ON TARGET: The Military Sexual Misconduct Scandal Widens in Scope

By Scott Taylor

Last week the burgeoning military sexual misconduct scandal was highlighted by the appearance of former Canadian Forces Ombudsman Gary Walbourne before a parliamentary committee. In his testimony Walbourne claimed that in 2018 he had notified Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan of an allegation of sexual impropriety purportedly perpetrated by the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance.

According to Walbourne, when he offered to show Sajjan physical evidence of the allegation in  question the MND jumped back from the table like a scalded cat while muttering “no.”

Walbourne told the committee that he had gone to Sajjan to seek advice as to how to proceed with this difficult situation.

The origins of the complaint stemmed from a 2012 email sent from the Canadian Forces account of then MGen Vance to a female corporal. Allegedly the corporal had met Vance unofficially and asked him for some career advice. The email response from Vance’s account is alleged to have included an invitation for the corporal to join him on a clothing optional beach vacation.

Six years later, the corporal brought Vance’s email to the attention of Walbourne’s office. Apparently she did not want to bring a formal complaint against Vance – who was by now CDS – and for privacy reasons she did not want her identity revealed.

One can easily understand Walbourne’s dilemma. The office of the Ombudsman has no authority to investigate such matters - there was no formal complaint launched and the victim of the alleged impropriety wished to remain anonymous.

In his testimony Walbourne told the committee that by bringing this to the attention of Sajjan he expected the minister to “do his job,” not to “do nothing.”

However by Walbourne’s own admission, Sajjan did take almost immediate action by notifying Privy Council Office that the Ombudsman had some potentially damaging information about the CDS.

The next day Walbourne was called to the PCO and asked about the allegations against General Vance.

In order to protect the victim’s identity, as promised, Walbourne refused to provide details to PCO and they subsequently let the matter drop.

Sajjan also seems to have been content with having kicked the issue upstairs to PCO and deliberately not having seen any evil with his own eyes, considered the case closed. 

And so it was until Feb. 2, 2021 when Global News reporter Mercedes Stephenson unleashed her double-barreled blast of sexual impropriety allegations against Vance.

At that juncture, it was just two weeks since Vance had handed over the CDS post to his successor Admiral Art McDonald. He was however still serving out his retirement leave and still a four star general.

Since he was first appointed as CDS in 2015, Vance had been the leading figure in what the Canadian military dubbed Operation Honour, the Force’s wide effort to combat sexual misconduct.

In December 2020, Vance had renamed this initiative The Pathway to Dignity and Respect, and he was once again the figure head in the anti sexual misconduct campaign.

Thus the Global News revelations were still shocking even after Vance had stepped down.

In her Feb. 2 story Stephenson reported that Vance allegedly committed two separate transgressions. The first was that Vance had been involved in an affair with a junior officer which began in 2000 and continued through his tenure as CDS.

The second allegation revealed by Stephenson was the email invitation to the clothing optional beach vacation.

The whole affair took a political turn once it was revealed that the Ombudsman had given Sajjan a head’s up about the email back in 2018.

In the knee-jerk response of partisan politics, it was soon revealed that Vance had been investigated by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (NIS) in 2014 for an alleged extra-marital affair with a U.S. servicemember while they were both posted to NATO Headquarters in Naples, Italy.

The Conservatives accused the Liberals of knowing that Vance was a potential liability and doing nothing to remove him. While the Liberals in return say the Conservatives were aware of his alleged failings when they made him CDS. 

For his part, Vance has to date denied committing any sexual impropriety.

ON TARGET: Chaos & Confusion in DND’s Upper Echelon

By Scott Taylor

There is a classic scene in the 1996 Hollywood film Michael Collins wherein the newly appointed head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) vows to bring the Collins-led Irish rebels to heel.

“There is a new regime in town and it starts now” the RUC leader vows to his officers. “What you need is a bit of Belfast efficiency.” To punctuate that last sentence the IRA detonate a car bomb that blows the RUC commander to smithereens.

I was reminded of that scene last Wednesday when newly appointed Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Art McDonald issued an email to all serving members and civilian workers at the DND.

McDonald’s message was intended to restore the rank and file’s trust in their senior military leadership’s ability to stamp out sexual misconduct and racism within the CAF. “Our institution can no longer put the burden of change and transformation on those affected by harassment, discrimination, or any form of misconduct. That burden must rest on us. All of us,” stated McDonald.

For anyone wishing to bring forward allegations of misconduct, McDonald assured them they can expect to be heard, supported and protected.  Although he failed to mention the need for “Belfast efficiency” it was at that moment that Admiral McDonald’s proverbial car bomb detonated.

Turns out that nearly a month earlier several service members had indeed gone forward to the military police’s National Investigation Service (NIS) with allegations that McDonald himself was involved in some alleged sexual misconduct.

Within hours of McDonald pushing the ‘send’ button on his mass email, the CBC and Ottawa Citizen were notified that the good admiral was under investigation.

To make things easier for the journalists to follow up this story, the whistleblowers were thoughtful enough to include the exact NIS case file number.

Around 3:00pm last Wednesday, the media did in fact start making inquiries at DND.

Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan issued a statement around 11:00 pm that same night confirming there was indeed an ongoing investigation. Sajjan also stated that in light of the circumstances, McDonald was “stepping aside” from his CDS post until the NIS probe is concluded.

To date the details of McDonald’s alleged transgression remain scarce. According to the victim and witnesses, the incident in question occurred in August 2010 aboard HMCS Montreal.

At the time the ship was participating in Operation NANOOK as part of a task force in the Arctic. At that juncture in his career, McDonald was a Captain (Navy) and was part of a VIP visitor group that included then CDS General Walt Natynczyk and Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

While it will likely be a challenge for the NIS detectives to investigate a more than decade-old cold case, in which alcohol is alleged to have been a contributing factor, it is the more recent timeline of events that has the potential for political and institutional fall-out.

Admiral McDonald took over as CDS from General Jonathan Vance on 14 January, 2021. Within two weeks, reporter Mercedes Stephenson at Global News broke the story that Vance had allegedly engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior.

One allegation was that Vance had an ongoing sexual affair with a junior officer beginning in 2000 and continuing until he became CDS.

The second allegation involved a 2012 email sent to a corporal, which suggested she join Vance on a clothing optional beach vacation.

Sajjan was notified about the concerns over Vance by Canadian Forces Ombudsman Gary Walbourne back in 2018.

At some point during the past few weeks as political opposition parties have been clamouring to find out who-knew-what-when about the General Vance situation, Sajjan was notified about McDonald and the Op NANOOK investigation.

We are told that while Sajjan only learned of the month-long NIS investigation shortly before last Wednesday, and that McDonald found out himself that same fateful day, the optics are not good.

Had the whistleblower not notified the Citizen and CBC of the investigation would McDonald have ‘stepped aside’ as CDS?

It is difficult to claim you ‘jumped’ to do the right thing if the whistleblower’s hand prints are clearly imprinted on your back.

Belfast efficiency at its best.

ON TARGET: The General Vance Saga Continues To Expand

By Scott Taylor

For General Jonathan Vance it seems that the hits just keep on coming these days.

On 14 January Vance stepped down from his post as Chief of Defence Staff after more than five years of service as Canada’s top soldier. After ceremoniously handing the reins of command to Admiral Art McDonald, Vance went into what is termed retirement leave to serve out his remaining days in uniform.

However, less than two weeks after his change of command parade, Mercedes Stephenson at Global National news dropped a bombshell on Vance.

Two bombshells to be precise, both alleging impropriety by the former CDS. The first allegation related to a female subordinate who claims to have had a relationship with Vance dating back to 2001, but which continued even during his tenure as CDS.

The second stemmed from a 2012 incident wherein Vance was alleged to have sent an email to a corporal inviting her to join him on a clothing optional beach vacation.

When the story broke Vance admitted to dating the subordinate twenty years ago noting that they were not in the same chain of command. He stated that while he maintained contact with this individual, their relationship was not sexual.

As for the contentious email Vance has said he has no recollection of sending it, but if he did it would have been intended as a joke for which he would now be willing to apologize.

Given a different set of circumstances that may have been the end of the saga: Allegations and denials in a ‘he said, she said’ situation.

However, Stephenson also reported that the email invitation to the clothing optional vacation had been brought to the attention of the Canadian Armed Forces Ombudsman Gary Walbourne back in 2018. In turn, Walbourne reportedly advised Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. For his part Sajjan claims that he dutifully notified the proper authorities.

Stephenson’s reports also set in motion a flurry of activity among the senior military brass. Freshly minted CDS Admiral McDonald announced that the military will launch an independent investigation into the alleged actions of his predecessor.

A separate probe is to be conducted by the military Police’s National Investigation Service (NIS).

Smelling blood in the water, the Conservatives requested a House of Commons committee investigation into how MND Sajjan handled Walbourne’s information on Vance back in 2018.

As if things were not already messy enough for Vance, it was at this juncture that this rapidly unfolding news story took yet another turn.

It turns out that prior to being appointed CDS by the Harper Conservatives in 2015, Vance had already been investigated by the CFNIS. That case stemmed from an alleged affair with a U.S. service member who was Vance’s subordinate at the NATO Allied Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, according to multiple media reports.

Although the CFNIS investigation concluded that neither service charges nor criminal charges were warranted in this case, alarm bells should have been going off somewhere.

Back in 2015 just prior to Vance being named CDS, the Canadian military was reeling under a public relations crap-storm surrounding a recently released independent report on widespread sexual misconduct in the ranks.

The report was tabled by former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps who, after a two-year nation wide investigation, concluded that the Canadian military was steeped in a highly masculine sexualized culture, wherein military leaders turned a blind eye to misconduct.

To correct this fault, the military planned to launch something called Operation Honour – an all out campaign to eliminate sexual misconduct. The face of this new broom sweeping clean was to be the incoming CDS.

While Vance had not been charged with any crime, the fact that his alleged actions in Naples had been investigated by the CFNIS should have given the Harper Conservatives some cause for concern. Perception may not be everything but it counts for a lot when you are talking about trust in the military leadership.

Heading into the commons committee investigation you have the Conservatives asking why the hell the Liberals didn’t act on Vance in 2018 and the Liberals saying if Conservatives knew he had faults, why didn’t they vett him out of the CDS post in the first place?

For his part, Vance is probably asking himself those same questions.

ON TARGET: General Vance’s Messy Exit

By Scott Taylor

What a difference two weeks can make in the cut-throat world of Ottawa politics. On 14 January General Jonathan Vance officially stepped down as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff and handed the reins to Admiral Art McDonald. Vance capped off a 38-year military career with a five-plus year tenure as top soldier, the longest CDS stint in Canadian history.

Immediately upon assuming the CDS post in 2015, Vance stood up Operation Honour, an initiative aimed at wiping out rampant sexual misconduct in the ranks.

The genesis for Op Honour dates back to 2013 when there had been a damning string of sexual misconduct incidents reported in the media. In a damage control exercise the Department of National Defence commissioned an independent inquiry headed by former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps.

After a thorough investigation, Deschamps tabled her report which depicted the CAF to be steeped in a highly masculine sexualized culture, wherein military leaders turned a blind eye to misconducts.

It was in response to the Deschamp’s findings that newly minted CDS Vance launched his two pronged assault on the problem. In addition to clamping down on the perpetrators, Op Honour was to simultaneously establish a support network for the victims.

Despite the tough talking rhetoric Vance’s vaunted Op Honour made nary a dent in the military’s existing culture.

As a result, last November Vance launched a second initiative to confront what senior brass still referred to as a ‘wicked problem’ of sexual misconduct in the ranks.

This most recent plan is called ‘The Path Towards Dignity and Respect.’ In his written foreword to this plan, Vance admitted “There are no quick fixes for achieving culture change. It requires sustained effort and continual assessment to ensure we remain on track.”

Vance echoed those same sentiments in a lengthy pre-retirement television interview with Global National’s Mercedes Stephenson.

Keen eyed readers who closely follow the Canadian defence sector will recall that it was Stephenson, then working at CTV, who first announced unofficially that Vance would replace outgoing CDS General Tom Lawson back in 2015. It would be more than six weeks before Vance’s appointment was indeed made ‘official.’

Acknowledging what has been a long, close working association Vance closed out his interview by thanking Stephenson for “covering the Canadian Forces so faithfully.”

Thus it came as somewhat of a shock on 2 February when Stephenson dropped the bombshell that Vance himself – the architect behind Op Honour – was being accused of having inappropriate relations with lower ranked female military staff.

Stephenson’s initial story was that Vance had an ongoing relationship with a subordinate dating back to 2001, which continued through his tenure as CDS until January 2021.

Another allegation was that in 2012, Vance, then a Major-General had been asked by a female corporal for some career advice. A reply from Vance’s email address allegedly proposed that the corporal join him on a clothing optional beach vacation.

The Global National scoop was soon picked up by all the mainstream media and the revelations set off a chain reaction.

Within hours of the story breaking it was announced that the military police were opening an investigation into Vance’s alleged actions, and with uncharacteristic institutional speed, CDS Art McDonald stated that the CAF will initiate a separate independent investigation.

What was shocking about this whole affair was that it turned out not to be a shock for the senior political leadership.

It turns out that the second allegation was brought to the attention of the Canadian Forces Ombudsman who in turn notified Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in 2018.

Although Sajjan was admittedly ‘concerned’ enough to inform the Privy Council Office (PCO), those concerns did not result in any concrete actions being taken.

So while he was CDS and the public face of Op Honour, Vance was given a free pass by Canada’s political leadership on allegations regarding his own relations with female military staff. The minute he steps out of his uniform everyone cannot wait to be seen taking actions against him.

I’m not suggesting in any way that Vance should be let off the hook if there is any truth to the allegations, but it would seem the problem goes even higher than him.

ON TARGET: IS HILLIER GOING A JOB TOO FAR?

By Scott Taylor

From the outset, I wish to state that I have the utmost respect and admiration for retired General Rick Hillier. He is a natural leader; a charismatic public speaker and he earned the loyalty of those troops which he commanded.

Hillier parlayed those attributes into a stellar military career, which culminated with him serving as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff from 2005 until 2008.

During his tenure as CDS, the Canadian Armed Forces were named the 2006 ‘Newsmaker of the year’ for their combat experiences in Afghanistan, and as a result General Hillier was a prominent figure on the national media stage.

Esprit de Corps magazine even ran a nickname campaign which resulted in Hillier being dubbed ‘The Big Cod’ (a Newfoundland expression meaning the catch of a lifetime).

That said, I was still surprised when Ontario Premier Doug Ford named Hillier as the overseer of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out.

Hillier’s military career began as an armoured corps officer, a combat arms trade.

One would have thought that the large scale distribution of a vaccine in the midst of a pandemic would require both logistical and medical expertise rather than martial experience.

Nonetheless, Hillier was hired by the Ford government on 22 November, 2020 to oversee the vaccine task force until at least 21 March 2021.

However given the delays to date in vaccine delivery from suppliers, it is likely that Hillier’s term will be extended well beyond that date.

When the announcement was made appointing Hillier as head of the task force, Hillier told reporters that he took on the job because “duty calls.”

However, it was also reported that the job pays Hillier $20,000 a month, which no matter how you slice it, is a considerable amount of ‘duty.’

In December Hillier drew criticism for halting the vaccination process over the Christmas holiday. However that brief interruption has become a moot point now that the international supply chain has been temporarily suspended.

As that particular challenge is at the federal level, Hillier cannot be held accountable for the subsequent provincial delays in the roll out.

With all the challenges, setbacks and subsequent public unrest over the slow pace of the vaccination’s distribution to date, one would think that Hillier would be heeding that call to duty and burning the midnight oil on this project.

As such I was surprised to receive a press release last week stating that Hillier has taken on additional responsibility as an advisor to a Canadian defence company.

As of last week Hillier is now consulting KWESST on how they can increase international sales of their electronic systems which include counter-drone battlefield technology.

When media questioned Ford’s office as to this potential diversion of Hillier’s full attention from the life saving vaccine effort, a categorical reassurance was offered.

John Williston, a spokesman for the office of the Solicitor General wrote “General Hillier will not be commencing his new part time advisory role until he completes his function here as the Task Force Chair, so there is no possible conflict.”

Unfortunately for Williston, reporter David Pugliese of the Ottawa Citizen thought to put that same question to David Luxton the executive chairman of KWESST.

Luxton told Pugliese that KWESST will be working with Hillier in the coming weeks. Luxton opined that Hillier’s work with the company will only involve “light duties” so it should not interfere with his vaccine efforts.

“Hillier’s obviously going to be preoccupied with his current [COVID] duties.” said Luxton. “But everybody can always find time in that for discussions so that is what we expect to do next.”

As per Williston’s denial, the Ontario government knows that the optics of their vaccine distribution guy moonlighting as an arms dealer will not sit well with the public.

Nor should it.

ON TARGET: Choosing Canada’s Next Governor General: A Suggested Shortlist

By Scott Taylor

With the sudden resignation of Julie Payette from the vice-regal post as Canada’s Governor General, Ottawa is abuzz with speculation as to who will be appointed as her successor.

In addition to becoming Canada’s head-of-state, Payette’s replacement will also inherit the role of our nation’s Commander-in-Chief. The job is largely ceremonial, but as recent events have demonstrated diplomacy and charisma would be welcome attributes on the C.V of any future appointee.

Given that the role of Commander-in-Chief requires the wearing of military uniforms and that a familiarity with martial customs would be an enviable asset, here is a short list of potential candidates for Canada’s next Governor General.

If Trudeau wants to stick with an out-of-this-world astronaut theme, a natural choice would be Chris Hadfield. The man who became internationally famous for singing and playing guitar from the International Space Station in 2013, began his military career as a pilot in the RCAF. After retiring from the space program, Hadfield penned a bestseller entitled ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.’

Another popular choice would be comedian and veritable Captain Canada super patriot Rick Mercer. While best known for his comedic rants, Mercer has also long been a booster of the Canadian military. His love affair with the men and women who serve in uniform began in 2000 when he visited Canadian peacekeepers in Bosnia. Since then, Mercer made numerous trips to entertain the troops in Afghanistan and RCN sailors at sea.

In 2007, Mercer was named the Honourary Colonel of 12 Wing, 423 Squadron in Shearwater, Nova Scotia. As such, he has worn the RCAF uniform and attended ceremonial parades.

Mercer has also penned several books, the most patriotic title being ‘A Nation Worth Ranting About.’

For those doubters who would question the suitability of appointing a comedian as head of state, one need only look at the success Ukraine has had in doing the very same thing. In April 2019 Volodymir Zelensky was voted in as Ukraine’s President despite the fact that his only experience in politics was playing the part of a president in a television comedy.

While we are on the television theme, why not choose Peter Mansbridge? From 1988 until 2017, Mansbridge was the senior news anchor at the CBC. This lengthy exposure as the face of Canada’s Public broadcaster certainly made Mansbridge a household name.

While best known for reporting the news, before starting his career in journalism Mansbridge did a brief stint with the Canadian Navy back in the mid 1960’s. His new book, released last November, is entitled Extraordinary Canadians which is about as patriotic a theme as one could choose.

Another potential candidate would be the just retired, former Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance.

Vance had a stellar military career in which he saw active service in the former Yugoslavia and he twice commanded Canada’s battle group in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Not only did he serve the longest stint as CDS in Canadian military history, he also only left the job earlier this month. Which means that his uniforms still fit.

To date Vance is the only candidate on this short list who did not write a patriotic themed book. However, his 38 years of uniformed service to Canada including front line service in foreign wars would more than compensate for his lack of a literary contribution to Canada’s heritage.

There is also a candidate that has four years of experience as a Commander-in-Chief who became available for employment at noon on 20 January, 2021. Although he is not a Canadian citizen. I know there are more than a few of his supporters here in Canada who would welcome him in that role.

If you don’t believe me, then you’re not on social media.

ON TARGET: No Room For Racists in the Ranks of the Canadian Military

By Scott Taylor

In his final media interview as Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance openly addressed the issue of white supremacists within the ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Specifically Vance pointed to a July 2017 incident involving members of a right-wing, anti-immigration group known as the ‘Proud Boys.’

What was a fairly benign confrontation in Halifax between indigenous protestors and the ‘Proud Boys’ quickly garnered national media coverage when it was revealed that these particular five Proud Boys were serving members of the CAF.

At that juncture most Canadians were heretofore blissfully unaware of this alt-right violent fringe group. The Proud Boys were founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes. They are a male only organization of self-proclaimed chauvinists who are dedicated to preserving “western values” and they “refuse to accept any guilt for the current state of the modern world.”

To become a Proud Boy requires four basic rites of passage for would be recruits; must publicly declare their membership, get a Proud Boy tattoo, receive a beating from fellow Proud Boys while reciting the names of five breakfast cereals and last but not least, refrain from masturbating.

According to founder McInnes the breakfast-cereal-beating is to ensure that the Proud Boys keep a cool head during a fistfight.

Their trademark uniform is a black polo shirt with yellow trim, but quite frequently they don body armour before assaulting ‘leftists’ and ‘antifa’ protestors.

It was the media spotlight on CAF members belonging to this right-wing group that purportedly caused General Vance serious concern. “Before that, I was quite confident that our stance on values was strong and well-articulated,” Vance said to the Canadian Press. “I did not see this as a dangerous phenomenon, but one that needed to be dealt with. Proud Boys, that got me.”

Unfortunately, Vance’s alarm did not translate into any immediate disciplinary action. Within just a few weeks four of the five Proud Boys were back at their jobs, while the fifth member was already finalizing his voluntary release from the CAF. There was no punishment meted out to these individuals, only counselling.

As an organization, the Proud Boys openly boasted on their social media platforms that these Proud Boy – CAF members were fully reinstated without sanction by military officials. “We win, our brothers, the Halifax five are returning to active military duty with no charges, let the social justice warriors tears pour. Proud of our boys!”

Since that incident allegedly opened General Vance’s eyes to the seriousness of the white-supremacists-in-the-ranks problem, across North America the Proud Boys have only grown in numbers and infamy.

Last summer during the wave of Black Lives Matter protests and riots, the Proud Boys were at the forefront of the violence, busting leftists heads and pounding on Antifa supporters.

During the September 29 presidential debate, Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacy and specifically called upon the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”

They obviously took his words to heart and consequently were seen at the forefront of the unhinged mob of Trump fanatics that stormed Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.

Many of those Proud Boys at the Washington D.C. debacle wore body armour patches which were emblazoned with “6MNE.”  That is an abbreviation for the phrase “6 million, not enough” which promotes the sick notion that Hitler’s Holocaust did not kill enough Jews. Disgusting.

In Canada NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has called for the Proud Boys to be listed as a terrorist organization.

Whatever label is eventually bestowed upon them, none of the Proud Boy members should ever wear the uniform of the CAF.

General Vance has just passed the torch to incoming CDS Admiral Art McDonald. It is now his task to root out the white supremacists and I suggest he start with a Forces-wide search for those tell-tale Proud Boy tattoos.

One is too many.

ON TARGET: A Very Dark Day For U.S. Democracy

By Scott Taylor

Watching the events of Jan. 6 in the U.S. capital play out in real time was an almost sickening experience. I watched in horror as President Donald Trump addressed a massive throng of his devoted loyalists.

Instead of deflating the crowd, Trump fired them up with fury. He vowed to never concede he had lost the election, called anyone who disagreed with his baseless claims of voter fraud “weak” and claimed he would march with them to deliver a collective message of defiance to Capitol Hill.

Following Trump’s speech, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani took to the stage to tell the ‘Make America Great Again’ horde, that a just result could only be attained through “trial by combat.”

There was absolutely no ambiguity in what message Trump and Giuliani were sending to their mob as they urged them to ‘fight’ to “stop the steal.” Therefore, there may have been some shock that the rioters actually overpowered the police and occupied the Capitol building, but there  was no surprise that the Trump loyalists would attempt to fulfill their Dear Leader’s wishes.

In this era of phone cameras and live streaming personal videos, this mass breach of the Capitol building was visible from hundreds of perspectives as the events unfolded.

In addition to a sea of Trump flags and red MAGA baseball caps there were numerous Confederate flags on display.

While symbolizing a white supremacist ideology the Confederate flags were in no way the most offensive items brazenly flaunted by the Trumpist mob.

One group of the alt-right Proud Boys had emblazoned their black T-shirts and body armour with the slogan “6MNE.”

For those of you who might be blissfully unaware of the significance of this seemingly innocuous combination of letters and a number, allow me to enlighten you. Amongst anti-Semitic circles ‘6MNE’ stands for ‘6 million is not enough’ meaning that they believe not enough Jews had been killed in Hitler’s Holocaust.

There was also one prominent rioter who was wearing a hoodie which sported the slogan “Camp Auschwitz” above the image of a skull. At the bottom of the crest was the slogan “Work brings freedom.” This is a rough translation of the German motto “Arbeit macht frei” which adorned the gateway at Auschwitz, the notorious Nazi death camp from World War 2.

Another leading figure in the riot was some shirtless nut job wearing patriotic face paint, a faux fur Visigoth hat complete with buffalo horns, no shirt and brandishing a spear. He was seen posing at the dais in the Congressional chamber.

He turned out to be a self-proclaimed Shaman who espouses the Q’Anon Conspiracy theory. You know, those individuals who believe that Donald Trump is the Messiah sent by god to save the world from a ruling elite cadre of cannibalistic pedophiles. Those guys.

What continues to puzzle me is the fact that people remain devoted Trump supporters even when they can see just who his most ardent loyalists really are.

If these fanatical white supremacists, anti-Semites and nut jobs see something in Trump that they absolutely adore, shouldn’t sane people question their own association with that same leader?

Keep in mind it was this cabal of racist extremists which were at the forefront of the charge that broke through the barricades and roamed about the interior of the Capitol building for nearly three hours.

Although Trump subsequently denounced the violence and destruction in a terse video statement, as the events were actually unfolding the President told the rioters they were “loved” and they were “special.” 

For the record, Trump never did march with his foot soldiers. His armoured SUV drove him back to the White House where he watched the destruction which he unleashed unfold on his TV set in the Oval Office.

ON TARGET: Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752: Remembering the Victims

By Scott Taylor

Last week the Iranian government announced that it has established a fund to compensate those families who lost a loved one in the Ukrainian International Airline’s Flight 752 tragedy.

It was on January 8, 2020 that Flight 752 was blown out of the sky shortly after it had taken off from the Tehran airport. All 167 passengers and 9 crew members aboard the Boeing 737 were killed and that grisly total included 57 Canadians. In the initial aftermath, the Iranian regime attempted to deny responsibility for the tragedy. 

At that juncture tensions between Washington and Tehran were at the boiling point. Five days earlier President Donald Trump had ordered the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani through a drone missile strike outside the airport in Baghdad, Iraq. In response to this killing, Iranian backed militia fired over two dozen rockets into bases in Iraq that contained US military personnel. Regional tensions were at the breaking point.

However, before the Iranians could conjure up enough fog-of-war to create some plausible doubt, amateur video footage was released depicting what clearly seemed to indicate that the Ukrainian airliner was hit by a ground-to-air missile. With this new evidence in the public domain, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shamefacedly admitted that they had inadvertently downed the aircraft. It was in their words a terrible tragedy based on “human error”.

Now, just prior to the one year anniversary of the incident the Iranians have tabled their final report in the inquiry into this tragic incident. Apparently there was actually two acts of human error that night as Flight 752 was actually struck twice.  Following the first missile strike the aircraft engines were still functioning and the pilots retained control of the plane. However when a second missile hit 25 seconds later, the airliner was destroyed in mid-air.

The Canadian connection to this incident is both deep and challenging at the same time. In addition to the 57 Canadian citizens, there were also 29 Iranian-Canadian permanent residents on board that doomed flight. Over three quarters of the passengers on Flight 752 were booked through Kiev on a connecting flight to Toronto. 

One of the biggest stumbling blocks out of the gate was the fact that Iran does not recognize the status of dual citizenship. Iranians are allowed to hold foreign passports, but inside Iran they are only deemed to be Iranians. Thus the initial media reports from Tehran only acknowledged that a handful of Canadians had been killed and that nearly all the victims were in fact Iranians.

Added to this equation is the fact that Canada severed all diplomatic ties with Iran back in 2012 and the fact that Canada has been one of the staunchest allies of the United States' ‘maximum pressure’ policy of trade sanctions against the Tehran regime.

However, in announcing the compensation payments wherein Iran will offer $150,000 (US) to each of the victims’ families, the Tehran regime made it clear that the citizenship status of the individuals will not be a factor. In an official statement from the Iranian President’s office, it was acknowledged that paying this compensation “will not eliminate all of the pain and suffering caused by this incident, [but] we hope it will remind [people] of [Iran’s] commitment to safeguarding the rights of all people and respecting humans.”

Canada’s Foreign Minister, Francois-Phillipe Champagne is not seemingly accepting of Iran’s attempts at contrition and appeasement. In a statement last December Champagne said he was not buying into the ‘human error’ excuse and, without offering any alternative theories, simply told the media “we’ll let the process unfold.” 

Almost immediately the Iranians denounced Champagne’s comments as being “unacceptable…completely political and anti-judicial.”

For the record, I have yet to hear of any other plausible theory wherein Iranian troops blast a Ukrainian airliner, full of Iranian citizens, over their own capital, other than it was a massive blunder. So I must admit that I am not exactly sure where Champagne is going with his veiled claim that this was an intentional act of mass murder. 

At the time of the incident, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered all of the Canadian victims’ families a $25,000 payment to help offset funeral costs. Whether or not Iran recognizes dual-citizenship, the important thing is that Canada does. This was very much a Canadian tragedy and must be commemorated as such.

Hunting Down Racists in the Ranks of the CAF

By Scott Taylor

“We will find you and we will get rid of you.” One might assume that sentence was a tough guy quip from a Hollywood action film, but that was the exact threat levelled by Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of National Defence at racists who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. 

The occasion was a December 17th press briefing wherein Sajjan announced the creation of a new panel to root out hate mongers and bigots within the ranks. The official mandate for this new watchdog committee will be open-ended and the scope of their investigations will include probing allegations of systemic discrimination, unconscious bias and white supremacist affiliations.

Admittedly this panel was stood up by the DND in response to a recent series of incidents involving CAF members with links to various hate groups. However, from the composition and experience of the individuals selected, it would appear that Sajjan intends to prove that his tough talk is not just a hollow threat.

Those four panel members include: retired U.S. Marine Corps sergeant Derek Montour, a Mohawk who originally served in the Canadian military but left after the divisive 1990 Oka Crisis in Quebec; retired major-general Ed Fitch, who holds the distinction of being only the second Jewish member of the Canadian Armed Forces to achieve the rank of major-general; retired major Sandra Perron, who struggled through abuse and discrimination to become one of Canada’s first female infantry officers in the 1990’s and retired captain D.L. "Door" Gibson, of Victoria, B.C.

Of that group the only individual upon whom I feel I can personally assess would be Sandra Perron. From my experience I would say that Perron is a dedicated dynamo who, despite many of her own adverse experiences in breaking into the hitherto male-only bastion of the Combat Arms trade, still has a genuine love for those who wear the uniform and the institution itself.

In response to Sajjan’s announcement Canadian human rights groups welcomed the creation of the panel but were withholding any actual applause until they start seeing results. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network was very specific in stating the new panel’s first move should be to start booting already outed extremists from the ranks of the CAF. One individual which they cited was Calgary based Leading Sailor Boris Mihajlovic who was allowed to rejoin the RCN after CBC reported his past association with the far right hate group Atom-Waffen. To this day Mihajlovic continues to wear the uniform.

“They need to kick out at least a single member of a hate group in a high profile way to send a message” stated Evan Balgord of the Anti-Hate Network to the CBC. “Second, they need to bring in outside experts to create tool kits and training modules to help officers identify the telltale signs of hate ideologies.”

While it is understandable that human rights groups would want to see immediate results it needs to be pointed out that Sajjan’s new approach is diametrically opposite to what the CAF public affairs branch had originally proposed.

Just a few months ago media reports in the Ottawa Citizen revealed how public affairs officers intended to ‘manage’ the issue of potential white supremacists within the ranks of the CAF. Their plan included the creation of dossiers on select journalist who would be most likely to report on such incidents. 

That list included Lee Berthiaume of the Canadian Press, Gloria Galloway of the Globe and Mail and Murray Brewster of the CBC.

Of those three, it was Brewster’s dossier that received the majority of the military’s attention. “He’s familiar with the defence system, and his reporting, while factual, often emphasizes the mistakes and shortcomings of DND and the CAF.”  Given that these dossiers were specific to the subject of white supremacists in the ranks of the CAF, how could Brewster possibly not portray this in a negative fashion? The very existence of people with racist beliefs serving in uniform cannot in any way reflect well upon the military.

The main strategy that the CAF public affairs branch intended to use was that of friendly academics and retired military officers who would be mobilized to denounce any allegations of white supremacists in the ranks as being an ‘extreme rarity’ or merely a ‘fraction of a fraction’. However the steady stream of hate related incidents involving uniformed personnel over the past several months, many first reported by CBC’s Brewster, have thwarted the CAF’s planned PR offensive.

At his press conference announcing the new panel, Sajjan told reporters, “The incidents we have seen inside the Canadian Armed Forces are disturbing. It’s easy to say, to try to defend it, [that] it’s a small percentage, point-something of a per cent. I always look at it as one is too many.”

Amen. May I wish Godspeed and happy hunting to this new panel.

ON TARGET: Tragedy At Sea For RCN

By Scott Taylor

Last week a terrible tragedy unfolded as the Royal Canadian Navy first reported that a sailor had gone missing at sea. Master Sailor Duane Earle, 47, was believed to have fallen overboard from the frigate HMCS Winnipeg in the early hours of Monday 14 December.

At the time HMCS Winnipeg was approximately 500 nautical miles west of San Francisco, homeward bound to CFB Esquimalt, BC after a two-month deployment in the Asia-Pacific region.

It was announced that immediately upon realizing Earle was absent from his duties and presumed overboard, an extensive search and rescue mission was conducted. High seas at an estimated four to five meter swells made the search a challenge in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

By 17:30 Tuesday 15 December, the RCN announced that the search was concluded and Earle presumed to be deceased. Counseling and support were available to the next of kin.

It was a tragic loss and on military social media networks there was a widespread outpouring of grief and condolences to family, friends and to Earle’s fellow shipmates.

The actual circumstances of Earle going overboard remain something of a mystery. “The ship is surrounded by guardrails and the upper decks are kept out of bounds at night” said Commodore Angus Topshee, Commander of the RCN Pacific fleet at a media briefing at CFB Esquimalt on Wednesday 16 December.

Topshee further noted that because the only way to exit the ship at sea is via the upper decks, the Earle incident remains inexplicable. “The honest truth is, we can’t explain how he came to be in the water, and we are continuing to search for any evidence to support any conclusion,” Topshee told reporters.

As a result of the Canadian Armed Forces coming forward with the news of this accidental death in a timely and forthright manner, it precluded any wild speculation or false narratives getting a foothold in the media reports.

There was an accident, a search was conducted, that search was concluded with the presumption of Earle’s passing and the military community grieved as an extended family.

To give credit where credit is due, the DND/CAF gets full marks for the manner in which they handled this tragedy.

Which makes one question what went so horribly wrong with this same Canadian Armed Forces’ handling of the information flow regarding the April 2020 Cyclone helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea.

For those who may have forgotten some of the finer details of this Public Relations fiasco, allow me to recap. On Wednesday 29 April a RCAF Cyclone helicopter crashed while returning to HMCS Fredericton.

Greek media reported it immediately but mistakenly referred to the helicopter as a Sikorsky Sea King, which caused Canadian media outlets to flag the story as potential ‘fake news’.

A full 24 hours passed before the CAF issued a statement that indeed a Cyclone had crashed with one servicemember dead while five others remained “missing.”

Canadian media were told officially that the Fredericton had “lost contact with the helicopter” prior to the crash. It was also stated that HMCS Fredericton and NATO allies continue to search for the remaining five members of the helicopter’s crew.”

It was not until late in the afternoon on Friday, May 1 that DND stated the search and rescue mission was concluded and that the effort was now a search and recover mission with all 6 servicemembers presumed deceased.

For two days, the military community on social media has been fuelling family and friends with false hope and prayers. Media pundits went so far as to speculate as to the vast scope of the potential search area and the survivability endurance of the crew.

Only later was it learned that the Cyclone had been conducting a low level fly past beside the Fredericton as part of a photo shoot when the helicopter suddenly plunged into the sea.

Some of the Fredericton’s crew were as a result, eyewitnesses to the crash.

To this day no one has been able to explain to Canadians why, or to what purpose, the CAF would have to initially portray the Cyclone incident as a lengthy search and rescue operation, or why they claimed to have ‘lost contact’ with the aircraft.

I offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Master Sailor Duane Earle.

ON TARGET: Reservist’s Seditious Stunt Damages the CAF’s Public Trust

By Scott Taylor

Canadian military officials are constantly warning civilians to be on their guard against the ongoing disinformation campaign being waged by meddlesome foreign state actors. There is no specific objective sought by these sowers of ‘fake news’ we are told, but rather their intent is to cause Canadians to lose their trust in official organizations – such as the Canadian military.

Which brings us to a rather bizarre incident, which occurred at an anti-lockdown rally in Toronto on December 5th.

The organizers introduced speaker Leslie Kenderesi as a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces. To drive home this association with the CAF, Kenderesi wore his combat uniform complete with webbing. He wore a beret as he spoke, but carried a combat helmet in his hand and he had affixed a hunting knife to his web strap.

Why Kenderesi was dressed for imminent combat while speaking at a rally in Toronto defies logic, but even more illogical was the statement made by this would-be Rambo.

“I’m asking military, right now serving, truck drivers, medical, engineers, whatever you are, do not take this unlawful order [for] the distribution of this vaccine” Kenderesi said to an appreciative crowd. “I might get in a lot of shit for doing this but I don’t care anymore.”

No mainstream media broadcast Kenderesi’s speech, but organizers of the rally posted it on YouTube.

It soon went viral on social media with most comments from the military community dismissing Kenderesi as an imposter and the whole speech to be a ‘fake news’ hoax.

Unfortunately for the CAF, a brief internal investigation resulted in DND having to confirm to reporters that Kenderesi is indeed a serving member.

“We were made aware on the evening of December 5th that a member of the Cadet Instructors Cadre – which is a subcomponent of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve – participated in a public demonstration in Toronto in his CAF uniform” stated DND spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier. “The individual made comments regarding the CAF participation in Operation Vector. These comments are not reflective of views of the Government of Canada nor Canadian Armed Forces policy.”

In attempting to convince fellow serving members of CAF to disobey orders, Kenderesi is at the very least guilty of attempted sedition. While I have no doubt that Kenderesi’s ramblings will garner not a single serving servicemember to heed his advice, damage to the public trust will be more difficult to repair.

Members of my own extended family mistakenly thought the man in the combat gear raging against this vaccine was retired General Rick Hillier.

One can easily understand their angst at seeing what they thought to be the military officer tasked with distributing the vaccine throughout Ontario, calling on soldiers not to deliver it.

Personally I do not see much of a physical resemblance between Hillier and Kenderesi and I was somewhat amused to learn that my relatives would think a retired General still wears a combat uniform complete with a knife-strapped to his chest. But I digress.

At time of writing the DND was continuing to investigate the incident.

While no one discussed criminal charges such as attempted sedition the DND did advise the media that punitive actions including Kenderesi’s release from the CAF are an option.

The anti-lockdown rally organizers described Kenderesi as “the original Canadian patriot.” I would disagree with that assessment and consider him instead to be a dangerous disinformer.

He is not however a complete idiot as he publicly acknowledged that his actions might land him in a “lot of shit.”

Let’s hope that DND makes that prophecy a reality.

ON TARGET: The Canadian Military is Not a Delivery Service

By Scott Taylor

Last week it was announced that the Canadian military has received formal orders to participate in planning the nationwide distribution of the COVID-19 vaccinations.

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Chief of Defence Staff, General Jonathan Vance admitted that long before the order was delivered the Canadian Armed Forces had been preparing for such an eventuality.

It was also announced that Major-General Dany Fortin will be commanding the Canadian military response team at National Defence Headquarters. Fortin’s most recent posting was in Iraq where he headed up the NATO mission to train Iraqi soldiers.

By all accounts, Fortin is a charismatic and extremely capable officer and at his initial press briefings he has proven to be very telegenic.

From a government public relations perspective this has been a very successful formula. The CAF has earned the trust and respect of the Canadian public to the point that simply handing over responsibility to the military and having an officer in uniform command the operation appeases our pandemic-fearing population.

The problem with this equation is that the military solution to vaccine distribution provides little in the way of actual resources. The challenge of rolling out vaccines across Canada is both logistical and medical.

The military does have an entire Logistics Branch and a truck fleet. However they have no where near the distribution capacity of existing private sector companies like Purolator, FedEx, UPS & DHL just to name a few.

The military also does not possess the specialized refrigeration equipment necessary to store and transport some of the vaccines.

It was reported that one asset the CAF could use would be its fleet of cargo aircraft – either the C-17 Globemasters or the C-130 Hercules – to rapidly deliver vaccines to Canada from either the U.S. or Europe.

One would think it would be far more efficient and cost effective to ship these vaccines using private sector airfreight companies. The aviation industry has been economically hard hit by the pandemic and using air force planes to deliver freight would only further exacerbate their lost revenue.

In terms of a medical challenge, one of the biggest concerns will be in determining who receives the vaccines first, and who in turn is to wait in line the longest.

Despite his sterling career and many martial accomplishments MGen Fortin does not have a doctorate of medical ethics on his resume. He is an artillery officer who commanded troops in Iraq.

Of course Fortin can add a civilian medical ethicist to his team but this is not currently a military profession. If Fortin is not a logistician nor a public health expert, other than disciplined leadership what exactly is he contributing to the vaccine distribution task force?

This observation should in no way be interpreted as slight to the capabilities of the men and women of the CAF and certainly not to Fortin personally. I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the CAF is not among the best militaries in the world – it is the best in the world.

What they are not is a delivery company with a nationwide distribution network.

I do believe the military will be able to assist in bringing the vaccination teams into remote regions and for this they are uniquely qualified and equipped. However we have to remember that such aid to the civil power, which has also included flood relief and fighting forest fires, is not the primary role of the CAF.

The CAF personnel are just as susceptible to the COVID-19 virus as the civilian population and their close proximity workspaces (ships, aircraft, barracks etc) means that any outbreak could spread through their ranks like a wildfire.

The raison d’etre of the CAF is to provide a combat force capable of defending Canada’s interests at home and abroad.

As much as it seems to reassure us to have a uniformed soldier handing out vaccines, it would make more sense if that same delivery were made by a guy in a Purolator jacket.

ON TARGET: General Hillier’s New Challenge

By Scott Taylor

Last week Ontario Premiere Doug Ford announced the appointment of retired General Rick Hillier to head the provincial task force that will oversee the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Ford told reporters that this challenge ‘needed a general’ and he went on at length as to why Hillier was the right man for the job.

The media were quick to join in singing the praises of the former general with most pundits commenting on Hillier’s stellar character.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I have known Hillier since he first entered the national spotlight in 1998. At that juncture Hillier was the public face of those Canadian Armed Forces personnel tasked with providing aid-to-the-civil-power during the ice storm. The gruff straight-talking Newfoundlander was an instant hit with the storm-weary civilians and Hillier became known as the general who defeated Mother Nature.

Later in his military career Hillier became the primary figurehead for Canada’s military intervention in Afghanistan, first as the Army Commander and then as the Chief of Defence Staff.

While I strongly objected to Canada’s deployment of troops to what has since proven to be an unwinnable war in Afghanistan, I always respected the fact that Hillier was a first class combat officer and a charismatic leader of the troops.

That said, I have to question how his skill sets and professional experience are suited to overseeing the widespread distribution of a vaccine across Ontario.

Perhaps it is reassuring to some civilians to think that a veteran military man will bring leadership to this distribution team. While outwardly flattering as it would illustrate a high level of public confidence in our armed forces, it also would reveal a lack of understanding of the military profession.

Hillier was an armoured corps officer and when he enlisted he trained to fight against Soviet tank armies during the Cold War. Leaving aside his brief encounter with Mother Nature, Hillier spent his senior military years overseeing Canadian troops fighting a desperate counter-insurgency battle in Afghanistan.

At no point did Hillier manage the distribution of supplies, let alone medical vaccines.

That sort of professional expertise – and supply chain management is indeed a challenging profession- is the purview of military logistics officers.

In fact, the importance of having the right amount of supplies delivered at the right time is so crucial to the function of the CAF that they have their own logistics branch, complete with their own distinctive cap badge.

The military would not expect a logistics officer to command tanks on the battlefield and nor would they task an armoured corps officer to arrange the delivery of supplies.

In outlining what Hillier’s task force will be responsible for, the Ford government said it will; advise on the delivery and storage of vaccines, provide clinical guidance of the administration of the vaccine as well as information and technology for civilians handling vaccine administration.

It is also expected that the Hillier task force will engage in educating the public so as to encourage vaccination.

One has to wonder how those provincial health care professionals who are already engaged in dispensing vaccines such as the flu shot and shingles vaccination will feel having an ex-combat soldier now supervising their efforts.

It is also puzzling to think that the citizens of Ontario will be more comfortable having a soldier in charge of vaccine distribution rather than a medical professional or someone skilled in supply chain management.

You wouldn’t hire a dentist to fix your plumbing or a plumber to fix your teeth, so why a soldier to hand out medicine?

If this is simply an attempt by Ford to add a charismatic, leader to a figurehead role then shame on Ford. At a monthly salary of $20,000 plus expenses, Hillier is not a cheap figurehead.

Hillier was a great soldier, he remains a charismatic leader, but his resume does not qualify him for this particular job.

To be fair to Doug Ford, he is not the only politician to tap military commanders for vaccine distribution. Last Friday Justin Trudeau announced Major-General Dany Fortin, an artillery officer, would head Canada’s federal task force. Earlier this year U.S. President Donald Trump appointed retired four star U.S. General Gustave Perna to oversee the ridiculously named OPERATION WARP SPEED vaccine distribution effort.

For the record, Gustave was a career Logistics Officer.

ON TARGET: A Wounded Trump Ego Could Still Be A Dangerous Thing

By Scott Taylor

These days it is almost impossible for Canadians to ignore the political circus that is being played out south of our border. Were the potential consequences not so dire, the desperate deeds of President Donald Trump and his loyal base would be outright comical.

Given Trump’s ubiquitous presence in the media throughout his presidency, I don’t think that anyone is truly surprised that he now refuses to concede the election.

However I am dismayed to see just how deeply divided the U.S. electorate has become and the depth of loyalty expressed by Trump’s supporters.

Far beyond a rationale conservative-versus-liberal political discourse, Trump’s hold over his followers is almost cult like.

Here in Canada both Pierre Trudeau and subsequently Justin both enjoyed a brief prime ministerial honeymoon of public adulation which was dubbed ‘Trudeaumania’.

However, it would be difficult to envision any Canadian politician generating the almost maniacal fervor which Trump has been able to create among his base.

Worse yet is the fact that in order to challenge the results of the election the Trump administration has chosen to denounce America’s democratic process. Without proof, Trump has claimed that the Democrats employed widespread voter fraud in order to steal the election.

Millions of Trump’s loyal followers will go to their graves still holding that belief. Unfortunately this will also lead to a great many Americans simply losing faith in their own democracy.

While some will argue that such a chaotic scenario will benefit China, Russia and Iran, it would be one hell of a stretch to try and blame this on outside interference: The Twitter account of Donald J. Trump has spread more disinformation on the American public than any foreign intelligence agency could dream possible.

Undisputedly Trump will still be president for another two months, which means he still has access to those levers of power which could shift global political fault lines for generations to come.

It was reported last week in the New York Times that Trump asked Pentagon officials at an intelligence briefing for options on bombing Iran’s Natanz nuclear reactor.

According to White House insiders it took the combined persuasive force of Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and recently appointed acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller to talk Trump out of this course of action for now.

What Trump did instead was order a reduction of U.S. troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. There are presently 4,500 American soldiers in Afghanistan and roughly 3,000, mostly special forces, still in Iraq. These contingents will both be reduced to just 2,500 each by Jan. 15, 2021.

Essentially these troop levels will enable the U.S. to protect their own bases, the embassy and diplomatic personnel.

For those Canadians who keep a keen eye on our military it will be recalled that we still have personnel assigned to the Iraq mission which has parliamentary authorization until 2022. However, it is unclear how these latest Trump troop reductions will impact Canadian operations in that country.

The NATO training mission which Canada commands has been largely suspended due to concerns about security as well as because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s special forces contingent assigned to the Iraq mission operates in such secrecy that little is known about what those personnel are doing or whether they are meeting actual objectives.

As for Afghanistan, the U.S. withdrawal is more sentimental. It symbolizes the fact that after 19 years and more than $1 U.S. trillion spent, the world’s greatest military superpower is conceding it was defeated by the Taliban.

Canada cut its losses in that failed war back in 2014, but not before expending a national treasure of blood and gold; 158 dead, 2000 wounded or injured, plus countless thousands suffering from the invisible wounds of PTSD, with a dollar figure cost of $22 billion once you factor in long term care costs of the veterans.

Trump’s pullout removes any last glimmer of hope that somehow Canada’s sacrifice was not in vain.

Now we wait to see what the Trump administration will do next. Whatever moves they make will be sure to affect all of us.

ON TARGET: DND Propaganda Project Shut Down

By Scott Taylor

Late last week it was reported in the media that the Department of National Defence had ordered a halt to its controversial program of ‘weaponizing’ their Public Affairs branch.

This move comes in the wake of a series of news stories by Ottawa Citizen defence reporter David Pugliese, which outlined how the DND intended to use propaganda to change the attitude and behavior of Canadian citizens.

It was revealed in Pugliese’s reports that the Canadian Forces planned to create “Joint Targeting and Information Operations” capability along with a Defence Strategic Communications team for the purpose of using “defence activities as a means of communication to influence the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of the audiences.”

Now the last time I checked the role of the Canadian military was to protect Canada and Canadian values, not to alter the mental state of Canadian citizens.

What was most shocking about these damaging media revelations was the fact that this program had moved beyond the theoretical and was already being employed here in Canada.

To date the Canadian Armed Forces have spent more than $1 million to train Public Affairs officers on behavior modification techniques.

At the beginning of the pandemic, when the Canadian military was poised to deploy personnel to assist in civilian long term care facilities, the CAF established what it called a Precision Information Team (PIT). This PIT used military personnel to collect and analyze information gleaned from civilian social media accounts.

This information was subsequently passed along to Ontario Premier Doug Ford to inform him that his electorate was not happy with his failure to protect the elderly during the COVID-19 crisis.

It was also reported that the Canadian Forces had a plan to counter potential pandemic-related civil disobedience by using various information warfare techniques, including broadcasting propaganda from vehicle mounted loudspeakers.

The architect behind the “enhancement” plan for the public affairs branch was Brigadier-General Jay Janzen, who is quoted in one of the Canadian Forces strategy documents as stating, “The motto ‘who dares, wins’ is as applicable to strategic communication as it is to warfare.”

Those familiar with military affairs will note that ‘who dares wins’ is the operational motto of the British Special Air Service (SAS) which is one of the most elite commando units in the world.

It is one hell of a stretch to compare elite special forces combat soldiers to a handful of public affair officers monitoring civilian Facebook posts, but hey, you’ve gotta give Janzen credit for his imagination.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing revelations was that of a planned campaign to counter allegations of white supremacists in the ranks of the CAF. In advance of this P.R initiative, DND had compiled dossiers on several Canadian journalists and planned to assemble a gaggle of military-friendly academics and historians to push the narrative that no such problem exists.

However before that plan could be initiated, there was a series of much publicized incidents involving CAF members with alleged ties to white supremacy. The propaganda plan was shelved and now it has been exposed.

Once the activities were made public in the press, the senior military leadership realized that these attempts to ‘weaponize’ the public affairs branch had in fact backfired. Instead of protecting the CAF’s image with Canadians, Janzen’s public affairs enhancement strategy, as well as the other missteps related to the pandemic propaganda schemes, actually damaged the military’s reputation and credibility.

In shutting down this initiative Laurie-Anne Kempton, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Affairs – and Janzen’s immediate superior-wrote an email to her staff. “Canadian’s must have absolute confidence in knowing that we completely understand our role in informing the public space of our initiatives and activities” she said, adding. “They must know they are not targets.”

Amen to that.

ON TARGET: The 'Uniting' States of America?

By Scott Taylor

In the months leading up to the U.S. presidential election, the campaign itself and the post election-day chaos, the one point upon which media pundits could agree was the fact that the ‘United States’ of America are in fact deeply divided.

President Donald Trump took every opportunity to pour gasoline on these glowing embers of long-standing divisiveness.

Prior to the vote-casting the Trump camp warned that because of the volume of mail-in ballots which were cast in advance, there would be no possibility of obtaining a final result before midnight on election day.

This was presented by Trump as some sort of anomaly that was sinister by nature and a break from traditional norms.

This claim led the media to fact-check and provide some historical context regarding previous U.S. presidential elections.

The examples given were simply common sense in that in a pre-telegraph  (let alone telephone or television) horse and buggy era, the ballot counting took weeks and months to tally. That was why the original inauguration date was in March rather than the current January 20th.

In pointing out the logistical advancement in conducting a democratic vote process over the past two centuries these commentators missed an opportunity to remind the public as to just how far U.S. democracy itself has evolved in that same timeframe.

When the founding fathers wrote the U.S. Constitution, voting was restricted to all but a select few individuals. Eligibility to cast a vote was restricted to white Christian males who owned property. In some states voters had to first pass a test on their Christian religious knowledge. Gender exceptions allowed wealthy female land owners to cast a ballot in several states.

Following the U.S. Civil War, in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment extended voting rights to former male slaves and freemen of colour. Females did not officially get to vote in American politics until 1920.

As for the racial divide which exists currently in the United States this has been highlighted by months of Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the U.S.

The tearing down of statues of Confederate generals who fought to keep Blacks as slaves, reminds us that for hundreds of years Black Americans were shackled and sold as chattel.

The U.S. Civil War freed the slaves but it did not miraculously elevate Blacks to equal members of U.S. society. In fact laws were passed to entrench the segregation of Blacks in the southern states in what became known as the “Jim Crow” era.

Officially these laws requiring separate facilities for Blacks and whites ranged from schools to railway cars and even public drinking fountains. Those laws were not repealed until after the civil rights marches in 1964.

While segregation was never formally adopted in the northern states, it was very much enforced in the U.S. military until 1948.

Prior to that date Black units - usually with white officers - served in largely support roles in the various branches of the American forces. In fact it was not until the Vietnam War that Black and white Americans would fight and die in large numbers at each other’s side in combat.

Now in the wake of the BLM movement we have various professional sports franchises finally realizing that their team names could be offensive to minority groups. Which makes me wonder how we could have been so blind to the fact that, for instance, the name ‘Redskins’ might be considered derogatory by Indigenous peoples.

These horrific historical truths need to be taught to Americans. But Canadians cannot simply sit smug and gloat over our neighbour’s foibles as we have many unpleasant chapters in our own history.

Those who bemoan the loss of a truly ‘united states’ wish to make America great again need to know that the reality was far different than the historical myths some would have us believe.

As my Dad used to say, “It ain’t like the good old days: and it never was”.

ON TARGET: Combatting Sexual Misconduct In The Ranks

By Scott Taylor

Last week the Canadian military launched a new initiative to confront what the senior brass call a ‘wicked problem’ in the form of sexual misconduct within its ranks. This most recent plan is called The Path Towards Dignity and Respect and unlike previous campaigns this one does not promise any short-term success.

“There are no quick fixes for achieving culture change. It requires sustained effort and continual assessment to ensure that we remain on track,” wrote General Jonathan Vance in the foreword to this new plan.

Keen eyed readers will recall that it was this same General Vance who launched Operation Honour to stamp out sexual misconduct in the CAF over five years ago when he was first appointed Chief of Defence Staff.

Over a half-decade later it appears that Vance now realizes this is not a problem that can simply be ordered to disappear.

The genesis for these latest efforts to eradicate sexual misconduct from the CAF began with a damning series of news media reports back in 2013. The stunning public revelations led to the commissioning of an independent inquiry by former Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps.

After a thorough investigation, Deschamps tabled her report which depicted the CAF to be steeped in a highly masculine sexualized culture, wherein military leaders turned a blind eye to misconduct.

It was in response to Deschamps’ findings that Vance launched Op Honour.

The two-fold objective of Op Honour was to clamp down on any alleged perpetrators while simultaneously establishing a support network for the victims.

This Vance-led initiative was initially praised for bringing forward many more reports of sexual misconduct. The official positive ‘spin’ on this phenom was that it indicated a renewed faith in the system to arbitrate justice and properly support the victims.

However, the reported incidents just kept coming, so five years later Op Honour is now the Path Towards Dignity and Respect.

Most tellingly, the new directive states outright that this latest campaign “will have no end date and will remain as an enduring mission for the CAF.”

The target will no longer be to react to incidents of sexual misconduct after they occur, but to instead aim to change the very ‘culture’ of the CAF in which members feel such behaviour to be acceptable.

Architects of this new pathway to change believe that the key to success will be through education.

I believe that one of the first things they should teach on these courses is just how far the military ‘culture’ has already changed in just a few short decades.

Between 1950-1971 women were allowed to enlist in the military but the number was capped at a maximum of 1500. The reason for this was the CAF did not want to overly ‘feminize’ the institution.

That cap was lifted after 1971 but women were mainly employed in non-combat roles such as medical, communications and administration.

Admission of women into combat arms trades began in 1987 and by 2001 the last male-only bastion was breached and females were allowed to serve aboard submarines.

What this means is that there are practically no service-members still in uniform that will be able to recall those ‘male only’ days of old. Virtually every serving soldier and senior officer has spent their entire career working within a mixed gender environment.

Those who served in Afghanistan witnessed male and female soldiers fighting and dying alongside each other.

One has to hope that the forging of such trusts and bonds will soon replace what remains of the former highly masculine, sexualized culture that Justice Deschamps revealed in her report.

I, for one, want to believe that the CAF is already further down their projected new path than the numbers would indicate.

ON TARGET: Military’s ‘Weaponized’ Public Affairs Plan Backfires

The CAF Public Affairs plan for the COVID-19 Crisis included vehicles mounted with loudspeakers to patrol Canadian streets.

By Scott Taylor

These days it would seem that the Public Affairs Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces are their own worst enemy. First it was the revelation in the media that as part of their new policy of ‘weaponizing’ public affairs, DND has spent over $1 million on behavioural modification training. This may sound harmless but this “dynamics methodology” promises to help military clients to analyze and profile groups in order to find the best strategy to effectively influence a target audiences behaviour.

People questioning just how and why the Canadian military would attempt to manipulate the public did not have to wait long. Almost coincidental with the story about DND’s behaviour modification training program came the bizarre news story about the military’s attempted wolf scare in Nova Scotia.

Apparently some keen reservists with the Halifax Rifles wanted to put their propaganda skills to the test, with the unlucky targets being members of the Canadian public. The reservists carefully forged letters complete with the letterhead of the Nova Scotia provincial wildlife division, warning residents of the Annapolis Valley that wolves had recently been released back into the wild.

To torque the local’s fear even higher, these military schemers planned to broadcast wolf noises from a loudspeaker.

When news of the letters was made public, DND had no choice but to shamefacedly admit to the plot. To date no one has been able to explain just what the hell these jokers were thinking.

In a similar vein it was also recently reported that as part of the CAF’s COVID-19 response, the public affairs branch planned to use vehicle mounted loudspeakers to control and advise the public.

One has to suspect that this particular plan was drafted back during the Second World War before people had cell phones and computers.

Perhaps more ominous was the fact that the military also established a Precision Information Team (PIT) to collect data from the social media accounts of Canadian civilians. The findings of the PIT allowed the Canadian Armed Forces to report to Ontario Premier Doug Ford that the public did not think he had done a good enough job in protecting senior residences from COVID-19.

One would have thought the staggering death toll from those facilities would have made that abundantly clear to Ford without having a military team sift through Facebook postings of ordinary citizens.

Then came word that in their effort to manage the issue of white supremacists within the ranks of the CAF, the good old public affairs branch created dossiers on those journalists who would be likely to report on such incidents. That list included Lee Berthiaume of Canadian Press, Gloria Galloway of the Globe and Mail and Murray Brewster of the CBC.

Of those three it was Brewster’s dossier that got the majority of DND’s attention. “He’s familiar with the defence system, and his reporting, while factual, often emphasizes the mistakes and shortcomings of DND and the CAF.” Since these dossiers were specifically regarding the issue of racism and white supremacists in the military, and they admit Brewster’s stories are factual, how in the hell could such revelations not be seen as negative. There is no good side to neo-Nazi’s in uniform.

In the end the plan to use friendly academics and retired military commanders to try to spin future media coverage of white supremacists in the ranks was overtaken by events. Namely a constant stream of news stories revealing - you guessed it - white supremacists in the ranks. That is however a separate issue and it is not a problem with communications.

What is an equally troubling issue is a military public affairs branch that has weaponized itself into self-destruction.

The Canadian public does not want their military to; modify their behaviour, fabricate phony ‘wolf’ threats, spy on the public’s social media or keep files on individual journalists. By doing so the public affairs branch has only undermined the trust that the public has in the Canadian Armed Forces.

ON TARGET: Military Cries “Wolf” in Nova Scotia

By Scott Taylor

Last week there was a bizarre little story in the Ottawa Citizen that at first glance appeared to be so ridiculous that it had to be satire.

Reporter David Pugliese revealed that a letter from the Nova Scotia government sent out to residents in Annapolis Valley to warn about a pack of wolves on the loose in the province was forged by Canadian military personnel as part of a propaganda training mission that went off the rails.

Information warfare specialists with the Halifax Rifles – a reserve unit - had craftily drafted the letter, which informed recipients that wolves had recently been re-introduced to the region by the provincial government.

To make the letters more convincing the military schemers forged the letterhead of the Nova Scotia Wildlife Division. Lest someone still doubted the authenticity of these wolf warnings the plotters included an information phone number that connected to an Environment Canada employee who also appeared to be linked to the Canadian military.

To really scare the bejeezus out of everybody, the diabolical plot also included the planned use of a loud speaker to generate wolf sounds.

After receiving phone calls and emails from concerned residents, the Nova Scotia government quickly responded on social media that someone was sending out fake news. Once the media began probing the issue, the Canadian military had no choice but to sheepishly confess their role in this affair.

To date, no one from the Canadian Armed Forces has been able to offer any credible explanation about what happened. An investigation is now underway.

It would be easy to laugh this incident off by comparing it to a bad plotline in a Scooby Doo cartoon, but this has raised allegations about the Canadian military attempting to manipulate Canadian citizens on Canadian soil. That’s no joke.

It is also not an isolated incident but rather part of a much broader strategy of the CAF “weaponizing” Public Affairs as well as significantly increasing its propaganda warfare skills.

The concept of weaponizing the military’s public affairs branch was first proposed in 2015 by General Jonathan Vance shortly after he was promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff. However the real driving force behind the “weaponization” program is Brigadier-General Jay Janzen, the Director General of military strategic communications.

It was recently revealed that Janzen authorized the expenditure of over $1 million on behaviour modification training for several dozen of his Public Affairs Officers.

The training provided was similar to the behaviour modification training that had been offered by the parent company of Cambridge Analytica. Keen eyed readers may recall that Cambridge Analytica was embroiled in a scandal involving the harvesting of personal Facebook data for use by U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign.

In response to the revelation that DND was investing in behaviour modification training, the official line is that this will help the military to plan strategic communication campaigns.

The question begs, when did it become the military’s responsibility to monitor and manipulate the Canadian public?

This past summer, at the height of the pandemic, the military created a thing called the Precision Information Team (PIT). This five person unit scoured social media accounts of private citizens in order to provide an in depth report to the Ontario government.

According to the PIT analysis the public were not very satisfied with the Doug Ford government’s care for the elderly during COVID-19.

Does one think Premier Ford really needed an official military report to tell him that?

There was also another plan for the CAF to ward off any pandemic driven civil disobedience with a propaganda campaign that called for “shaping” and “exploiting” information and using vehicle mounted loudspeakers patrolling Canadian streets. One has to wonder if they intended to scare would-be rioters off the streets with wolf noises?

The bottom line in all of this is that the Canadian military has no business targeting Canadian civilians with propaganda. That is what our political parties are for.