Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
Posted on 05/09/2006 4:35:42 PM PDT by Clive
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The former Liberal government scrambled last year to acquire new howitzers after the Canadian army's existing stock of heavy guns was shown to lack the accuracy, firepower and range needed for the desert expanse and mountainous creases of southern Afghanistan.
The roughly $42-million purchase of six brand new M-777 guns and ammunition was hastily approved last summer after the army could not guarantee that "collateral damage" or civilian casualties would be limited with its existing 105-mm artillery pieces.
In addition, a review determined the older weapons might not be able to protect widely scattered bases.
"The department should immediately direct resources towards the acquisition of a number of readily deployable 155-mm howitzers with an operational stock of precision ammunition," said a May 15, 2005, briefing note obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws.
A strategic plan drawn up in conjunction with the February 2005 budget envisioned the army tinkering with and perhaps digitizing its aging 105-mm guns. The thinking then was that new, highly accurate artillery would have to wait until at least 2012.
The army initially proposed buying 12 guns, which were designed for U.S. forces and built by BAE Systems Inc., the British maker of Canada's troubled submarine fleet. What the army ended up with were six howitzers, four of which were deployed overseas.
Since production is still ramping up on the new light-weight titanium weapons and to ensure they would have them for Afghanistan, the Defence Department purchased the howitzers directly from the U.S. Marine Corp. in a government-to-government military sale.
Unlike the navy's boats, the big guns have not given the army any mechanical problems, said Canada's top artillery officer in Kandahar.
"They've performed flawlessly," said Maj. Steve Gallagher, commander of A Battery, 1 Canadian Royal Horse Artillery.
"What the triple-seven gives us is extended range. It also gives us more accuracy than we've ever had before and that was the real crux of procuring the M-777 for this operation."
In a war where militants often hide among civilians in compounds and villages, the ability to be able to strike surgically at designated targets has been become militarily and political crucial. Both coalition commanders and the Afghan government are extremely sensitive to questions of the toll taken on innocent bystanders during a battle.
An Afghan-based website, www.Afghannews.net, claims to keep a running tally of civilian deaths since the U.S.-led invasion to oust the hardline Taliban rulers in 2001. But its figures of between 34,000 and 38,000 casualties cannot be accurately verified in a country where hearsay often passes for news in local villages.
The Canadian guns are currently firing standard 155-mm shells upwards of 20 kilometres, using a new high-tech electronic sighting system.
This fall, a new type of projectile named Excalibur will be available. The GPS-guided shell will allow gunners to hit targets within a 10-metre radius up to 40 kilometres away.
Since deploying in late January, the artillery has fired a number of times, occasionally in defence of a infantry position, such as the Gumbad platoon house in north Kandahar. But more often they're used in what is called a show of force, a demonstration of the firepower.
By lobbing the occasional round into empty fields, Canadian commanders accomplish the duel purpose of forcing the Taliban to think twice about attacking a target, but it also gets the attention of the local population.
"The power of these rounds, the explosion that they make kind of wakes people up," said Lieut. Andrew Nicholson, a gun commander at Forward Base Robinson.
"It's a great enforcing tool when we're trying to talk to the local elders and say, 'Hey we're here. Look, this is what we're capable of doing and if there are any bad guys, it could be a fairly rough day for them.' "
-
Canada is pathetic.
Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
In 1968 I had 4 rounds to get on target, or be called an armature, I, a lowly grunt, the RTO's could do it in two, 105, 155, eight inch, 175, the Arty TOC made the call.
i think you're pathetic.
That amount of money could operate the Canadian Gun Resistry of civilians guns for maybe 7 months.
Huh. I did see some guys in trenchcoats and maple-leaf stickered briefcases circulating at the local gun show...
These guns are a huge benefit. Here's to purchasing many, many more.
I don't know how many of these our army needs, but I'm sure it's a hell of a lot more than 8 or 12. I'm guessing a few hundred of them would be in order (not on order, not yet at least - you don't want to rush into these things, but there's not time for an extremely lengthy procurement process, either).
We, the US, have not always given the Canadian army the respect they deserve. When it was decided in WW2 to make an elite unit of US and Canadian soldiers, the Canadians sent their best soldiers per the agreement. The US opened up the brigs and sent over drunks, thieves and troublemakers.
Not our finest hour in our treatment of our allies.
You got a link to that ?
The Canadian Army established more exacting standards for its volunteers: they had to be willing to undergo parachute training; they had to be physically fit; they had to have prior infantry training; they had to have a knowledge of internal-combustion engines; they had to be NCO material; and they had to have experience as mountaineers, skiers or woodsmen (or they had to have some other kind of winter training).
Thus, from the start, the Canadian soldiers were of higher quality and motivation. In contrast, many of the American "volunteers" came unwillingly. Sergeant John Yoder Jr., stated that he was "volunteered by his first sergeant." Yoder returned from training one day and found his orders for Helena, Mont., atop his footlocker. (Fort Harrison, near Helena, was the site of FSSF training.) The initial American component of the FSSF also included a large percentage of jailbirds, ne'er-do-wells and dissenters, as unit and post commanders took the opportunity to rid themselves of troublemakers. Although many of those "disreputables" were rejected, a substantial number of them were accepted, because Frederick was looking for rugged and somewhat reckless characters.
Eventually, Frederick assembled a force of individualistic, physically tough American fighting men who were steadied by the influence of the older, more disciplined and initially, better-trained Canadians. While the Canadians numbered only one-third of the FSSF's soldiers, they occupied about one-half of the leadership positions. Most of the battalion commanders and senior sergeants were Canadians, and most of the junior officers were Americans. A strong spirit of rivalry emerged between the Americans and Canadians, but national distinctions quickly disappeared as the FSSF jelled into an effective fighting unit.
Oughta get the "Human Cannonball" kind of gun and use it to shoot pigs at the Moose.
Good timing!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
