Canada’s military staying ‘fit to fight’

UP TO 24,000 TROOPS BEING MOBILIZED TO ASSIST WITH RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Canada’s military sees no “greater threat” to Canadians than the coronavirus pandemic, and is mobilizing up to 24,000 troops to do whatever is needed. As the toll of COVID-19 climbs unabated across Canada, the forces are rallying under the new mantra of Gen. Jonathan Vance, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff: “Stay fit to fight.”

On Monday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan outlined some of the Canadian Armed Forces’ plans for the pandemic and the mobilization order for up to 24,000 regular and reserve armed forces members to be ready for domestic needs.

This includes 10 “immediate reaction units” within the army to respond to local requests for assistance, such as providing humanitarian support, wellness checks and natural disaster response. The navy is prepared to assist coastal communities.

Fifty patrols of the Canadian Rangers, Canada’s largely aboriginal reserve force, have been activated to full-time readiness for assistance primarily in the Arctic and northern regions.

“When Canada needs their armed forces, they are always there,” Sajjan said. “During these unprecedented times, those who wear the uniform will be there for Canadians when called upon.

“We will provide local commanders the authority to be flexible in our assistance to ensure that local needs are met quickly.”

So far, the military has not received any “formal request for assistance,” Sajjan said Monday. On Friday, the military said there had been “no requests” for assistance, suggesting some discussions of the need for military assistance may be underway.

The military says the pandemic’s threat to the nation is real and significant.

“The Canadian Armed Forces does not see any greater threat to ourselves or Canadians than what has been described by health authorities,” Department of National Defence spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier told National Post on Friday.

The forces were balancing its current activities while “preserving adequate capacity to surge in a scale when needed the most, and still be able to respond to unforeseen events,” such as natural disasters and national security threats.

The military’s response to a global pandemic is codenamed Operation Laser. It is a three-phase fall-back plan.

The forces’ 1st Canadian Division, a high-readiness, rapid-response unit based at Kingston, Ont., was designated as Joint Task Force-laser, responsible for the coordination and command of all domestic operations of the pandemic plan.

Phase 1 of the operation — monitoring and planning for a pandemic — was always active.

Vance activated Phase 2 — active monitoring of an evolving pandemic threat with some protective measures — on March 2.

Phase 3 — when there is widespread and sustained transmission of the virus in the general population and imminent risk or existence of significant absenteeism — was activated on March 13.

It was March 13 when the military moved to protect Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Department of National Defence personnel from catching or spreading the novel coronavirus in order to “preserve the force.”

That meant cutting all operations to “essential core activities.”

This put the majority of Canada’s soldiers in the unusual position of working from home, like many other Canadians, and its bases and facilities closed to visitors.

By March 20, COVID-19 had been confirmed within military ranks. The CAF said three cases had been diagnosed among its troops, including domestic and abroad placements.

Since then, the military stopped confirming the number of cases in order to “ensure both operational and personnel security.” Although, Bouthillier said, the numbers are reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada and are included within the public health numbers.

In a letter to all CAF members, Vance said “the health of the CAF will be critical in the days and weeks to come,” and ended with the motto: “Stay fit to fight!”

A staple of apocalyptic movies are scenes of the military protecting stockpiles of supplies or defending military or research installations in the face of a panicking public.

There are no doubt plans somewhere within the military leadership for how it would handle such out-ofcontrol situations in such dire times, but Bouthillier declined to discuss such things in detail.

“The Canadian Armed Forces are a full-spectrum force with an extremely diverse set of skills, capabilities and equipment,” he said when asked about planning exigencies.

“Of course, prudent planning requires us to be ready to support Canada when asked and ensure our personnel remain at the highest level of readiness. Part of this strategic planning includes examining, in more detail, possible missions the CAF may be called on to support.

“This planning will help us set the conditions to effectively deploy capabilities to support overall Government of Canada efforts to address COVID-19 while simultaneously protecting the health and safety of our personnel.”

Whatever secret military plans are tucked away, it is hoped that Phase 4 of Operation Laser is reached before they are dusted off.

Phase 4 is post-pandemic restoration. Then Operation Laser ticks back to Phase 1, watching and planning for the next pandemic.