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OTTAWA — The Canadian Forces has distributed 120,000 wallet-size cards to military personnel to remind them that sexual assault is an “inappropriate” behaviour. The cards are to be carried by military staff on the job, including when they are sent overseas. But a critic of how the Canadian Forces has been handling its response to what has been labelled a sexual misconduct crisis says such reminder cards are absurd. “It is disgusting to label sexual assault as simply something that is inappropriate — it is a criminal act and if you don’t understand that then you have real problems,”...

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders says a 27-year-old man is under arrest after two members of the Canadian Forces were stabbed in north Toronto earlier on Monday. A man walked into the recruitment centre, pulled out a knife and attacked the person behind the counter, Saunders said. The attacker attempted to move farther into the building, but was taken down by a group of between six and eight soldiers, the chief said. The suspect uttered the word "Allah" the Toronto Sun reports, citing police sources. A source with knowledge of the investigation has also told CBC News the same thing.

For the past two years, Canada has been quietly working to establish small military outposts in places such as the Caribbean, East Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. Now newly released Department of Defence documents show these operational support hubs are part of a plan to deploy the military on more overseas missions — including combat and security — than under previous governments. The revelation touches on a debate about the future role of the military in the aftermath of major combat operations in Afghanistan and Libya, and amid belt-tightening across the federal government. A directive, signed by Gen. Natynczyk and...

Three Canadian Forces personnel killed and two injured in AfghanistanCEFCOM NR 09.004 - March 4, 2009OTTAWA – Three Canadian Forces personnel were killed and two were injured when an improvised explosive device detonated near an armoured vehicle during a patrol in the Arghandab District. The incident occurred northwest of Kandahar City at around 5:40 p.m., Kandahar time, on 3 March, 2009. The CF personnel were conducting security operations in the area when the explosion occurred. Killed in action were Warrant Officer Denis Raymond Brown, from The Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Corporal Dany Olivier Fortin, from 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron at...

High school grad going to Afghanistan to work retail. When Janet Harrington decided to go to Afghanistan, no one was going to change her mind. Harrington will be leaving later this month and will spend six months there, although she won't be there to serve in the military. Instead, she'll be serving the military, along with civilian workers from across the country. "Our goal is to serve those who serve," she said. Harrington is an employee with Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency. Between 1,200 and 1,500 people apply every six months to work in retail stores on military bases, but...

Manitoba soldier charged with manslaughter CanWest News Service Monday, March 12, 2007 The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service has charged a soldier stationed at Canadian Forces Base Shilo, in relation to the shooting death of Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh in Afghanistan on Aug. 9, 2006. Master Cpl. Robbie Fraser of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment (PPCLI), was charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of negligent performance of duty.

Rockets serve as wake-up call MARTY KLINKENBERG TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL Published Monday January 29th, 2007 Appeared on page A1 For most of six months, Kelly Taylor slept on a cot in a six- by eight-foot room in a tent at the Kandahar Air Field. She decorated her small space with family photos and hung a scarf, a gift her husband brought back from Bosnia. The mice running amok took a little getting used to, and so did the rockets, fired by insurgents, that whizzed overhead. "We had 22 air raids in the first month and a half I was there," Taylor says....

Reservist picks Afghanistan after NB Power denies leave Article Tools Print DANIEL MARK WHEATON TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL Published Thursday January 18th, 2007 Appeared on page A1 A military reservist who nominated NB Power for an award for supporting the Canadian Forces has resigned after the Crown corporation refused him a leave of absence to deploy to Afghanistan. Maj. Sean Courty took the career hit in order to lead a team of soldiers from across Atlantic Canada who are leaving within three weeks for Kandahar on a six-month mission. "I had to make a difficult decision," Courty said. He left the job the...

Two new wonderful and inspiring recruiting ads by our Canadian military allies. Shamelessly patriotic, realistic, powerful. Stephen Harper's Conservative Canada made manifest.

NATO soldier dies as fighting rages in Afghanistan Last Updated Sat, 09 Sep 2006 11:09:57 EDT CBC News A NATO soldier was killed Saturday in southern Afghanistan, as Canadian and NATO troops said their efforts had pushed Taliban forces to the brink of collapse. The identity and nationality of the soldier killed has not yet been released. The soldier died in the Panjwaii region near Kandahar. Lt.-Col. Omer Lavoie, the commander of Canadian forces on the ground in Afghanistan, told the Canadian Press that Taliban forces are being squeezed from the north and the south. Taliban representatives denied their forces...

SANGIN, Afghanistan, July 15 (UPI) -- More than 300 British troops, supported by U.S. and Canadian forces, have retaken a Taliban stronghold in Sangin, Afghanistan, military officials say. The British paratroopers stormed the stronghold in a predawn attack, about 100 miles northwest of Kandahar, after U.S. troops from the 10th Mountain Division provided a block at the south end of the town of Sangin and Canadian forces did the same at the north end, Britain's Sky News reported Saturday. Ten Taliban fighters were killed in the battle, coalition spokesman Maj. Scott Lundy said Saturday, with coalition forces suffering no casualties....

TORONTO - In a statement drafted with the help of military officials, the father of Canada's latest war casualty yesterday took aim at recent portrayals of his son as a poorly trained reservist who was bitterly unhappy in Afghanistan and questioned Canada's role in that country. Anthony Boneca Sr., whose son, Cpl. Anthony Boneca,0 was killed in a weekend gunfight with Taliban insurgents, called the 21-year-old reservist a committed, well-trained soldier who "knew what he was getting into." "My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan," Mr. Boneca said in the five-paragraph statement, issued on military letterhead. "Certainly, Anthony wanted to...

Forces cut French out of new armoured vehicle as a cost-saving measure... The Canadian Force's new armoured vehicle will be operated by an English-only unit with the army planning to save time and money by not translating documents and equipment manuals related to the $700-million purchase, according to a military report. The unusual arrangement with the Mobile Gun System (MGS) comes as the Defence Department is already under fire for shirking its responsibilities to official bilingualism... Military equipment in Canada is usually supplied with manuals and support material in both official languages. In total, the Canadian Forces will purchase 66...

Due to Liberal neglect and disdain for the Canadian Armed Forces, Canada is now unable to provide air-cover for its ground soldiers in Afghanistan. Accordingly, Canada must rely on American fighter-bombers for support during ground operations in the war-torn but recovering nation. Despite the Liberals wrapping themselves in the flag, their actions to cut defence funding has taken an undesired effect on Canadian sovereignty as a result of its inadequate air-war capabilities. For all the Liberal's anti-Americanism, they sure have no problem calling Uncle Sam for help when they need it. As John Manley said years ago, Liberals frequently order...

Extremist militias could be defeated within three years, Canadian says KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Afghanistan's insurgency can be defeated within two or three years, a top Canadian commander said yesterday, offering a more hopeful view of the situation than other suggestions that Canadian troops would keep fighting for two decades. Colonel Steve Bowes, commander of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, said the extremist militias that plague rural Afghanistan could be eliminated much faster than previously estimated if international donors help the country recover from years of war. "It could take two years, best-case scenario," Col. Bowes said. As he spoke,...

OTTAWA -- A newly promoted vice-admiral has been named to lead Canada Command, a new military headquarters that will focus on disasters at home. Vice-Admiral J.Y. Forcier says he'll get his new staff working immediately and hopes to have the command ready to go by next spring. Defence Minister Bill Graham says the new headquarters will enable the military to plan for domestic disasters, from floods and forest fires to terror attacks.

2005 is the year of the Veteran. With this in mind, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about the treatment of these brave men and women in our culture today. As mentioned in a previous article--Are Legion Members Getting a Fair Deal — from May 31st of this year, I believe our Veterans are getting a raw deal in this country and even in our own province. As of July 1, they will no longer be allowed to light up a cigarette in their own Legion halls. As they age, they are often forgotten in senior's homes and,...

The beleaguered Canadian military, long suffering from crippling budget cuts under successive Liberal governments, is in desperate straits. Undermanned, underfunded and ignored, the brave men and women of Canada’s armed forces are called upon to do progressively more with progressively less. Far from the least of their problems is the apathetic, cynical bureaucracy that seemingly pervades anything that touches the Canadian federal government. This is compounded by a surfeit of senior officers creating a top-heavy structure, one that could critically slow the reaction of the Canadian military in a crisis. ... Most Canadians do not understand just how dire a...

OTTAWA -- Although Canada's military keeps an emergency response team on standby to help in international disasters, it isn't "the right tool" to help victims of a devastating Asian earthquake and tsunami, federal officials said Tuesday. "It seems the DART is not the right tool at this time," Col. Guy Laroche of the Department of National Defence told a Media briefing three days after the crisis hit. Officials were responding to criticisms that the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team hasn't yet been sent to the region devastated by an earthquake that triggered massive tidal waves on Boxing Day. Officials...

EDMONTON (CP) - The most badly wounded survivor of the bombing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan says he can't understand how an American pilot mistook them for the enemy. Sgt. Lorne Ford said his soldiers were well marked as "friendlies" during an April 18 live-fire training exercise near Kandahar. He said members of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry wore infrared tape on their helmets and left shoulders and some wore flashing infrared strobe lights on their helmets. "To be fired upon and to have a bomb dropped on us when we were marked as "friendlies" . . . is something...