commander Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie was touted as a possible candidate to command the mission, which would have almost guaranteed a sizeable commitment of troops.

If our experience over the past decade has taught us anything, it should be that it is unwise to make a large-scale, long-term military commitment to a single operation.

For instance, as a result of our military being heavily engaged in Kandahar, Canada had no reserve resources to deal with the Israeli-Lebanon crisis that erupted in July 2006. Despite the large number of Lebanese Canadians affected by the conflict, Canada had to rely on other international military forces to intervene on our behalf.

Similarly, only close proximity and a Herculean effort by our military personnel let Canada make a swift relief effort following the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

A common denominator in these recent military crises and natural disasters is the need for a rapid and efficient response. Following the air force’s acquisition of a sizeable strategic airlift capability in the form of four C-17 Globemasters, and the navy’s proposed purchase of two Joint Support Ships to transport our army’s experienced and well-equipped light combat forces, Canada’s future military role could easily become that of an international fire brigade.

As a former colony and a nation of immigrants, Canada has no imperial legacies, long-standing historical feuds, or diplomatic impasses with foreign states (the exception being our military’s recent expulsion from the UAE). This means there would also be few political barriers to the deployment of a Canadian contingent in the early stages of a crisis when their assistance is needed most.

Had the international community been able to respond to events in Rwanda in April 1994 with a robust vigour, genocide may well have been prevented. Canada did not have the requisite strategic capability to intervene back then—but we do now.

The traditional role of the UN blue helmet peacekeeper may be a thing of the past, but the need for international humanitarian intervention remains a pressing concern for the present and foreseeable future. Canada is well placed—and well equipped—to lead the way.

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