By Scott Taylor
Last Wednesday, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance told the audience at the Conference of Defence Association’s annual forum that the Canadian Armed Forces are in the ‘pre-pandemic’ planning mode in response to the global spread of the COVID19, Corona-virus.
Vance explained that the CAF’s approach to this planning was two fold in that the military first has to determine how best they can protect their own personnel, and secondly how they can then be of assistance to the general public.
Most Canadians are aware that the military has already played a minor role in dealing with the COVID19 crisis in that service members were involved in the repatriation of Canadians potentially exposed to the virus from Wuhan, China and Japan.
Those Canadian civilians repatriated from Wuhan spent their compulsory 14-day quarantine at the base residence in CFB Trenton. Those taken off the cruise ship Diamond Princess were transported from Japan through CFB Trenton before being bused to the government owned NAV centre accommodations in Cornwall, Ontario.
This means that outside of health care workers, Canadian military personnel have been part of the first line of contact with those Canadians returning home after possible exposure.
It does not take much imagination to realize just how challenged the military would be to contain an outbreak in their ranks. As a profession, our military is often housed in close quarters in barrack blocks, tents or aboard warships.
Meals are consumed in the communal setting of mess halls and ablution stations are shared.
An outbreak aboard a Canadian warship or submarine would be far more problematic than what has been the experience on civilian cruise ships – and those cases to date aboard civilian ships have been devastating.
Those familiar with the close confines aboard warships and subs will realize that quarantine would be next to impossible. Sailors on operational duty would also be hard pressed to simply call in sick and sit idle in their bunks for two weeks.
Likewise, activities such as basic training involve marching drills that do not allow for two metres of separation. Ditto for proximity of combat personnel operating in cramped armoured vehicles.
One of the measures being implemented now by the CAF are restrictions on any unnecessary travel for personnel. This curtailment only serves to highlight just how much mandatory travel Canadian service members routinely undertake.
We presently have troops posted to the forward NATO Brigade in Latvia, we have trainers and Special Forces operators in Iraq and Kuwait plus several hundred troops acting as trainers in Ukraine. Add to that RCN ship’s companies making foreign ports of call and multi-national training exercises, and it is clear that international contact is something, which will be impossible to eliminate for our military personnel.
As for the CAF’s ability to assist the Canadian public should COVID19 evolve into a full blown pandemic, we must be cognizant of the fact that our military has finite resources. The medical branch of the CAF is of a structure and size to treat serving personnel with a limited surge capacity to meet an increased operational tempo if necessary.
They are certainly not staffed or equipped to augment hospital system on a nationwide scale.
General Vance also noted that there has been a 1000 percent increase in the CAF’s commitment to disaster relief since 2004. While providing troops and equipment to deal with natural disasters such as floods and massive snowfalls has become an all too frequent occurrence that is not the primary function of our nation’s military.
Too often what should be the resource of last resort – the CAF – has become the tool of first response.
In the case of a COVID19 pandemic I’m not sure Canada’s military can offer us much in the way of protection. I just hope they are successful in protecting themselves, because as an institution the CAF will undoubtedly be one of the most at risk.
