LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With QuoteThey must have learn't that the PMC corporate "does not care" as the army does.
Forces say they've stopped exodus of soldiers leaving to become private contractors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada lost some of its most elite, highly trained soldiers to poaching by deep-pocketed private security firms in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the military managed to curb the exodus by padding their pay package.
Col. David Barr, commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, could not say exactly how many were lured away by the lucrative $1,000-a-day offers. But the military stemmed the flow "in a big way" by upping allowances to account for the risk and hardship the secret soldiers endure, he said yesterday.
"It was enough that it was certainly catching the interest, because even small numbers, given that our annual completion rate on a special operations assaulter course is small, so you lose three, four, five people, that's a lot," Barr said after giving his first public testimony to the Senate defence and national security committee.
According to a backgrounder dated March 2006, the Joint Task Force 2 extra allowance ranges from $7,500 to $39,576 depending on years of service, skill level and role, bringing the compensation in line with the "external labour market."
Offering a rare glimpse into the secretive world of special forces, including JTF2, the joint nuclear, biological and chemical defence company and the Canadian special operations regiment, Barr said many soldiers were turned off by stories from their mercenary friends.
THRILL IS GONE' "Some of the operators have seen some of their buddies come back from places abroad and when told about who they work with and the conditions they work with and who might be on their left and who might be on their right, the thrill is gone for some of that type of employment," he said.
Rejecting the term "commandos," Barr said the Defence Department notes the next career move of departing soldiers, but could not say how long they are tracked.
Sketching out the work of CANSOFCOM units, Barr said the "strategic assets" are conceived, built and honed for "no fail tasks." They are ready to swoop in and handle everything from a hijacking or hostage-taking to counter-terrorism operations.
Barr said the JTF2 has outgrown its base outside Ottawa, and hinted the federal government could be on the verge of making an announcement on new digs soon. He could not confirm rumours the new home could be in Trenton, but did not rule out future satellite bases in other regions of the country.
"We have to find that balance between the difficulties of being a small special operations community and how much you decentralize. In due course, might there be scope for special operations forces outside the central area? There might be," he said.
There is not a female operations "assaulter," but there are women who aid in special operations, Barr said.
To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway
They must have learn't that the PMC corporate "does not care" as the army does.
Cheers!...on the rocks!!
Not up to Canadian politics but it looks like some mud slinging.
======
Canada losing JTF2 soldiers to mercenaries: NDP
Updated Tue. Nov. 21 2006 11:26 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Canada's defence minister dodged a question about members of Joint Task Force 2, the nation's special forces, quitting to serve as mercenaries in places like Iraq.
"The mission in Afghanistan is on the right track. We also have no problems recruiting people for our special forces, contrary to what the member is alleging," said Gordon O'Connor in Parliament's question period on Tuesday.
NDP Leader Jack Layton asked about both JTF2 and that more and more reservists were being called up to backfill for the inadequate preparations that were made accommodate "our obligations in Afghanistan."
"When we took over, the armed forces had been dramatically reduced," O'Connor said.
"The training system was in great difficulty. What we're doing now is being innovative. We're using community colleges, we're using training institutions, we're using retired military to help train in the skills of the military."
All people trained by alternate methods must be fully qualified before being deployed, he said.
Layton said this shows Canada was unprepared for the Afghanistan mission.
"And that's why our commanders advised the Liberals, when they were contemplating this idea in the first place, our generals told us that they wanted nothing to do with this mission at the time," he said.
Now this government is scrambling to salvage the mission while experts say the battle for the hearts and minds of Afghans is being lost, Layton said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Layton that the military leadership are fully committed to the mission.
"What I wonder is when the NDP will realize it is on the wrong track ... in not backing our men and women in uniform?"
JTF2
The news about JTF2 came out of a Monday appearance before the Senate defence committee by Col. David Barr, head of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.
The luring of JTF2 soldiers started in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, with private contractors offering the highly trained commandos up to $1,000 per day, he said.
Barr never gave details about how many soldiers had left since that time, but noted that JTF2 is a small unit, so the loss of even five would be significant.
The federal government endorsed a "significant allowance package" for JTF2 soldiers earlier this year, he said.
For soldiers with two years experience, the "special operations assaulter allowance can result in a $15,000 pay hike for those with less than two years experience to almost $40,000 for those with 14 years or more service.
"It's in recognition of hardship, risk, readiness, commitment and the tremendous investment we have put in them and the sacrifices they have accepted," Barr said.
There are no problems finding new recruits, but only 20 per cent pass the initial course. Those who do pass face another year of training before they are considered ready for deployment, he said.
CTV.ca contacted the Department of National Defence for further comment, but no one was made available.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star
To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Share this thread with friends: