A former commander of the Wagner Group used by Russia in Ukraine says it has been mistreating and killing Russian ex-convicts recruited to fight there. Andrei Medvedev, a former prison who joined Wagner in July 2022 on a four-month contract, is seeking asylum in Norway. [node:read-more:link]
Action on the Arbour Report is likely to begin soon, LGen Michel Maisonneuve and Dr Danic Parenteau provide suggestions for consideration by the different committees engaged in these changes. Read on for clarification, and more details, pursuant to comments received after publishing (Oct 2022) their five general recommendations for any review of the Canadian Military Colleges. [node:read-more:link]
The commander of the Canadian Army, Lieutenant-General Joe Paul, says more demands at home and abroad are putting increased pressure on his resources. The situation has been exacerbated by continued shrinkage in the ranks. He says the loss of 1,200 soldiers in 2021 could be followed by 800 more once the final 2022 count is in. [node:read-more:link]
Louise Arbour, former Supreme Court of Canada judge and chief prosecutor for high-profile International Criminal Court cases, is openly skeptical about the military’s willingness or ability to implement the culture change required to make the military a "safe place" for all members. [node:read-more:link]
Canada’s military colleges are widely seen as clinging to a bygone era, so how and why does the status quo continue to prevail? Dr Danic Parenteau and LGen Michel Maisonneuve (retired) propose that RMC and RMC Saint-Jean reset to Military Academies. [node:read-more:link]
Three of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s nine ships are docked to crew shortages. “If the current attrition rate of 16 per cent can be arrested, it is expected [that we] will have sufficient sailors to operate the rest of the fleet,” a navy spokesperson says. “This requires a number of initiatives to take effect, including addressing the widening gap between our sailor remuneration and what the highly competitive job market is offering.” [node:read-more:link]
The federal government announced today that its approach to the ongoing challenge of sexual assault in the Canadian Armed Forces will begin at ground level – at Canada’s two military colleges where Defence Minister Anita Anand says there is a “well-documented” entrenched problem. [node:read-more:link]
Congress has used its latest Department of Defense budget bill to repeal mandatory coronavirus vaccinations for military personal, a decision with consequences at home and abroad. “This isn’t just our side of the equation,” one DoD official said December 7. “It’s what our partners and people that we would train and work with are asking us to do to enter the country.” Most active-duty personnel have been vaccinated but as the DoD tries to deal with personnel shortages, there is ongoing resistance among potential recruits. [node:read-more:link]
The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre, said November 26 that while Canada’s military forces are “ready for the tactical mission they’ve been assigned” if Russia’s war in Ukraine spreads, a large long-term operation would be a “challenge.” He cited ongoing personnel and materiel shortages, a reflection of what has been “let slip over decades” as the CAF focused on “more immediate” needs. [node:read-more:link]
Defence Minister Anita Anand says boosting and protecting the Canadian Armed Forces is a essential against the backdrop of a changing global geopolitical landscape, recruitment problems and ongoing efforts to address sexual misconduct in the military. “I've continually said that my top priority is to make sure that all members of our armed forces are protected and respected when they put on a uniform in service of this country,” she said in a Remembrance Day interview. [node:read-more:link]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on conscripting murderers, drug traffickers and other convicted criminals into the military as part of his war on Ukraine. The legislation exempts, among others, persons convicted of treason, espionage, terrorism or crimes against minors. [node:read-more:link]
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said today that the "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine was complete, with 82,000 already deployed and that “no further measures are planned.” The remaining 218,000 were evidently in training and Shoigu said any further recruitment would be limited to volunteers and professional troops [node:read-more:link]
With some 10 per cent of positions within the Canadian Armed Forces vacant after years of declining recruitment, the shortfall has prompted General Wayne Eyre, the Chief of the Defence Staff, appeal for public support. “We’re here to defend our way of life, now and into the future,” he says. “We need a whole-of-society effort to help us bring the Armed Forces back to where it needs to be for the dangerous world ahead.” [node:read-more:link]
General Wayne Eyre, the Chief of the Defence Staff, worries that his forces’ state of readiness might not be able to respond to pressures at home and abroad. “Our national prosperity is underpinned by our ability to defend the rules-based international order,” he said October 3. “But our national prosperity is also underpinned by our ability to fight these disasters at home.” [node:read-more:link]
A proposed significant hike in U.S. security assistance for Taiwan currently before the U.S. Senate is being questioned by U.S. analysts who are focusing on civilian oversight of the island state’s military and how it recruits and trains personnel. “Weapons, tools, hardware, buying the right powerful platform — this is totally besides the question,” says Paul Huang, a Taipei-based fellow at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in Washington. [node:read-more:link]
