Six years after Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared theArctic to be a new operations area for the Canadian military, thearmy has struggled to find enough parkas, cold-weather tents,lanterns and heaters to equip forces that take part in its annualsummer exercise. The "critical equipment shortfalls" were so bad last year, the headof the army approved a request by area commanders to buy missinggear themselves, say internal briefing documents. The briefings also show the army worried about running out ofparkas, and turned to the air force for help. The army is "required to affirm national sovereignty and conductpatrolling and surveillance operations," said a May 26, 2011,briefing note for Lt-Gen Peter Devlin, the country's top soldier. The document was obtained by The Canadian Press under the federalaccess-to-information law. Inadequate or incomplete equipment The request to buy gear came from Land Forces Atlantic region unitstaking part in the annual Arctic exercise which the Conservativegovernment has used as a showcase for its northern ambitions. "Although the (land force areas) have received some equipmentcritical to achieving (initial operating capability), theirequipment lists are inadequate or incomplete, and some immediatepurchases are required in order to ensure mobility, survivabilityand credibility within the context of Op Amok 11." Specifically, the units needed tents, trailers for all-terrainvehicles, cooking stoves, storage containers, lanterns and heatersfor multi-day patrols that take soldiers away from forward basesand deep into the barren wilderness. The briefing warned that without the trailers for equipment, patrolranges would be limited. It noted the shortages were nothing new inthe annual marquee exercise, which has seen the prime minister, thedefence minister and chief of defence staff drop in forhigh-profile photo-ops. "With respect to tentage, previous Op Nanooks have proven that theexisting 4-man crew tents and Arctic tents are inadequate due tohigh winds encountered in the Arctic during summer months," saidthe briefing. "The greater issue of Arctic equipment is being developed as partof the Arctic Mobility Project, however, this project is notanticipated to be delivering equipment in the near term, an interimsolution is required." 'Outrageous' says expert The army was asked for an update on the current condition of itscold weather gear, but no one at National Defence was immediatelyavailable to comment. An expert in military affairs was surprised at the lack of basicequipment years after the Conservatives planted their flag in theArctic, and with over half a decade of flush defence budgets. "That is just outrageous," said Rob Huebert of the University ofCalgary. An earlier briefing note, dated Jan. 20, 2011, said a decision byNational Defence headquarters to concentrate on buying combat coatsand wind pants caused a shortage of parkas. "To find they didn't have enough parkas, this is Canada forgoodness sakes," said Huebert. "The most likely scenarios they need to respond to are a ship goingaground and an airliner going down up there. I mean, that can occurany day now, and so to say we don't have enough equipment, even tokeep our own troops warm, says a lot about the priority thegovernment places on the Arctic." The army was required to raid the air force's stock of olive drabjackets and insulated bib overalls. The supply had been rationed inlate 2010 to soldiers who were assigned to winter operations, thosetaking part in an exercise or other training. At the time the note was written, officials estimated it could takeup to two years to deliver the necessary protective clothing to thearmy. The report noted that the units operating in the north could end upwearing a mishmash of new army and air force gear. But Huebert says it's a disturbing trend considering the boldpromises the Conservatives made, including armed icebreakers and adeep water refuelling port in the inhospitable region. The latest federal budget put off delivery of the Arcticicebreakers until 2018. As recently as Wednesday night, DefenceMinister Peter MacKay refused to be pinned down during budgetdebate on when the base at Nanisivik, Nunavut, would open. "Are we back to Mulroney's time period, when it was a lot of talkand no action?" said Huebert. This story is posted on Alaska Dispatch as part of Eye on the Arctic , a collaborative partnership between public and privatecircumpolar media organizations. I am an expert from digital-quranpen.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Quran Translation Pen , Haji Player, Holy Quran Read Pen,and more.
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