Canada sending ships, planes, special forces to join war ... on terror
OTTAWA, Oct 08, 2001 (The Canadian Press via COMTEX) -- Canada is sending warships, planes and special forces troops to join the American-led war against terrorism, Defence Minister Art Eggleton announced Monday.
Eggleton said six naval ships, six air force planes and special forces soldiers will be involved in the operation, which will include more than 2,000 personnel. "This campaign will be unlike any campaign we've engaged in before," Eggleton said.
"Every role in this campaign is significant. Every country determined to halt terror can make an important difference."
Eggleton said the operation, which is scheduled to last six months, involves:
- Frigate HMCS Halifax has been directed to the Persian Gulf.
- A naval task force of two frigates, one destroyer, one supply ship, Sea King helicopters and more than 1,000 personnel is being deployed to the Atlantic.
- A frigate from the West Coast will join a U.S. naval force.
- Six air force planes are to be sent to the Middle East to help with surveillance, airlift support and humanitarian assistance: three Hercules, one airbus and two Aurora maritime patrol planes.
- Troops from special forces JTF2 unit to be deployed.
Facts on the Canadian military:
PERSONNEL
Total: About 58,000
Army: About 22,000
Navy: About 9,000
Air Force: About 14,000
Other: Staff, administration, support, etc., about 13,000.
KEY WEAPONS SYSTEMS
Army:
- Leopard I tanks: recently refurbished with new turrets and sights. Main armament is one 105-mm rifled cannon.
- LAV (Light armoured vehicles): armoured personnel carrier-armoured fighting vehicles. Main armament is one 25-mm chain gun.
- Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicle: equipped with long range TV, infra-red and radar sensors.
- M109 self-propelled howitzers, 155-mm gun.
- C7 rifles, machine guns.
Air Force:
- 80 CF-18 fighter-bombers. Some equipped to drop laser-guided bombs and fire TV-guided Maverick missiles.
- 32 C-130 Hercules tactical transports.
Navy:
- 12 patrol frigates armed with a 100-mm gun, various anti-ship and anti-air missiles.
- Four Tribal-class destroyers equipped for air defence with standard missile launch cells.
- One Victoria-class attack submarine; three more on order from Britain.
COMMAND STRUCTURE
Chief of the defence staff: Gen. Raymond Henault.
Vice-chief (head of administration): Vice-Admiral Gary Garnett.
Deputy chief (head of operations): Vice-Admiral Gary Maddison.
Chief of the maritime staff (head of the navy) Vice-Admiral Ron Buck.
Chief of the air staff (head of the air force) Lt.-Gen. Lloyd Campbell.
Chief of the land staff (head of the army): Lt.-Gen. Mike Jeffery.
MOST RECENT MILITARY ACTION (not including peacekeeping)
1999: Canada sends CF-18 fighter-bombers to the three-month NATO air campaign over Kosovo. They fly hundreds of bombing missions - 10 per cent of the allied total - with no casualties.
1990-1991: Canada sends three warships, a squadron of CF-18s, an aerial tanker and a field hospital to the Gulf War. There were no Canadian casualties.
1950-53: Canada sends ships and infantry to fight with United Nations forces against a North Korean invasion of South Korea. Over 30,000 Canadians served. More than 500 were killed.
MAIN ALLIANCES
NATO: Founding member. Fought in Kosovo under NATO auspices, operates 1,800-member peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina under NATO.
Norad: Founding member of North American Aerospace Defence Command. Deputy commander of Norad, stationed at Colorado Springs, Colo., is always a Canadian.
PEACEKEEPING
1. Bosnia-Herzegovina. NATO Stabilization Force. (1653 people).
2. Croatia. UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka. (1 person).
3. Kosovo. UN Mission in Kosovo. (5 people).
4. Macedonia. (203 people).
5. Golan Heights. Middle East UN Disengagement Observer Force. (190 people).
6. Cyprus. UN Forces in Cyprus. (3 people).
7. Jerusalem. UN Truce Supervision Organization. (8 people).
8. Sinai. Multinational Force and Observers. (29 people).
9. Sierra Leone. UN Observer Mission. (5 people). International Military Assistance Training Team. (11 people).
10. Congo. UN Organization Mission. (6 people).
11. Ethiopia and Eritrea. United Nations Mission. (7 people). |
