Army

Canada has completed delivery of 15 Leopard 2A4M tanks to Latvia as part of a proposed a combat-ready NATO brigade in Eastern Europe. DND said they are accompanied by some support equipment and personnel but the rest of the full complement of 130 are not expected until the spring. [node:read-more:link]

B.C. resident James Topp, a retired Army warrant officer and reservist who publicly protested federal coronavirus vaccine requirements while in uniform pled guilty November 14 to charges of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline at the start of his court martial. The maximum penalty is dismissal with disgrace. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government has published what’s described as the first definitive history of Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan but getting a copy is likely to be a challenge. Commissioned by DND and the Army, the three-volume history was written by embedded Royal Military College historian Sean Maloney, but only 1,600 copies, 800 each in English and French, were published. [node:read-more:link]

Procedural delays prompted the abrupt end October 10 of the Ontario Court of Justice trials of retired Army Lieutenant-General Trevor Cadieu and Cory Gelowicz, a retired officer who worked at Royal Military College. The charges arise from an alleged sexual assault in 1974 when both were students at RMC. Justice Larry O’Brien said “someone should be held accountable” for a nine-month delay by military police investigators in sharing evidence with defence counsel. [node:read-more:link]

An unidentified Canadian Army captain from Toronto has been released from service without charge after going absent without leave while in Poland. He had been helping to train Ukrainian troops but when scheduled to rotate home in February, he went AWOL after telling his commanders that he wanted to stay to help Ukrainian relatives. [node:read-more:link]

The Department of National Defence has confirmed that the deputy commanding officer of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group tasked with training light infantry, faces a civil trial on charges of sexual assault, interference and exploitation. Major Robert Baker, a logistics officer in the Canadian Armed Forces since 2007, was charged by the Ontario Provincial Police. [node:read-more:link]

New anti-tank missiles, air defence systems and drone countermeasures for Canada’s battlegroup in Latvia are being fast-tracked, according to Defence Minister Anita Anand. “These projects will better equip our Canadian Armed Forces members deployed on NATO’s eastern flank,” she confirmed. A Request for Proposals is possibly imminent. [node:read-more:link]

Military prosecutors have dropped their case against a soldier charged with negligence after the May 2021 shooting of an Army reservist during live-fire training at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. A court martial had been scheduled March 5 but no reasons were given for the prosecution’s decision. [node:read-more:link]

The federal government announced today that it is sending four more Chieftain 2 main battle tanks as well as an armoured recovery vehicle and more than 5,000 rounds of artillery to Ukraine. In the meantime, the four original MBTs are in Poland where a Canadian Armed Forces team is training Ukrainian tank crews. [node:read-more:link]

As the Army officer who oversaw Canada’s refugee verification mission in Kosovo some three decades, retired Lieutenant-General J.O. Michel Maisonneuve is asking why the internationally-respected Disaster Assistance Response Team hasn’t been deployed to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes that have killed more than 25,000 persons in Turkey and Syria. “In truth,” Maisonneuve says, the CAF have “very little capability to help” due to shrinking ranks and mostly outdated equipment. [node:read-more:link]

A Canadian Army trooper faces charges of aggravated sexual assault and forcible confinement following an Ontario court’s hearing in a private prosecution. The accuser’s lawyer said the civil action was initiated after the Department of National Defence declined to prosecute after an investigation in 2018. A warrant has been issued for Corporal Oleksii Silin, based at CFB Gagetown. [node:read-more:link]