Speeches

February 27, 2003

Speaking Notes for
General Ray Henault
Chief of the Defence Staff
at the
Annual General Meeting
Of the Conference of Defence Associations

Ottawa, Ontario
February 27, 2003

General Eberhart [Gen Ralph Eberhart, CINC NORAD and Commander US NORTHCOM]
General Evraire, [LGen (ret'd) Rick Evraire, Chairman, Conference of Defence Associations]

General Macnamara, [BGen (ret'd) Don Macnamara, President, Conference of Defence Associations Institute],
General and Flag Officers, serving and retired,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

C'est un plaisir pour moi de m'adresser encore cette année aux membres de la Conférence des associations de la défense.

Depuis notre rencontre de l'an dernier, les événements se sont bousculés sur la scène internationale. Il s'agit d'une période forte intéressante pour les Forces canadiennes.

Today, I'd like to begin by discussing our wide-ranging operations, but I also want to talk about the Canadian Forces as an institution -- where we have been, where we are today - ten days after Budget Day - and where we need to go from here.

But let me begin with our raison d'être in the CF: operations.

The Canadian Forces continue to feel the repercussions of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We still have nearly 1,000 troops deployed to the Arabian Gulf region. And we have two ships on the way to Southwest Asia, HMCS Regina from the West Coast and HMCS Iroquois from Halifax.

Two weeks ago, we were proud to see Commodore Roger Girouard assigned as the commander of a multinational Task Force, Task Force 151, which is responsible for escorting ships and intercepting vessels in the southern and central Gulf area. This represents a significant geographic expansion of Operation Enduring Freedom's Maritime Interdiction Operations, and an endorsement of our navy's skill and capabilities. HMCS Iroquois will in fact enhance his ability to do his job, providing him with the command and control, situational awareness and area air defence capabilities required to control the many ships under his command.

Our Navy has been very busy in the region, conducting almost half of all hailings and 52% of all ship boardings carried out by coalition warships in the area since deploying to the region sixteen months ago.

I also want to single out the tremendous contribution of the Air Force. Although the media focus has been on our land and naval operations, our air personnel have been playing an equally vital, although sometimes less heralded role in this operation.

At home our CF-18s continue to patrol North American airspace as part of Operation Noble Eagle. While in theatre, the Air Force has been continuously engaged with embarked helicopter detachments, maritime surveillance patrols and tactical and strategic lift for coalition forces.

Nous avons également déployé en Afghanistan un élément très compétent de forces d'opérations spéciales, qui a fourni un soutien exceptionnel à la coalition. Cet élément est de retour au Canada depuis la fin de l'annéee 2002.

Un mot maintenant sur les forces terrestres. Pendant les six mois qu'ils ont opéré en Afghanistan, les membres du groupement tactique du 3e Régiment du PPCLI ont assuré la sécurité de l'aérodrome de Kandahar, ont mené des opérations offensives, ont exploré des endroits sensibles et ont apporté leur soutien à des opérations humanitaires.

Les Forces canadiennes retourneront en Afghanistan cet été pour supporter l'ISAF, ou Force internationale d'assistance à la sécurité. Placée sous l'égide des Nations Unies, l'ISAF a pour mandat de stabiliser Kaboul et supporter la reconstruction en Afghanistan.

Before I discuss the new operation, I want to put to rest any notion that the decision to send troops back to Afghanistan caught the military by surprise. It did not.

The Canadian Forces were actively consulted by the Government. While it is true that there was little notice about the actual announcement, the content of it came as no surprise. We provided advice on what we can and cannot do. The Government then made an informed decision based on that advice, and we are now moving forward.

For this mission, we will be providing a battle group and a brigade-level headquarters and additional elements for two consecutive six-month rotations. We have not yet confirmed which units that will be tasked for this mission nor the exact size of the contingent. And while the dates are still to be finalized, we expect the first rotation to take place late this summer.

We are now in the early stages of what will be a long planning process, one that will include high-level meetings with other involved countries to discuss partnership options.

There is no doubt that this will be a challenging mission for our military members, and certainly not without danger.

I want to emphasize, however, that this is the type of mission in which our people have consistently excelled. In particular, our experience with multi-national peace support operations puts us in a position to make a very valuable contribution to the ISAF mission and to the ongoing campaign against terrorism.

Of course, Afghanistan is not our only major operation. We still maintain a strong presence in Bosnia, with a battle group and Griffon helo support. We will also assume command of the multinational brigade in the fall, in our normal 3-year rotation with our other partners (British and Dutch).

And we are participating in a number of UN-led missions in Africa, as well as maintaining a presence in the Middle East, particularly on the Golan Heights, in the long-standing UN Truce Supervisory Organization and with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai.

While these are all important missions in themselves, our new mission in Afghanistan will likely necessitate a review of our participation in some of these operations, particularly in Bosnia.

I know there are many people here who would like to discuss a possible war in Iraq. As you all know, whether or not we participate in any potential action against Iraq, that is a decision that rests with the Government.

I can confirm, however, that we have remained in close liaison with our American counterparts for contingency planning purposes. The implications of these discussions should not be misinterpreted. Ensuring we are well-informed as to our allies' plans is simply part of good military preparedness.

Clearly, no decision has yet been made. However, the Canadian Forces will be ready for any possible outcome.

In talking about operations, I should also mention the ongoing challenge of our high operational tempo, and the stress it places on our people.

En plus d'être soumis aux tensions et à la fatigue des déploiements fréquents à l'étranger, nos gens doivent passer de longues périodes loin du foyer pour participer à des opérations ici au pays, suivre des stages d'instruction ou s'acquitter d'autres tâches.

Nous avons déjà pris un certain nombre de mesures pour corriger la situation, et nous continuerons à en prendre. De plus, comme je l'ai dit l'an dernier, nous effectuons une étude exhaustive pour mesurer, chez les militaires, les effets de la cadence soutenue des opérations et des missions qui les éloignent du foyer.

Nous nous appuierons sur les constatations de cette étude, pour élaborer une politique qui nous permettra d'établir un juste équilibre entre les exigences du service militaire et les besoins des militaires et de leurs familles.

I've talked about where we have been. Now, I'd like to talk about the way ahead. (MND has given some indications)

The increased funding announced for Defence last week is a vote of confidence for the Canadian Forces from the Prime Minister and the Government, and I thank them for it.

I also want to give special recognition to efforts of Minister MacCallum. He has been a most effective advocate for the Canadian Forces since he joined us last May.

Our men and women in uniform have earned this vote of confidence through their hard work, but we also owe a word of thanks to the many people who have spoken in support of the Canadian Forces.

The new funding makes a significant difference to us. The $800 million increase to our baseline budget, when combined with the $200 million in internal reallocation and administrative efficiencies, is consistent with the amount identified by the Canadian Forces to meet our minimum essential requirements. In particular, it will help to move us from a position of survivability to one of sustainability.

Ceci veut dire que nous pouvons maintenant laisser en arrière le mode de survie que nous connaissons depuis plusieurs années. À terme, le centre de nos préoccupations devra passer de la soutenabilité des Forces à leur transformation.

Vous savez tous que l'environnement de sécurité a changé du tout au tout. Les Forces canadiennes doivent continuer d'évoluer au rythme de ces changements si elles veulent être en mesure de répondre aux exigences du XXIe siècle.

Dans ce contexte, nous savons que nous aurons besoin de forces plus mobiles et plus flexibles si nous voulons, entre autres, lutter contre l'éventail des nouvelles menaces terroristes et asymétriques tant au Canada qu'à l'étranger.

We will need Forces that are modern and combat capable, globally deployable, sustainable, interoperable with our allies, and equipped with precision weapons.

At the same time, and as the Minister has also indicated, we will have to make difficult choices in order to ensure that we proceed deliberately forward on the path of transformation.

In the meantime, the additional funding will help us fill our sustainability gap. It will take some time to assess precisely how the funding will affect the defence program, but we have identified a few key areas in which we plan to move forward.

For example, the increased funding will continue to support our ongoing recruiting and training programs.

We will also be able to ease the strain on our procurement budget. And increasing our support for spare parts, repair and overhaul, and restocking our munitions will help us to improve the availability of our systems and platforms, and that means improved readiness overall. That, as you know, has been one of my key priorities.

Nous continuerons aussi à soutenir et à renforcer les forces de Réserve. Nous devons faire évoluer le programme de restructuration de la Réserve de la Force terrestre et veiller à ce que nous recrutions des réservistes en nombre suffisant, que nous leur donnions l'équipement nécessaire et que nous leur dispensions la meilleure formation et le meilleur entraînement possible.

Then there is the question of our capital budget. With this budget, the new funding will also help us to modernize capabilities in selected areas.

As I have said before, modernization is another of my key priorities and is critical to the future relevance and credibility of the Canadian Forces. It's also an integral part of maintaining interoperability with our allies.

Today, remaining relevant means harnessing new technologies -- from unmanned aircraft to precision-guided munitions and space-based capabilities.

That is why we are moving ahead with a number of key capital projects. For example,

• We continue to place a high priority on obtaining new maritime helicopters to replace the Sea King fleet.
• Incremental modernization of our fleets of Auroras and our CF-18s is proceeding and will continue.
• The Canadian Military Satellite Communications project is critical as it will enhance interoperability with our key allies, particularly the United States.
• And, we must continue to explore options to become more rapidly deployable. What we need are options that will enhance our global deployability, while at the same time, make the best use of limited resources.
• The Land Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Capability, a recently approved project, is a good example of harnessing new technology. It will give our Land Force commanders enhanced operational intelligence, and that means more effective employment of forces and lowered risk to troops.

Naturellement, nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre de consacrer toutes nos énergies à un seul secteur essentiel, comme l'équipement, et de négliger les autres.

C'est pourquoi nous devons également affecter des ressources aux infrastructures qui ont grandement besoin d'être maintenues ou remplacées. Même chose pour des projets de l'environment.

Enfin, et ce fait est important, les crédits supplémentaires nous permettront de faciliter les opérations menées par l'Armée de terre, la Marine et la Force aérienne tant au pays qu'à l'étranger.

As these examples illustrate, the increased funding will help us become sustainable, and that, in turn, will reinforce our ability to pursue ongoing transformation.

And let's not forget that we are starting from a solid base. From new and upgraded equipment being introduced into service, to improved professional development, advances in interoperability, and improved nuclear, biological and chemical response capabilities we are already on the path to ensuring the long-term credibility and relevance of the Canadian Forces as a key component of Canada's national security.

Clearly, many challenges lie ahead for the Canadian Forces -- from operations in Afghanistan to contingency planning in the event of military action against Iraq; and from difficult choices about which 21st century military capabilities to invest in to Land Force Reserve restructuring.

But we are well placed, with the support of the Government and the Canadian people, to tackle these challenges and turn them into opportunities.

In closing, I want to say a few words about our men and women in uniform. I have had many opportunities to see the Canadian Forces in action, and I can tell you that they continue to be a force to be reckoned with. Their steadfast dedication, solid professionalism and unwavering courage have earned them a well-deserved reputation for excellence.

I know that the people in this room also have the well-being of the Canadian Forces at heart. Your support is appreciated, and I look forward to hearing from you as we take the next steps to move the Canadian Forces from sustainability to transformation.

Merci.