Screenshot from The Canadian Press video
By Scott Taylor
On Wednesday September 22, China's President Xi Jinping hosted a massive display of martial prowess in Beijing's famous Tiananmen Square.
On hand to witness Xi's military spectacle on parade were Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong Un. All three of these authoritarian rulers are masters at the showmanship of using massed ranks of troops marching in total precision to project a sense of power.
Billed as the largest military parade in modern history, Xi's blockbuster martial demonstration was ostensibly a celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the defeat of Fascism in WW2.
However with Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un and India's President Narendra Modi at the dais, this was also a show of strength and unity aimed at US President Donald Trump. It was also an opportunity for China to showcase its modern inventory of combat weapon systems, armoured vehicles and aircraft. Throughout its history, the People's Liberation Army of China has traditionally been armed with cast-off weaponry from donor nations or home made knock-offs, reverse engineered in China from existing platforms.
That is no longer the case and China's growing defence export business would have benefitted from last week's spectacular parade which included the latest in intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Recent history has shown us that fancy uniforms, precision drill, shiny vehicles and low level fly pasts by combat aircraft does not always amount to actual combat capability on the modern battlefield. Russia has always famously held their May 9 Victory Day parade to mark the end of WW2 in Red Square Moscow. While not up to the level of Xi's recent spectacle, the Red Square parades were impressive displays of parade ground soldiering.
However, when the Russian Army invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine soon exposed the Kremlin's war machine to be a paper tiger. In the initial offensive to capture Kyiv the Russian armoured columns were shredded and the infantry were put to rout.
In the bloody three year stalemate that has developed following that initial defeat, the Russian forces have become battle hardened veterans through experience. It is widely believed that North Korea's Kim Jong-Un learned from the Russian example and that has resulted in him deploying large numbers of combat troops to gain battle experience alongside the Russians in Eastern Ukraine. North Korea stages perhaps the most extravagant military parades on the planet, and Kim Jong-Un has recognized that this does not necessarily mean his troops can actually fight.
The reverse of this is true with our American allies. The US military has never been known for their pomp and ceremony, but they are undoubtedly the best equipped and most effective fighting force in the world. Which is why it was a mistake for President Donald Trump to stage his big beautiful Army parade on June 14 of this year. The date marked the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the American Continental Army but it also coincided with Trump's 79th birthday.
Predictably the Army parade was a public relations disaster. American soldiers do not smartly goose-step march, they shuffle along in step. The armoured vehicles involved included old Sherman tanks for the historical aspect, but to the bored onlookers it was a sight of fragility rather than combat power.
At one point Trump reportedly fell asleep during the parade and he openly admitted he was disappointed with the performance. The reason for that is simple: The US military is not meant to be performative, they are meant to be effective.
Which brings us to the current state of the Canadian Armed Forces. During a recent European tour, Prime Minister Mark Carney's final stop was at Camp Adazi in Latvia. There are 2,200 Canadian soldiers stationed at this forward deployed NATO base as part of Operation REASSURANCE. This Canadian Battle Group is the 'pointy-end' for the Canadian Army with a priority given to their logistics support.
To greet Carney, the officers on the ground pulled out all the stops to ensure the Prime Minister got his 'dog & pony' show. According to the CBC's Murray Brewster who was in Carney's entourage, "All of it was spit and polish, some draped in camouflage and looking showroom ready, if not somewhat menacing." Brewster wrote. "It was an impressive, seemingly substantive, display of combat power."
However, it was all a flimsy facade. According to a recent internal report, the Canadian Battle Group in Latvia suffers from a chronic shortage of spare parts, which leads to a distressing level of vehicles and tanks being unserviceable. The 'Vehicle off road' (VOR) rate is as high as 30 per cent and this has led to Canadian troops being unable to participate in the international brigade training.
For the record, Canada commands this brigade which has contingents from 11 NATO allies. This embarrassing state of affairs leads in turn to damaged morale.
As a former soldier, I understand that the military brass at Camp Adazi would try to impress their political masters. However, if your Battle Group is hurting through supply mismanagement and budget cuts you do not throw a coat of fresh paint on a disabled tank and pretend all is good to the reviewing politician. That is called putting lipstick on a pig.
If the Canadian military is not capable of parade square prowess, nor actual combat capability, the truth needs to told and the problem rectified. ASAP.
