It is absolutely disgusting what the government has done to not just the CAF but in all of the armed forces of Canada. It is hard to believe that the Air National Guard in Portland OR, has more combat ready aircraft on the ramp than Canada has to defend the west coast. Then there is the treatment received to returning injured vets. That is disgusting.
I don’t think we can trust our government to spend money on our forces. I think we have to do what the Italians and the Czechs do, and pass legislation that we must spend 2% of our GDP on defence. In Aug 2023, the Czechs passed legislation , “requiring state budgets to devote spending worth at least 2% of gross domestic product to defence starting next year.” This way it stops Liberals and Conservatives ( under Harper’s Government the CAF was subjected to stealth budget cuts)from playing politics with our CAF members.
Canada is not the only country of NATO that has done that. UK, and Germany are two other countries that are near obsolete. Lately, Germany is re-arming and modernizing because of Putin’s aggression with Ukraine. The UK is way behind what it used to be.
I hate Trudeau as much as the next guy, but it is too easy to throw blame at him. Harper was no better than him at propping up the RCAF, or the Canadian military has a whole, despite plenty of spin to that effect.
Generations, not years, Generations of neglect. By both traditional governing parties when in power. My years of service 1967-96. Both parties cut : 1) personnel 2) budgets 3) clawed back budgets 4) neither fixed a broken procurement system when in power 5) neither replaced dated equipment in a timely manner 6) both failed to look after veterans. How long to fix? 10 years.
A reputation that we had in the past. Americans are known for wasting. They have so much that they do not value anything. Maybe Afghanistan 🇦🇫 American departure is a fine example of that.
Its because the Government has been destroying the armed forces since the 60s. Lack of pay, respect and interference by the Government has led to the RCAF personnel to leave to get better pay in the private sector.
When I served up until 1996 I was paid as a level 1 cpl making $62.50, now that same rank earns $233 a day as a reservist. So pay is not a problem, respect by civilian employers is another story as is the attitude of most of the civilian population of Canada.
Decades of neglect and little leadership among politicians and senior officers. Too many of us who served were discouraged by the steady decline of the CAF, the lack of caring among civilians, and the refusal to make substantive changes. We got out, and took our patriotism and motivation with us. Those fundamentals are very hard to get back, especially when prime ministers and defence ministers don’t think they are important. The average civilian doesn’t see the need for a capable military, so there are no votes in it. This sad situation may be irreversible.
A result to be without active enemies near by, 2 big oceans, very cold area in the North and a very powerful friendly southern neighbor and absence a of a true conflicts as made us complacent. Now we have a bunch of psychos out there like Russia, Iran, China, North Korea and others that will be keen to expand their influence by force.
This has been going on for decades . Every government we had for decades has always seen the forces as a budget to trim . Eventually ,there's nothing left to trim . I'm suprised the Snowbirds are still around to be honest.
@darrenmcadam2318 Yes it's inevitable the snowbirds will be gone soon. I give them 5 years at most. Can't afford to have fighter pilots off the line and the jets are worn out.
I find it insulting each time I hear a defense official tell the media that they supply the CAF with the tools they need to perform there job's. Then I think back to how they sent troops to Afghanistan in green uniforms and Iltis jeeps. Hardly the right tools to do there job I think, no wonder troops have left the CF in droves and recruitment is not going well.
The Federal Government has been defunding all Federal agencies for years asking them to (their words) “do more with less”. However, Federal Agencies are now doing nothing because they have nothing. The Army regularly goes on training maneuvers without ammunition and have been asked to make noises to imitate the shooting of guns. Can you imagine adult soldiers being asked to do this. It is embarrassing. They regularly go on tours without sufficient clothing and gear. The Federal Government has done the same thing to the RCMP, and Coast Guard.Sadly when a crisis occur due to a lack of training, manpower, and equipment these same politicians are quick to point their fingers at the agencies rather than looking into the mirror and admitting their decisions are the route of the problem. I speak from experience having served in these Federal Agencies for more than 30 years.
A lack of support, budget, indecision, and mis-management has shown the Federal government does not care for sustaining the Canadian Forces. We rely too heavily on our southern neighbor to do the heavy lifting and have failed to think and act for ourselves. The result is what we see of the Canadian Forces today. Certainly not a competitve career choice by any stretch of the imagination and one of the many disappointments of our current Federal government.
When I left the RCAF in 2017 the main issue was finding ground crew to service and repair the aircraft. The other issue is that the pay scale for ground crew is the same for both POM and Level A and Level C. On civvy street, a level A makes more money then the working ranks, which means you ether take a promotion (which removes you from the tools) or you leave. At the end of the day that's less people turning tools which means less air time for pilots.
Sad and pathetic that, even at their 100 year anniversary, the RCAF is almost nowhere to be seen. I feel particularly angry for the members, former and current, that don’t get to see, what should, a very fine and fantastic milestone for the service.
I was an Canadian Air Cadet and loved it. I was grateful for the summer camps I attended and even got my Pilot licence in 1980 with them. I was in Cold Lake in 1979 on Senior Leaders course and saw then the RCAF was flying the F5 and F104. I loved the sound of the F104. On one occasion I saw the USAF fly in with their F15. Even though Canada announced the purchase of the F18 I decided I would not join because it was no guarantee to be in the Air Force. I might be trained to fly helicopters or even placed on a Navy ship as it was the Canadian Armed Forces and after basic training you could end up anywhere. I do think now and then what would have happened if I joined, but odds are I would have regretted it do to the cost cutting of different governments.
I believe it was before 2010 while waiting to catch a redeye out of Vancouver, I listened to Liberal politician Ujjal Dosnjh talking to someone on his cell, explaining the F-18 was getting old, outdated and expensive to maintain. Also explained Canada has a commitment to it's partners. I thought Canada was going to make progress, here we are 15 years later and have not made any progress. Ujjal realised I was listening in, looking kind of stunned, he probably wondered if he said something I should not have heard.
There is no actual NATO minimum standard. That's nothing more than propaganda. We already crapped the bed when we selected the F-35A, a plane that we won't be able to afford to operate anyway.
Incorrect. Deeper analysis is required to make a well founded bold statement like this. A pre-maturely forced 'retired' & unemployed CAF Vet.@@kwharrison6668
If we don't pull our weight (2%) Trump will let the Russians invade us. Don't worry though, the child with the coloured socks will defend us. Oh, wait a minute, he fled town when a few Peterbuilts came to visit. @@kwharrison6668
Thx Scott. Did you know there are more full-time time goverment staff in Ottawa working on the firearms confiscation from law-abiding firearms owners, then we have fighter pilots in the Canadian forces.
I would say Canada needs to have a serious discussion as to whether it wants an Armed Forces or not. That wont happen though, as DND is too convenient for "disappearing" massive sums of taxpayer dollars to friends and supporters of whatever party is in power. Defense is not even on the radar as far as the government is concerned.
Exactly Do Canadian really want a effective Armed Forces? Asking the question is answering it unfortunately... Canada is part of NATO, but who would volunteer to serve in the canadian society if another NATO country is attacked by Russia?
The CF reserves needs to change , I did 3 year in reserves 17-19 (infantry ) the joined RCMP 19-39 then @ 42(at 60 forced to retire ) rejoined reserves as MP , they made me do BMQ / SQ & MP QL3 and I would come in as untrained private & my unit has about 40% law enforcement who joined yet none of there years of policing counted for anything, they all had to complete the full QL 3 ( no shorten course for pre trained police ) 40% of applicants said no after I told then this ( when I was unit recruiter ) also the 70% attendance rate when young and in school was easy … 10 years in when married and children made it difficult so I brought up chain of command maybe 50% after 10 years in , but no so most of the senior experienced MPs who were also civi police had to resign , cutting numbers … then to change the policies and more reservist would stay in and reg force would transfer to reserve as well
I was called by a recruiter working a 1 Wing in Winnipeg who wished to bring me back in the RCAF at a desk job I used to have, to free a younger pilot to fly. The man who would have been my boss said he was happy to see me come back. At the recruiting center in Montreal, they said that this recruiter in Winnipeg was sick to think the organization would make an effort to recruit me. I was told to leave him to his illusions…. I was processed like any other person applying. I called the recruiter in Winnipeg and he said, “this is what I have to put up with all the time.” There is very little hope for improvement in my humble opinion.
You can always go contractor for NATO like I did for 15yrs. Pay is better and you live in any major city within NATO, and still continue to fly. Something that Canada does not offer.
Because you are a vet I made a few calls. Canadian Companies with NATO contracts that would like to hear from you.ittc-canada.,CAE, and Top Aces. With offices in the USA and Europe as well.
@@paulflak2823 Sorry, but I should have supplied more details, this was a decade ago and I am now 61 years old. I’m sure the sun has set on a career as a pilot per se, although who would not drop the construction industry to play a support role in one of those pilot training systems. It’s a very different professional environment. Thanks for the initiative.
@@edmanzini3664we live in a vassal 51st state of the union under the 'leadership' of a government which champions itself for the first post-national state. Canada and Canadians don't exist anymore..
I think Canada should follow the Scandinavian / Baltic counterparts and have Canadian youth partake in 2 years of military service while providing free educational opportunities in order to bolster the ranks. Some will think that’s scandalous but the recent report on personal happiness clearly shows military service in these countries does a country good ❤.
Conscription is pure evil in the eyes of the NDP, Greens, and most of the Lib caucus. They'll never allow it, even if it makes our youth more responsible, more skilled, and more patriotic citizens.
I've said that for years. Everyone is educated and an educated populace makes intelligent (voting) decisions. Free education would be great. And the bump in manpower would help as well. Clearly something that is way too intelligent for our government to do.
I'm soon 35 and I wish I had a 2 years mandatory service when in my early 20s. Never wanted to make it a career but I was always interested to go through trainings. It would make people overall stronger both physically and mentally. Plus, less division over meaningless issues.
I applied just before Covid and I was sent on a whole goose chase. Upgraded my credits to qualify for just the consideration. No one checked in or cared if I was still interested.
The pipeline is still technically open and anyone who is active RCAF can still apply, but the process is so long, the training regimen/equipment is so outdated, and the flight opportunities for their intended aircraft are so unavailable that the trade is effectively closed unless you really personally campaign to leadership to get in. Many applicants who haven't been eliminated by process just forfeit by the time they near 30 years old - they already have the flight hours and the RCAF name, so the private sector welcomes them with vigour. In comparison, US naval aviators are flying full-fledged combat missions as young as 26 years old.
One irony in the debate about locations for RCAF bases is that the RCAF did have an enormous base just north of Edmonton, AB, - CFB Namao. The base had facilities for both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft of varying sizes. The main runways were spec'd to take the weight of a fully loaded B-52 bomber, as Namao was an 'alternate' base for Norad. Namao was transformed into the main western Army base and renamed CFB Edmonton. It's now home to, among others, 3 PPCLI. However, the main runways, aprons and taxiways remain as they were. Perhaps some co-operative scheme could be arranged so that advanced jet trainers could operate - temporarily, anyway, from CFB Edmonton? Just a thought.
The Canadian gov't needs to fast track procurement and cut out the lazy over paid bureaucrats and let the service branches tell the gov't what they need and why they need it with full transparency to the tax payers. On the list from what I have been told by vets. New advanced trainers (not the 30yrs old design that was coming to the end of it;s service life). New leopard 2 (not leased and second hand Dutch etc), New 155mm howitzers,( not out of production M-777), NEW OFF THE SHELF frigates regardless if they are made in Korea, or Japan. The British and USA are having a hard time building for their own fleets. The F-35 is a single engine aircraft that DOES NOT meet the stated requirements of patrolling the vast distances of Canada. Two engine aircraft means you still have a means to get home on one engine. Kingston class patrol ships that are now coming do for replacement. UAVs launch capability on the Wolfe class arctic patrol vessels as well as for the air force and army. Canada has NO AIR DEFENSE what so ever!! ADAT, Sky Guard, Javelin MANPAD all gone and NEVER replaced. Advanced air to air missiles (38) ordered through Rayathalon, not delivered. And the list goes on!
The Government will be happy to fulfil your requirements. As an example, here's what they could do: Only 1 new trainer aircraft in 2050, subject to the results of a comprehensive, exhaustive and expensive bidding competition. Acquisition of a 'new' Leopard 2, which is the last one off the production line, whenever that occurs. 4 new 777 howitzers to replace the ones sent to Ukraine. A new 'off-the-shelf' frigate once the current CSC contract is completed, by 2050 at which time the first CSC will be decommissioned. The Twin Otter will be the Canadian aircraft for the Arctic; it has 2 engines. It won't have any weapons, but neither does the F-35. The list continues. Furthermore, there will not be any budget increase, but there will be an appropriate decrease in manpower to offset the cost of acquisition, and no fuel will be purchased until all vehicles can operate with solar power only.
We don’t possess the hardware for the personal to use,our government only buys second hand worn out equipment. It’s high bloody time Canada made its own equipment and put Canadian people to work doing it.
No, the obsession with buying Canadian is partially responsible for the procurement mess. We simply don't have the industry or workforce to do everything. Far better to focus on a few established industries like armoured vehicles (LAVs) and buy off the self for the rest. We should be buying more Korean. They have a great advanced trainer in their KF-21.
Domestic procurement issues have more to do with government intervention. Canada used to have very robust innovative aerospace industry but the government made things ridiculously hard to do. Recently a Canadian company was awarded a $30 million contract from the Ukrainians for long range stealth drones. The government stepped in and was pushing all sorts of forced collaboration with dead pet project companies and trying to make them use cold lake for testing and pay for it when none of that was asked for. Now the company is debating if it's worth doing at all.
@@eyrieaviation that is exactly what to expect with government involvement. Pet Project Companies. As for the armed services....they own a slice of the crazy pie too. There is a concentration of only a few providers - so the option of writing your own menu becomes a futile process. With our budget, we are an 'over-the-counter' customer and should get used to it.
The current situation is incredibly embarrassing for Canadians. We all know that these days wars are won in the air. We are in emergency mode and all Canadians, especially our MPs need to wake up.
Relocating RCAF bases to Calgary/Montreal wouldn’t help as this DND has vilified the main demographic as oppressors and occupiers . Preference for hire to RCAF is from failed states and others with no links to Canada . I don’t think any former pilots would want the aggravation and be insulted to join RCAF whose advancement is based on quotas and race
Is it the brass, or is it the Liberal Party of Canada since the 1960's? Who in their right mind would want to serve in the Canadian military these days, what with constant budget and procurement problems, scandal after scandal, no money for training, and (for the most part) outdated equipment. It's not a surprise to me that people don't want to serve - it's that SOME people still DO want to serve!!! Trudeau Sr started the destruction of the Canadian military in the late 1960's, and every Liberal government since then has carried on the tradition of ignoring the military in favour of socialist policies that have inevitably led us to where we are today.
ct-155's did not have the airframe numbers that previous a/c had and we must wait for the T-7 to be produced as must all others. Sad that most hawks are grounded for major engine issues and the US is using an a/c that is also near it's airframe hour limit. This is a Nato wide issue that must be resolved asap but it is Nato wide . The pilot issue is also Nato wide , Is a national service requirement in the future ?
The CAF has been doing this for literally decades and still coming up short. The bigger issues are housing, pay and bureaucracy, plus leadership that is largely out of touch within the CAF.
Focus more on small drones and light infantry for ground forces. Focus more on drones and submarines for naval forces.Switch to drones and non stealthy fighters for the air force, such as Loyal Wingman and F-15EX to keep operational costs down and staff trained well.
I went through the recruitment process back in 2018 to 2019, while waiting for a slot for aptitude testing in Trenton, the CAF cancelled all pilot recruitment saying they had 5yr backlog before accepted candidates would start basic pilot training. Sad to hear it's only gotten worse since then. :( The idea of a training base close to major cities makes perfect sense!
Personally I think that Advanced Hawk and F-15EX would have been a better fit for Canada’s current needs. But the F-35 is a good aircraft and preparing pilots for that particular aircraft would probably be best served by T-7 trainers. Unfortunately the production of F-35 and T-7 both have a long line in front and it will take years for F-35 to be delivered. In that context, even if Canada had ordered T-7 recently they could not be delivered soon and there would still be a need for training in allied countries. The proposal to leverage existing veterans as additional potential reservists is a good one. Seems like a prudent measure. One of the reasons why I favor F-15EX over F-35 for Canada is because it has an optional second seat which could be used by reservists to gain more opportunities for flight hours at lower flight hours cost per pilot. The acquisition costs for F-15EX are similar to those for F-35 but the operational costs are much lower, which would further reduce costs for the aircraft and for keeping the pilots trained with adequate flight hours.
Trudeau Liberals have certainly made the problem worse but the forces have been neglected for decades. No Canadian political party will win votes by promising to boost defense spending. Canadians have spoken. Let the American taxpayer defend us. That said, the men and women members of the forces earn a big thank you from me. I appreciate what you do, especially given the environment you have to endure. You are truly honorable people.
We cannot hide behind our geography. I was early warning in the 50s and 60s and it was not uncommon to see our Russian friends probing our defense systems. I understand while they quite during the Gorbachev time they have resumed those probes. It was interesting China and Russia conducting exercises off the coast of Alaska a few months ago. The Yanks had to rush a few ships up there.
I'm 63, served in our reserve, I've never seen this country focus on personnel or equipment, bandage solutions, lack of passion in building the force, it now appears to be required, world is changing rapidly and it appears we are so far behind we may never recover. All governments are to blame, citizens need to voice concern.
If anyone here has seen the recent US GOA report on the F35 they have to be shaking their head at the total waste of money that program entails. The ready rate for those aircraft is abysmal as they are extremely maintenance challenged. The cost of keeping those aircraft in inventory will be exacerbated by the dramatically lower flight time for our pilots. Is this just another example of too stupid to be accidental?
To be fair, you only listed lipstick measures as well. This issue is the damage has already been done over 20 years ago. We should have been buying super hornets in the early 2000s, trainers in the 2010s, and then f35s like we are now. We skipped a whole procurement of aircraft. Now we have to play catch up. Its going to take more time and money to fix the problems now. It is definitely a bad spot to be in but like i said, the damage was done over 2 decades ago.
Why Calgary? Edmonton makes more sense the existing facilities at CFB Edmonton could reactivated and expanded and being closer to Cold Lake makes more sense. Also there are piles of civil opportunities in the Edmonton area.
@@espritdecorpsmagazineThe F35 warfare capabilities require a full time job…a lot more sensors and simulator training and tactical planning variations…not to mention that everything is top secret including any study material…you can not do it from a home-office…
The US has Air National Guard part timers flying F-35s. I think Canadian pilots can handle it just fine part time. Of course full time active duty pilots will have more experience with the platform but they may get fewer total flight hours on all aircraft compared with a commercial airline pilot.
@@espritdecorpsmagazine Edmonton is also owned by the Feds. As is Villeneuve as is CFB Edmonton which could easily be reactivated to handle fighters. The More logical choice is Edmonton especially given the proximity to Cold Lake. Also Calgary has no additional space. EIA in Edmonton is way way under utilized with the recent expansion. And CFB Edmonton and Villeneuve are also under utilized . Also the civil charter industry in Edmonton is always looking for pilots which has more flexibility for reservists. The More logical choice with more available facilities and lower overall cost is Edmonton.
Neither make sense because neither are anywhere near the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. Its why they chose that location in the first place. So they have a large open range where they can dogfight and train with other live ordinance. Plus the cities would neart immedeately demand they be shut down after they start hearing just how loud they are on take off.
April 27, 2024.The Royal Air Force has retired the Hawk T1 aircraft from frontline service. This iconic jet, which has been in service for nearly 50 years and trained every RAF fast jet pilot since the mid-1970s, has finally reached the end of its service career.
This is personal experience. About 2010 I am the head docent of the static area at the Reno Air Races. I am familiarizing myself and doing a walkabout. I see two T33s side by side. One all shiny, painted and sparkling. Next to it is another which looks like it came from the junk year with RCAF painted on the side. I am Ex RCAF and understand that it might not look pretty but get to talking to the pilot of the RCAF bird. He eventually tells me how embarrassed he is to have been sent down with this piece of junk. He tells me the civy has all the latest electronic equip, communications and latest GPS system. He tells me he has ancient communications equip and electronics and has a hand held GPS that is his personal piece that he has on his lap on the way down from Comox. He says that he will not be standing around his plane talking to people as he does not want to be associated with it. I also avoided mentioning I was Canadian around that bird.
Canada's only 2 ruling parties decided that our armed forces do not need their support. 4 decades later the population still wants to put these 2 parties in power. I guess the electorate neglects history like they do Canada's geography.
I agree, adding new air bases closer to urban centres such as Calgary and Mirabel (north of Laval and Montreal) would be a good idea. Sad to see the sorry state of CAF and the systemic passing the buck of disrespecting our military should have been stopped in '68.
Until you realize there is no airspace to train around Calgary, let alone live fire. You'd have to appropriate land from the public, and close a large swath of airspace in the vicinity of one of the countrys largest airports.
@@0utdoorsman I would have thought Edmonton the more appropriate choice, I don't know why he suggested Calgary. But I don't know anything about the air space around Edmonton, I just assume it's a bit more open.
They could keep Bagotville and Cold Lake as tactical/training bases. Squadrons could 'forward deploy' for training and operational missions but return to Calgary and Mirabel between exercises.
Bagotville is a great location. Not remote ! Way better than Mirabel for life quality and family. Housing is way cheaper and the region has everything you need. Even a Costco. Very little to no traffic. I love it here. Financially, id say its the best posting out of all Air Force bases in Canada. Just drive 2h to Quebec city. Where it has malls, huge concerts, Itl airport and a downtown core. I wont comment about Cold lake since I haven't lived there.
i remember some soldiers telling me about brass investing in a company called WHITE, they sold 2wd trucks to the caf and made lots of money out of ... useless transport vehicules...the parade they threw for the retiring officers was stellar tho.
These problems are happening everywhere, including the US with a large reduction in people entering the military. That's because people are getting tired of war and needles violence.
This was... Depressing. Revealing and deeply depressing. I have been proud of our military history in this country, but successive government administrations have torn apart what was a powerful and capable military to what it appears at present, precariously weak and ineffective. And this at a time where the threat of a major global war has not been higher. I've always understood that for a nation to be sovereign it should have the means to maintain and protect its territorial sovereignty. We aren't capable of either of those... So when the time comes and our sovereignty is threatened and we have to beg at our southern neighbours door for protection and intervention, maybe we should not be surprised when the cost for the services is becoming a satellite state, the Pine and Maple filled Puerto Rico of the North...
Mr. Scott Taylor, your suggestion make sense and thank you for enlighting the public on our Armed Forces. BUT, I find Esprit de Corps not doing a very independant journalism. The Trudeau government, is not any more responsible than any other previous governement of the state of our Armed Forces. The real responsibles are the people of Canada. They are the ones who have elected our leaders and never challenge them on the Armed Forces. Do you really think Mr. Polièvre is doing to do any better when Canadian want more liberty and less taxes. The problem is to my opinion, more a societal thing, than a ministerial one.
Really not a good idea. Cold Lake and Bagotville are the only two remaining affordable postings in the RCAF in terms of cost of living and housing. We missed the intercept with the balloons up north in part because Cold Lake is too far south to be able to respond in time to a pop up threat up north (now imagine they had scrambled from Calgary). The sooner you can intercept a threat before it reaches the Quebec city -Windsor axis the better making Bagotville more suitable than Mirabel. What we need to do is compensate members properly and keep the tactical advantages that these bases provide.
Agreed, it is unwise to move an entire base. It would be more effective in all aspects to have a rotating crew set up that goes from Cold Lake/Bagotville to Calgary/Mirabel that will service aircraft from the respective bases. Aircraft would fly down and reserve crew could do their hours there. The schedule TBD.
@@Dove96 No point in moving bases, they alrady have the infrastructure there and the Weapons Range in Cold Lake is why that base is even there in the first place.
So as a very recent retired aircraft structures maintainer on many of the fleets in the RCAF including the CF-18 Hornet based in Cold Lake for 5 years. Moving the squadrons to be based out of Calgary and Montreal respectively also poses a serious obstacle for DND to consider. That being the ground maintenance and other logistics staff required to support these fleets pay salery to fit into the cost of living in these markets . The significant pay scale difference for that of the NCM Jr and Sr also the AERE officers pay scale to the pilots pay system is equivalent to valleys and mountains in difference. Simply put the cost of living AND the availability of affordable housing in these areas including up to 1 hr drive away is basically financial suicide for these members and their families. Even with Post living differential allowance and the rate of inflation today poses risks on the mbrs and should be considered as an unstainable radical idea. Just saying 😉
Everything I've read states that Canada is buying the F35A, which is the conventional takeoff variant. The speaker on this video said they're buying the F35C (carrier variant). Was he mistaken or did something change... again? There's about a $20 million difference between those aircraft.
Canada is buying the wrong Aircraft F35, should have bought the Gripen, or Super Hornet, F15E. Only 30% of F35s are combat ready in the USAF, with a operating cost of 40K per hour.
i was going to join, but what happened with covid, the mandates and friends that got kicked out because of it, it really put me off. If the canadian government cant even respect the basic rights of the people that protect our nation, why would i join? And if i did join, in 10 years whats gonna happen, am i going to be forced to act against my fellow canadians because a politician in government tells me to ?? These passed 4 years have really soured me on the military.
Since when wasn't the Gov't gonna do something about the state of the Armed Forces in Canada ? A practical solution offered up by this fella, is the Opposite of what will transpire, as this undermining of the Armed Forces is intentional.
The stupidity of an opposing party fighting against the governing party after a contract has been side till they get the public confused they get elected cancel the contract then pay penalties that essentially pay for the contract is the story in Canada
It's not just about relocating the fighter units. It's more than that. The CAF has become an ultra woke institution. That's one of the major reasons why I got out 4 years ago while I still could have given the RCAF 13 more years of service. I had enough. I wasn't appreciated and it showed.
I applied for the RCAF last fall. I was told that you will be put into a list with 100 others and depending on the scoring 2 will be chosen. This wasn't just for fighters or for a specific class of aircraft. This was for every class from Helos, Cargo, Fighters, Exc... Two would be chosen. I honestly Kind of laughed and just said "No thanks". I cancelled my request to join and even with a Rotary craft license already in my possession I turned and left knowing I had no chance and why risk so much to only be told "Sorry. you placed 3rd". Oh I was also told I needed to attend a university for 4 Years... What a joke this has become. I have honestly thought about obtaining my green card and trying my hand with the US Army where they will take you right out of high school and build you into a pilot. If you want pilots you need to look for actual pilots not desk jockey's looking for a thrill.
The requirements for pilots in the RCAF are that you have to be university educated. Growing up in the RCAF and CAF, there were a lot of great pilots, including my father, who weren't university educated. Drop the requirement to include college educated. You don't need to be the sharpest tack in the box to be a good. You need perception, leadership, decision-making skills, instinct, perception, be a good communicator, a good listener, and you need guts.
11 year Canadian veteran here! and my dream was to operate the C130 or A310 Airbus, but I'm white, straight, and male, so I'm "bad news" and I stand by my statement! Those were in fact the reasons for not having been approved an OT over!!!!! On paper it was because nobody else was qualified the equipment we were currently operating! 3 years later also not approved due to lack of leadership replacement! Both times a younger DEI hire was approved!!!!!!
Your comment is totally uncalled for, perhaps that is the reason you didn't get into either the left or right seat let alone the Nav FE's seat. You missed out English speaking.
@@JohnHill-qo3hb you're comment is baseless, and without context you have no right making accusations. Read a book and learn something and stop being a useless sheep!!!!!!
@ScottTaylor, thank you for providing a story that shows the issues with viable solutions. We have to make the CAF in its entirety more accessible to young families and placing them in remote locations is not attractive for recruiting. We need to create super bases near large metropolitan areas rather than in the back woods. Having mobile forces that can deploy to remote locations is the key. Plus I liked your idea of increasing the reserve forces.
Jonny In years gone by we used to have Air Force Day and as a kid it was so exciting to see the airmen, and all the planes and displays and it made me proud to be Canadian and I joined as soon as I could. I doubt most kids know we even have an Air Force or what it does now.
@@JonnyDS I doubt you have been to a AIR Force day as they were I have been to thousands of air shows and nothing comes close. Yes they have the Snow Birds and a few others but nothin like it was I agree with the Harvard 11 beautiful bird.
@@sparky16261 I have actually flown as an Aircraft Captain on the CH-146 at CFB Moose Jaw for the Airforce day preparing for the Vancouver Olympics. I also had to do many static air displays as a First Officer at both International Air Shows and RCAF Days. Happy 100th on 01 April 2024.
@@JonnyDS Great living here in Surrey, I do not kow of one air force day around here anywhere. There are a few RCAF planes at Abbotsford air show but that is a far cry from what I am talking about.
It was a huge mistake to buy the CF-35. Canada doesn't need a fifth generation fighter. It would have been more cost effective to buy the F/A-18E Super Hornet. For all the remote and over water flying, the second engine is a huge safety consideration. The conversion costs and retraining costs of both maintenance and pilots would also be minimal to the point where possibly more F/A-18Es could have been purchased for the same price.
F-35 was the best and only choice from a capability standpoint, as well as an interoperability standpoint with the majority of our allies ...who are all shifting to the F-35. The Super Hornet wouldn't have been as cost effective, as it was dropped for either Gripen or F-35. Also, the training for a conversion to the Super Hornet isn't as straightforward as one might think. Only thing the Legacy and Super Hornet have in common is the grey paint job. The Super Hornet is a completely different aircraft.....so much so that the servicing equipment we have now, isn't compatible with the Super Hornet. The single vs dual engine argument is moot as well because the engine in the F-35 is the most advanced engine in existence and very reliable. Even with a two engined jet, it takes one big catastrophe with one engine to disable the other one. That and F-35s (and F-16s for that matter) have made hundreds of trans-oceanic crossings with zero issues......and also operating from aircraft carriers.
@@stupidburp The sensor suite alone on the F-35 gives the RCAF an intel gathering and reconnaissance capability it has never had before. The ability to command and control also bodes well for the RCAF.
@@yxeaviationphotog F-15EX has a larger radar that doesn't need to operate in a stealth mode, which means that it has significantly greater effective range for detecting incoming threats. It is also much faster for interceptions and carries much more firepower. Legacy F-15s served in Alaska and proved their utility and reliability in arctic conditions. F-15EX has similar acquisition cost but much lower operating costs and much longer expected lifespan in flight hours. These are relevant factors for Canada and are probably more important for the majority of missions in Canada than the deep stealth and sensor fusion of F-35.
On a positive note. You are absolutely correct. Unfortunately, in some instances. The top down Starship Troopers approach of command. Utilized by the Federal government. It is also used by the military co.mand structure. This is not working. Command and leadership only works in a two-way fashion. Mutual support, not bullying. The Freedom Convoy shows the Canadian general population to be able to identify the failings of the Federal government. A lesson learned internationally but is being very slow to positively effect Federal leadership. The general feeling within the Canadian Armed Forces is one of betrayal on many levels. One very notable example is this transexual WOKE mentalty. Or one genderism. I believe that a step forward would be making the Armed Forces a WOKE free environment. Because misgenderisation is a wound that combat medics do not need to add to their already overloaded skills set!
I see a major cost saving opportunity with the navy. And if the government was smart enough to actually tell it like it is, anyone who gave it a moment's consideration would agree. We're about to spend close to $100B on new surface combatants to replace the Halifax class. Anyone with eyes and who has paid the least attention to what's going on in Sevastopol and Novrosisk and the rest of the Black Sea knows that large ships are just expensive targets that cannot adequately be defended from drone attack. We need to cancel the CSC order, explain to the public that given the change in modern warfare, these ships are no longer the intelligent option, and use that money to buy drones, drone ships, and other assets that won't end up alongside Moskva for a cost to the enemy of a few missiles, or a few hundred thousand bucks worth of seaboard drones. Navy leadership knows if we cancel them, we'll get absolutely nothing so they can't recommend it be canceled. I'm not in their heads so I don't know if they are aligned with my thinking but if they aren't they shouldn't be left in their job, they're too incompetent. Again, if they recommend canceling it, we get nothing so they'll never do that. Our government is too inept to realize that we're (planning on, haven't even started yet) building battleships in 1954 when the rest of the world is already building carriers. The RCAF and the RCN are fooked and the government won't change course even when it's so obviously the right thing to do.
In retrospect though sir, the CF 18's have been all refitted and upgraded to keep up with the demands of NATO till the F35's are delivered. I agree yes, she's an old bird but hey !! the US Navy still use them as part of there fleet and I'm sure they have a lot more wear and tare on them than ours !!!
Good thing we are getting one of the most expensive and technically advanced fighter Jets in the world. Now we just need pilots to fly them and seeing as we are on the cusp of WW3 the Canadian government needs to get its 💩 together ASAP.
F-15EX total cost of ownership is vastly less than F-35 because of the much larger operating costs for F-35 and lower availability rates for F-35, requiring more aircraft in inventory to service the same number of missions. The cost per flight hour is about twice as much for F-35 and the total number of flight hours available on each aircraft are less than half as much, which means that the F-35s will need replacement much sooner and they will drain more annual operating costs. F-35 is a good aircraft but it has pros and cons.
Oh and the initial acquisition costs for the aircraft are close to the same. But F-35 requires a lot of extra new infrastructure on the ground for maintenance of exotic stealth materials, that is an extra billion USD or so.
@@stupidburp Infrastructure is a bit of a moot point as new infrastructure was part of this, regardless of what aircraft was chosen. This was determined well before the new jet was chosen under another DND initiative.
It is absolutely disgusting what the government has done to not just the CAF but in all of the armed forces of Canada. It is hard to believe that the Air National Guard in Portland OR, has more combat ready aircraft on the ramp than Canada has to defend the west coast. Then there is the treatment received to returning injured vets. That is disgusting.
YES For sure
I don’t think we can trust our government to spend money on our forces. I think we have to do what the Italians and the Czechs do, and pass legislation that we must spend 2% of our GDP on defence. In Aug 2023, the Czechs passed legislation , “requiring state budgets to devote spending worth at least 2% of gross domestic product to defence starting next year.” This way it stops Liberals and Conservatives ( under Harper’s Government the CAF was subjected to stealth budget cuts)from playing politics with our CAF members.
Canada is not the only country of NATO that has done that. UK, and Germany are two other countries that are near obsolete. Lately, Germany is re-arming and modernizing because of Putin’s aggression with Ukraine. The UK is way behind what it used to be.
I voted for Trudeau and be assured that I’m not and never been on welfare. I also voted for
Harper.
I hate Trudeau as much as the next guy, but it is too easy to throw blame at him. Harper was no better than him at propping up the RCAF, or the Canadian military has a whole, despite plenty of spin to that effect.
Generations, not years, Generations of neglect. By both traditional governing parties when in power. My years of service 1967-96.
Both parties cut : 1) personnel 2) budgets 3) clawed back budgets 4) neither fixed a broken procurement system when in power 5) neither replaced dated equipment in a timely manner 6) both failed to look after veterans. How long to fix? 10 years.
Flying yesterday’s aircraft...tomorrow.
We have done so much with so little for so long, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing at all.
😂😂😂
A reputation that we had in the past. Americans are known for wasting. They have so much that they do not value anything.
Maybe Afghanistan 🇦🇫 American departure is a fine example of that.
Blame everyone in every party of the Canadian government through many decades absolutely disgusting....
Its because the Government has been destroying the armed forces since the 60s. Lack of pay, respect and interference by the Government has led to the RCAF personnel to leave to get better pay in the private sector.
Cons just voted against pay increases in Dec so its only going to get worse if the next election goes the way of what the polls are saying.
Yes Sir, Leftist Clowns !!! 🤡
When I served up until 1996 I was paid as a level 1 cpl making $62.50, now that same rank earns $233 a day as a reservist. So pay is not a problem, respect by civilian employers is another story as is the attitude of most of the civilian population of Canada.
The Clueless Leftist Government and military leaders ! 👎
No one wants to serve a woke communist government
Decades of neglect and little leadership among politicians and senior officers. Too many of us who served were discouraged by the steady decline of the CAF, the lack of caring among civilians, and the refusal to make substantive changes. We got out, and took our patriotism and motivation with us. Those fundamentals are very hard to get back, especially when prime ministers and defence ministers don’t think they are important. The average civilian doesn’t see the need for a capable military, so there are no votes in it. This sad situation may be irreversible.
A result to be without active enemies near by, 2 big oceans, very cold area in the North and a very powerful friendly southern neighbor and absence a of a true conflicts as made us complacent. Now we have a bunch of psychos out there like Russia, Iran, China, North Korea and others that will be keen to expand their influence by force.
Procurement is also a big problem, nothing gets even talked about being replaced until its already 10 years over service
This has been going on for decades . Every government we had for decades has always seen the forces as a budget to trim . Eventually ,there's nothing left to trim . I'm suprised the Snowbirds are still around to be honest.
I seem to remember that they tried to cut them a while ago but it won't be long as those jets they use will have no more spare parts available.
@darrenmcadam2318 Yes it's inevitable the snowbirds will be gone soon. I give them 5 years at most. Can't afford to have fighter pilots off the line and the jets are worn out.
I find it insulting each time I hear a defense official tell the media that they supply the CAF with the tools they need
to perform there job's. Then I think back to how they sent troops to Afghanistan in green uniforms and Iltis jeeps.
Hardly the right tools to do there job I think, no wonder troops have left the CF in droves and recruitment is not going well.
Agreed & verified after 17 years of service. Correction to the above: ' their jobs'. A pre-maturely forced 'retired' & unemployed CAF Vet.
The gov;t still thinks the right tools are one that are old proven and we can not find the parts for.
The Federal Government has been defunding all Federal agencies for years asking them to (their words) “do more with less”. However, Federal Agencies are now doing nothing because they have nothing. The Army regularly goes on training maneuvers without ammunition and have been asked to make noises to imitate the shooting of guns. Can you imagine adult soldiers being asked to do this. It is embarrassing. They regularly go on tours without sufficient clothing and gear. The Federal Government has done the same thing to the RCMP, and Coast Guard.Sadly when a crisis occur due to a lack of training, manpower, and equipment these same politicians are quick to point their fingers at the agencies rather than looking into the mirror and admitting their decisions are the route of the problem. I speak from experience having served in these Federal Agencies for more than 30 years.
Yes the field exercises where you hoped your boots would stay together and the reality of pulling the trigger and yelling "GOVERNMENT CUTBACK"
A lack of support, budget, indecision, and mis-management has shown the Federal government does not care for sustaining the Canadian Forces. We rely too heavily on our southern neighbor to do the heavy lifting and have failed to think and act for ourselves. The result is what we see of the Canadian Forces today. Certainly not a competitve career choice by any stretch of the imagination and one of the many disappointments of our current Federal government.
Liberals are known to not support the military.
When I left the RCAF in 2017 the main issue was finding ground crew to service and repair the aircraft. The other issue is that the pay scale for ground crew is the same for both POM and Level A and Level C. On civvy street, a level A makes more money then the working ranks, which means you ether take a promotion (which removes you from the tools) or you leave. At the end of the day that's less people turning tools which means less air time for pilots.
Then, we could reverse the tendancy by paying more the military than the civiian!
The day will come that we shall all cry out for help, but help won't come. We will regret our foolishness.
No. Canadians don't care.
Sad and pathetic that, even at their 100 year anniversary, the RCAF is almost nowhere to be seen. I feel particularly angry for the members, former and current, that don’t get to see, what should, a very fine and fantastic milestone for the service.
I was an Canadian Air Cadet and loved it. I was grateful for the summer camps I attended and even got my Pilot licence in 1980 with them. I was in Cold Lake in 1979 on Senior Leaders course and saw then the RCAF was flying the F5 and F104. I loved the sound of the F104. On one occasion I saw the USAF fly in with their F15. Even though Canada announced the purchase of the F18 I decided I would not join because it was no guarantee to be in the Air Force. I might be trained to fly helicopters or even placed on a Navy ship as it was the Canadian Armed Forces and after basic training you could end up anywhere. I do think now and then what would have happened if I joined, but odds are I would have regretted it do to the cost cutting of different governments.
I believe it was before 2010 while waiting to catch a redeye out of Vancouver, I listened to Liberal politician Ujjal Dosnjh talking to someone on his cell, explaining the F-18 was getting old, outdated and expensive to maintain. Also explained Canada has a commitment to it's partners.
I thought Canada was going to make progress, here we are 15 years later and have not made any progress.
Ujjal realised I was listening in, looking kind of stunned, he probably wondered if he said something I should not have heard.
Canada has to increase its military spending overall to come up to NATO minimum standard.
Thanks Captain Obvious.
There is no actual NATO minimum standard. That's nothing more than propaganda. We already crapped the bed when we selected the F-35A, a plane that we won't be able to afford to operate anyway.
@@falconeaterf15 don't be rude, many do not know that.
@@sparky16261
I’m a frustrated embarrassed Canadian.
My comment shall stand !
@@falconeaterf15 No argument here We do not have military people in DND but rather politicians in uniforms.
We seem to have plenty of retired generals and talking heads who talk the talk, but aren’t walking the walk🤔
...the enemy is at home... Not abroad
Yes, they came to Ottawa in trucks and tried to overthrow the government.
Incorrect. Deeper analysis is required to make a well founded bold statement like this. A pre-maturely forced 'retired' & unemployed CAF Vet.@@kwharrison6668
the granny with the the walker was a ringleader, until she was ridden down by one of our uniformed heroes, canada wasn,t safe from the citizen menace
If we don't pull our weight (2%) Trump will let the Russians invade us. Don't worry though, the child with the coloured socks will defend us. Oh, wait a minute, he fled town when a few Peterbuilts came to visit. @@kwharrison6668
Kremlin troll
I served in a Canadian Armed Forces infantry Division back when old man Trudeau was Prime Minister. It was a shit show then as well.
Thx Scott. Did you know there are more full-time time goverment staff in Ottawa working on the firearms confiscation from law-abiding firearms owners, then we have fighter pilots in the Canadian forces.
My nephew just retired from the RCAF last year.
I would say Canada needs to have a serious discussion as to whether it wants an Armed Forces or not. That wont happen though, as DND is too convenient for "disappearing" massive sums of taxpayer dollars to friends and supporters of whatever party is in power. Defense is not even on the radar as far as the government is concerned.
Civilian DND also is responsible for search and rescue as well as monitoring the Chinese fishing fleet on the west coast....DUMB ASS!
Exactly Do Canadian really want a effective Armed Forces? Asking the question is answering it unfortunately... Canada is part of NATO, but who would volunteer to serve in the canadian society if another NATO country is attacked by Russia?
Ty for standing & being a voice for our CAF Members, Families, Veterans.🙏♥️🇨🇦Shared.
The CF reserves needs to change , I did 3 year in reserves 17-19 (infantry ) the joined RCMP 19-39 then @ 42(at 60 forced to retire ) rejoined reserves as MP , they made me do BMQ / SQ & MP QL3 and I would come in as untrained private & my unit has about 40% law enforcement who joined yet none of there years of policing counted for anything, they all had to complete the full QL 3 ( no shorten course for pre trained police ) 40% of applicants said no after I told then this ( when I was unit recruiter ) also the 70% attendance rate when young and in school was easy … 10 years in when married and children made it difficult so I brought up chain of command maybe 50% after 10 years in , but no so most of the senior experienced MPs who were also civi police had to resign , cutting numbers … then to change the policies and more reservist would stay in and reg force would transfer to reserve as well
I was called by a recruiter working a 1 Wing in Winnipeg who wished to bring me back in the RCAF at a desk job I used to have, to free a younger pilot to fly. The man who would have been my boss said he was happy to see me come back. At the recruiting center in Montreal, they said that this recruiter in Winnipeg was sick to think the organization would make an effort to recruit me. I was told to leave him to his illusions…. I was processed like any other person applying.
I called the recruiter in Winnipeg and he said, “this is what I have to put up with all the time.”
There is very little hope for improvement in my humble opinion.
You can always go contractor for NATO like I did for 15yrs. Pay is better and you live in any major city within NATO, and still continue to fly. Something that Canada does not offer.
Because you are a vet I made a few calls. Canadian Companies with NATO contracts that would like to hear from you.ittc-canada.,CAE, and Top Aces. With offices in the USA and Europe as well.
@@paulflak2823 Sorry, but I should have supplied more details, this was a decade ago and I am now 61 years old. I’m sure the sun has set on a career as a pilot per se, although who would not drop the construction industry to play a support role in one of those pilot training systems. It’s a very different professional environment.
Thanks for the initiative.
Who on earth would bother fighting on behalf of a government like this?
You don’t fight for your government. You fight for your Country’s ideals. In Canada that is freedom and democracy. Governments come and go.
@edmanzini3664 yeah well we're short on both presently.
@@edmanzini3664we live in a vassal 51st state of the union under the 'leadership' of a government which champions itself for the first post-national state. Canada and Canadians don't exist anymore..
the thing the RCAF is going to fight is us, they don,t need new aircraft to take out truckers
I enlisted for the Canadian values land NOT the people on it.
I think Canada should follow the Scandinavian / Baltic counterparts and have Canadian youth partake in 2 years of military service while providing free educational opportunities in order to bolster the ranks.
Some will think that’s scandalous but the recent report on personal happiness clearly shows military service in these countries does a country good ❤.
Conscription is pure evil in the eyes of the NDP, Greens, and most of the Lib caucus. They'll never allow it, even if it makes our youth more responsible, more skilled, and more patriotic citizens.
I've said that for years. Everyone is educated and an educated populace makes intelligent (voting) decisions. Free education would be great. And the bump in manpower would help as well. Clearly something that is way too intelligent for our government to do.
I'm soon 35 and I wish I had a 2 years mandatory service when in my early 20s. Never wanted to make it a career but I was always interested to go through trainings. It would make people overall stronger both physically and mentally. Plus, less division over meaningless issues.
Good idea but in reality urban Canadians who form the government are too timid and couldn’t care less about this country
@@Berlin-Kladow you just demonstrated one meaningless division I mentioned. What do you propose, stop people from living in cities?
This is how the Armed Forces has always been handled, ready a little history!
I applied just before Covid and I was sent on a whole goose chase. Upgraded my credits to qualify for just the consideration. No one checked in or cared if I was still interested.
No two ways about it. Trudeau has to go. Pay them competitively and the job seekers will come.
You can't even apply to be a pilot today. The trade is now closed.
Where'd you hear that?
The pipeline is still technically open and anyone who is active RCAF can still apply, but the process is so long, the training regimen/equipment is so outdated, and the flight opportunities for their intended aircraft are so unavailable that the trade is effectively closed unless you really personally campaign to leadership to get in. Many applicants who haven't been eliminated by process just forfeit by the time they near 30 years old - they already have the flight hours and the RCAF name, so the private sector welcomes them with vigour.
In comparison, US naval aviators are flying full-fledged combat missions as young as 26 years old.
@@eddietat95As a former US Navy NFO, I was in combat at 25.
@@danzimberoff Thank you for your service. The US Navy is miles and miles ahead of us.
@user-qh9lu5cl6n my daughter tried to apply a couple weeks ago. It's also on the recruiting website
One irony in the debate about locations for RCAF bases is that the RCAF did have an enormous base just north of Edmonton, AB, - CFB Namao. The base had facilities for both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft of varying sizes. The main runways were spec'd to take the weight of a fully loaded B-52 bomber, as Namao was an 'alternate' base for Norad. Namao was transformed into the main western Army base and renamed CFB Edmonton. It's now home to, among others, 3 PPCLI. However, the main runways, aprons and taxiways remain as they were. Perhaps some co-operative scheme could be arranged so that advanced jet trainers could operate - temporarily, anyway, from CFB Edmonton? Just a thought.
My mom had a saying, and sadly it is becoming more true everyday. The Canadian military couldn’t fight its way out of a wet paper bag.
The Canadian gov't needs to fast track procurement and cut out the lazy over paid bureaucrats and let the service branches tell the gov't what they need and why they need it with full transparency to the tax payers. On the list from what I have been told by vets. New advanced trainers (not the 30yrs old design that was coming to the end of it;s service life). New leopard 2
(not leased and second hand Dutch etc), New 155mm howitzers,( not out of production M-777), NEW OFF THE SHELF frigates regardless if they are made in Korea, or Japan. The British and USA are having a hard time building for their own fleets. The F-35 is a single engine aircraft that DOES NOT meet the stated requirements of patrolling the vast distances of Canada. Two engine aircraft means you still have a means to get home on one engine. Kingston class patrol ships that are now coming do for replacement. UAVs launch capability on the Wolfe class arctic patrol vessels as well as for the air force and army. Canada has NO AIR DEFENSE what so ever!! ADAT, Sky Guard, Javelin MANPAD all gone and NEVER replaced. Advanced air to air missiles (38) ordered through Rayathalon, not delivered.
And the list goes on!
The Government will be happy to fulfil your requirements. As an example, here's what they could do: Only 1 new trainer aircraft in 2050, subject to the results of a comprehensive, exhaustive and expensive bidding competition. Acquisition of a 'new' Leopard 2, which is the last one off the production line, whenever that occurs. 4 new 777 howitzers to replace the ones sent to Ukraine. A new 'off-the-shelf' frigate once the current CSC contract is completed, by 2050 at which time the first CSC will be decommissioned. The Twin Otter will be the Canadian aircraft for the Arctic; it has 2 engines. It won't have any weapons, but neither does the F-35. The list continues. Furthermore, there will not be any budget increase, but there will be an appropriate decrease in manpower to offset the cost of acquisition, and no fuel will be purchased until all vehicles can operate with solar power only.
@@edp8592 You forgot the DND budget is being reduced by 1 billion dollars again this year.
@@paulflak2823 Not at all. This scenario is based on the present fiscal funding, or lack thereof. ;-)
We don’t possess the hardware for the personal to use,our government only buys second hand worn out equipment. It’s high bloody time Canada made its own equipment and put Canadian people to work doing it.
No, the obsession with buying Canadian is partially responsible for the procurement mess. We simply don't have the industry or workforce to do everything. Far better to focus on a few established industries like armoured vehicles (LAVs) and buy off the self for the rest. We should be buying more Korean. They have a great advanced trainer in their KF-21.
Domestic procurement issues have more to do with government intervention. Canada used to have very robust innovative aerospace industry but the government made things ridiculously hard to do. Recently a Canadian company was awarded a $30 million contract from the Ukrainians for long range stealth drones. The government stepped in and was pushing all sorts of forced collaboration with dead pet project companies and trying to make them use cold lake for testing and pay for it when none of that was asked for. Now the company is debating if it's worth doing at all.
@@eyrieaviation that is exactly what to expect with government involvement. Pet Project Companies. As for the armed services....they own a slice of the crazy pie too. There is a concentration of only a few providers - so the option of writing your own menu becomes a futile process. With our budget, we are an 'over-the-counter' customer and should get used to it.
The current situation is incredibly embarrassing for Canadians. We all know that these days wars are won in the air. We are in emergency mode and all Canadians, especially our MPs need to wake up.
True-doe gave 37 billion to foreign wealthy automakers while our armed forces can’t even afford proper equipment.
That started years ago when we put is old man in power
Relocating RCAF bases to Calgary/Montreal wouldn’t help as this DND has vilified the main demographic as oppressors and occupiers . Preference for hire to RCAF is from failed states and others with no links to Canada .
I don’t think any former pilots would want the aggravation and be insulted to join RCAF whose advancement is based on quotas and race
I agree with you
DEI vs Meritocracy is a huge mis-step done on purpose. A pre-maturely forced 'retired' & unemployed CAF Vet.
Is it the brass, or is it the Liberal Party of Canada since the 1960's? Who in their right mind would want to serve in the Canadian military these days, what with constant budget and procurement problems, scandal after scandal, no money for training, and (for the most part) outdated equipment. It's not a surprise to me that people don't want to serve - it's that SOME people still DO want to serve!!!
Trudeau Sr started the destruction of the Canadian military in the late 1960's, and every Liberal government since then has carried on the tradition of ignoring the military in favour of socialist policies that have inevitably led us to where we are today.
Why does it take 30 years and 6 governments to buy a fleet of planes?
The CT-155's are aging? They kept the Tutors for longer so they must've been ancient?
Tutors were built in Canada... nuff said. How long did the CT-133 last? Built in Canada under license.
ct-155's did not have the airframe numbers that previous a/c had and we must wait for the T-7 to be produced as must all others. Sad that most hawks are grounded for major engine issues and the US is using an a/c that is also near it's airframe hour limit. This is a Nato wide issue that must be resolved asap but it is Nato wide . The pilot issue is also Nato wide , Is a national service requirement in the future ?
Big question how do we do more with less, and outdated equipment across all branches of the military.
The CAF has been doing this for literally decades and still coming up short. The bigger issues are housing, pay and bureaucracy, plus leadership that is largely out of touch within the CAF.
Focus more on small drones and light infantry for ground forces. Focus more on drones and submarines for naval forces.Switch to drones and non stealthy fighters for the air force, such as Loyal Wingman and F-15EX to keep operational costs down and staff trained well.
I went through the recruitment process back in 2018 to 2019, while waiting for a slot for aptitude testing in Trenton, the CAF cancelled all pilot recruitment saying they had 5yr backlog before accepted candidates would start basic pilot training. Sad to hear it's only gotten worse since then. :(
The idea of a training base close to major cities makes perfect sense!
if I wanted to be a fighter pilot I would like a competive airplane, Canada hasnt got any
Go to the states they will take you.
Personally I think that Advanced Hawk and F-15EX would have been a better fit for Canada’s current needs. But the F-35 is a good aircraft and preparing pilots for that particular aircraft would probably be best served by T-7 trainers. Unfortunately the production of F-35 and T-7 both have a long line in front and it will take years for F-35 to be delivered. In that context, even if Canada had ordered T-7 recently they could not be delivered soon and there would still be a need for training in allied countries.
The proposal to leverage existing veterans as additional potential reservists is a good one. Seems like a prudent measure.
One of the reasons why I favor F-15EX over F-35 for Canada is because it has an optional second seat which could be used by reservists to gain more opportunities for flight hours at lower flight hours cost per pilot. The acquisition costs for F-15EX are similar to those for F-35 but the operational costs are much lower, which would further reduce costs for the aircraft and for keeping the pilots trained with adequate flight hours.
And it’s a proven aircraft, that isn’t plagued by problems and glitches
Trudeau Liberals have certainly made the problem worse but the forces have been neglected for decades. No Canadian political party will win votes by promising to boost defense spending.
Canadians have spoken. Let the American taxpayer defend us.
That said, the men and women members of the forces earn a big thank you from me. I appreciate what you do, especially given the environment you have to endure. You are truly honorable people.
Canada should stop hiding behind its geography and step up to the 2% of GDP NATO recommendation. I say this as a Canadian tax payer.
We cannot hide behind our geography. I was early warning in the 50s and 60s and it was not uncommon to see our Russian friends probing our defense systems. I understand while they quite during the Gorbachev time they have resumed those probes. It was interesting China and Russia conducting exercises off the coast of Alaska a few months ago. The Yanks had to rush a few ships up there.
get a life
Canada should leave NATO and become a constitutionally neutral country like Switzerland
I'm 63, served in our reserve, I've never seen this country focus on personnel or equipment, bandage solutions, lack of passion in building the force, it now appears to be required, world is changing rapidly and it appears we are so far behind we may never recover. All governments are to blame, citizens need to voice concern.
If anyone here has seen the recent US GOA report on the F35 they have to be shaking their head at the total waste of money that program entails. The ready rate for those aircraft is abysmal as they are extremely maintenance challenged. The cost of keeping those aircraft in inventory will be exacerbated by the dramatically lower flight time for our pilots. Is this just another example of too stupid to be accidental?
I still wonder why not the F22.
To be fair, you only listed lipstick measures as well. This issue is the damage has already been done over 20 years ago. We should have been buying super hornets in the early 2000s, trainers in the 2010s, and then f35s like we are now. We skipped a whole procurement of aircraft. Now we have to play catch up. Its going to take more time and money to fix the problems now. It is definitely a bad spot to be in but like i said, the damage was done over 2 decades ago.
Will they at least repurpose the CT-155s as replacements for the Snowbirds?
The CAF doesn’t actually own them (leased)
All fine and good for the pilots, but since the jets were the responsibility of CAE, civilian AMEs maintained the jets.
Why Calgary? Edmonton makes more sense the existing facilities at CFB Edmonton could reactivated and expanded and being closer to Cold Lake makes more sense. Also there are piles of civil opportunities in the Edmonton area.
Calgary is a hub for commercial pilots with both Westjet and Air Canada...Plus the Federal Government owns the Calgary airport and Mirabel.
@@espritdecorpsmagazineThe F35 warfare capabilities require a full time job…a lot more sensors and simulator training and tactical planning variations…not to mention that everything is top secret including any study material…you can not do it from a home-office…
The US has Air National Guard part timers flying F-35s. I think Canadian pilots can handle it just fine part time. Of course full time active duty pilots will have more experience with the platform but they may get fewer total flight hours on all aircraft compared with a commercial airline pilot.
@@espritdecorpsmagazine Edmonton is also owned by the Feds. As is Villeneuve as is CFB Edmonton which could easily be reactivated to handle fighters. The More logical choice is Edmonton especially given the proximity to Cold Lake. Also Calgary has no additional space. EIA in Edmonton is way way under utilized with the recent expansion. And CFB Edmonton and Villeneuve are also under utilized . Also the civil charter industry in Edmonton is always looking for pilots which has more flexibility for reservists. The More logical choice with more available facilities and lower overall cost is Edmonton.
Neither make sense because neither are anywhere near the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. Its why they chose that location in the first place. So they have a large open range where they can dogfight and train with other live ordinance. Plus the cities would neart immedeately demand they be shut down after they start hearing just how loud they are on take off.
Actual battlefield effectiveness is very far behind the politicians main benefactors interests. Donations to the party, wins.
April 27, 2024.The Royal Air Force has retired the Hawk T1 aircraft from frontline service. This iconic jet, which has been in service for nearly 50 years and trained every RAF fast jet pilot since the mid-1970s, has finally reached the end of its service career.
Salaries have to increase by about 40% for the NCM ranks and 50% for officers to get qualified recruitment levels up
Great Idea !
This is personal experience. About 2010 I am the head docent of the static area at the Reno Air Races. I am familiarizing myself and doing a walkabout. I see two T33s side by side. One all shiny, painted and sparkling. Next to it is another which looks like it came from the junk year with RCAF painted on the side. I am Ex RCAF and understand that it might not look pretty but get to talking to the pilot of the RCAF bird. He eventually tells me how embarrassed he is to have been sent down with this piece of junk. He tells me the civy has all the latest electronic equip, communications and latest GPS system. He tells me he has ancient communications equip and electronics and has a hand held GPS that is his personal piece that he has on his lap on the way down from Comox. He says that he will not be standing around his plane talking to people as he does not want to be associated with it. I also avoided mentioning I was Canadian around that bird.
Canada's only 2 ruling parties decided that our armed forces do not need their support. 4 decades later the population still wants to put these 2 parties in power. I guess the electorate neglects history like they do Canada's geography.
I agree, adding new air bases closer to urban centres such as Calgary and Mirabel (north of Laval and Montreal) would be a good idea. Sad to see the sorry state of CAF and the systemic passing the buck of disrespecting our military should have been stopped in '68.
Until you realize there is no airspace to train around Calgary, let alone live fire. You'd have to appropriate land from the public, and close a large swath of airspace in the vicinity of one of the countrys largest airports.
@@0utdoorsman I would have thought Edmonton the more appropriate choice, I don't know why he suggested Calgary. But I don't know anything about the air space around Edmonton, I just assume it's a bit more open.
Get new fighter and better pay. And let them fly them. I here they're mostly doing office work
@@Thomasuki267 They would just fly out to the Cold Lake range anyway. Cold lake isnt that far from Edmonton either. Leave it as it is.
They could keep Bagotville and Cold Lake as tactical/training bases. Squadrons could 'forward deploy' for training and operational missions but return to Calgary and Mirabel between exercises.
The last NATO air exercise the Canada Air Farce was in it was escorting Santa Clause through its own airspace.
Bagotville is a great location. Not remote !
Way better than Mirabel for life quality and family. Housing is way cheaper and the region has everything you need. Even a Costco. Very little to no traffic.
I love it here. Financially, id say its the best posting out of all Air Force bases in Canada.
Just drive 2h to Quebec city. Where it has malls, huge concerts, Itl airport and a downtown core.
I wont comment about Cold lake since I haven't lived there.
i remember some soldiers telling me about brass investing in a company called WHITE, they sold 2wd trucks to the caf and made lots of money out of ... useless transport vehicules...the parade they threw for the retiring officers was stellar tho.
Right on but still have to get feds to buy new training aircraft
How about an Esprit de Corps in depth look at the Swedish Air Force? Maybe there is something that we can learn from them on this subject.
I am heading to Sweden in early May...stay tuned
These problems are happening everywhere, including the US with a large reduction in people entering the military.
That's because people are getting tired of war and needles violence.
Great ideas!
This was... Depressing. Revealing and deeply depressing. I have been proud of our military history in this country, but successive government administrations have torn apart what was a powerful and capable military to what it appears at present, precariously weak and ineffective. And this at a time where the threat of a major global war has not been higher.
I've always understood that for a nation to be sovereign it should have the means to maintain and protect its territorial sovereignty. We aren't capable of either of those... So when the time comes and our sovereignty is threatened and we have to beg at our southern neighbours door for protection and intervention, maybe we should not be surprised when the cost for the services is becoming a satellite state, the Pine and Maple filled Puerto Rico of the North...
I agree
A major issue is where all the bases are located. Middlle of nowhere.
Cold Lake or Baggotville? No wonder pilots are leaving.
Mr. Scott Taylor, your suggestion make sense and thank you for enlighting the public on our Armed Forces. BUT, I find Esprit de Corps not doing a very independant journalism. The Trudeau government, is not any more responsible than any other previous governement of the state of our Armed Forces. The real responsibles are the people of Canada. They are the ones who have elected our leaders and never challenge them on the Armed Forces. Do you really think Mr. Polièvre is doing to do any better when Canadian want more liberty and less taxes. The problem is to my opinion, more a societal thing, than a ministerial one.
Hard as it is to say maybe it's time to let go we have no air force no navy and no army its a disgrace how far we've fallen.
What happened to Comox?
Really not a good idea. Cold Lake and Bagotville are the only two remaining affordable postings in the RCAF in terms of cost of living and housing. We missed the intercept with the balloons up north in part because Cold Lake is too far south to be able to respond in time to a pop up threat up north (now imagine they had scrambled from Calgary). The sooner you can intercept a threat before it reaches the Quebec city -Windsor axis the better making Bagotville more suitable than Mirabel. What we need to do is compensate members properly and keep the tactical advantages that these bases provide.
Agreed, it is unwise to move an entire base. It would be more effective in all aspects to have a rotating crew set up that goes from Cold Lake/Bagotville to Calgary/Mirabel that will service aircraft from the respective bases. Aircraft would fly down and reserve crew could do their hours there. The schedule TBD.
Commercial pilots are already often subjected to rotating locations of operations far from their homes. It is part of the industry.
@@Dove96 No point in moving bases, they alrady have the infrastructure there and the Weapons Range in Cold Lake is why that base is even there in the first place.
So as a very recent retired aircraft structures maintainer on many of the fleets in the RCAF including the CF-18 Hornet based in Cold Lake for 5 years. Moving the squadrons to be based out of Calgary and Montreal respectively also poses a serious obstacle for DND to consider. That being the ground maintenance and other logistics staff required to support these fleets pay salery to fit into the cost of living in these markets .
The significant pay scale difference for that of the NCM Jr and Sr also the AERE officers pay scale to the pilots pay system is equivalent to valleys and mountains in difference.
Simply put the cost of living AND the availability of affordable housing in these areas including up to 1 hr drive away is basically financial suicide for these members and their families. Even with Post living differential allowance and the rate of inflation today poses risks on the mbrs and should be considered as an unstainable radical idea.
Just saying 😉
Everything I've read states that Canada is buying the F35A, which is the conventional takeoff variant. The speaker on this video said they're buying the F35C (carrier variant). Was he mistaken or did something change... again? There's about a $20 million difference between those aircraft.
Canada Buying F-35A.
Canada is buying the wrong Aircraft F35, should have bought the Gripen, or Super Hornet, F15E. Only 30% of F35s are combat ready in the USAF, with a operating cost of 40K per hour.
I think F-35A for Air Superiority and F-15E for ground attack because of pay load. Gripen is a 4th gen. with a light pay load
i was going to join, but what happened with covid, the mandates and friends that got kicked out because of it, it really put me off. If the canadian government cant even respect the basic rights of the people that protect our nation, why would i join? And if i did join, in 10 years whats gonna happen, am i going to be forced to act against my fellow canadians because a politician in government tells me to ?? These passed 4 years have really soured me on the military.
Since when wasn't the Gov't gonna do something about the state of the Armed Forces in Canada ? A practical solution offered up by this fella, is the Opposite of what will transpire, as this undermining of the Armed Forces is intentional.
The more Blair does, the worse things get !
each country gets to choose one: universal health care OR dependable national defense.
It’s so sad…..
The stupidity of an opposing party fighting against the governing party after a contract has been side till they get the public confused they get elected cancel the contract then pay penalties that essentially pay for the contract is the story in Canada
Trudeau gotta go….
It's not just about relocating the fighter units. It's more than that. The CAF has become an ultra woke institution. That's one of the major reasons why I got out 4 years ago while I still could have given the RCAF 13 more years of service. I had enough. I wasn't appreciated and it showed.
I applied for the RCAF last fall. I was told that you will be put into a list with 100 others and depending on the scoring 2 will be chosen. This wasn't just for fighters or for a specific class of aircraft. This was for every class from Helos, Cargo, Fighters, Exc... Two would be chosen. I honestly Kind of laughed and just said "No thanks". I cancelled my request to join and even with a Rotary craft license already in my possession I turned and left knowing I had no chance and why risk so much to only be told "Sorry. you placed 3rd".
Oh I was also told I needed to attend a university for 4 Years... What a joke this has become. I have honestly thought about obtaining my green card and trying my hand with the US Army where they will take you right out of high school and build you into a pilot.
If you want pilots you need to look for actual pilots not desk jockey's looking for a thrill.
What? The DND being innovative? Surely you jest!
The requirements for pilots in the RCAF are that you have to be university educated. Growing up in the RCAF and CAF, there were a lot of great pilots, including my father, who weren't university educated. Drop the requirement to include college educated. You don't need to be the sharpest tack in the box to be a good. You need perception, leadership, decision-making skills, instinct, perception, be a good communicator, a good listener, and you need guts.
11 year Canadian veteran here! and my dream was to operate the C130 or A310 Airbus, but I'm white, straight, and male, so I'm "bad news" and I stand by my statement! Those were in fact the reasons for not having been approved an OT over!!!!! On paper it was because nobody else was qualified the equipment we were currently operating! 3 years later also not approved due to lack of leadership replacement! Both times a younger DEI hire was approved!!!!!!
😂 Dude you’re way too qualified thats why.
Your comment is totally uncalled for, perhaps that is the reason you didn't get into either the left or right seat let alone the Nav FE's seat. You missed out English speaking.
@@JohnHill-qo3hb you're comment is baseless, and without context you have no right making accusations. Read a book and learn something and stop being a useless sheep!!!!!!
@@JohnHill-qo3hb you missed out English speaking? Wow 🤣
You are?
Billy bliar couldn't organize a game of bingo.
Ha ha, China will help defend Canada. Give them your hearts, money, and country. They already have a lot of it.
@ScottTaylor, thank you for providing a story that shows the issues with viable solutions. We have to make the CAF in its entirety more accessible to young families and placing them in remote locations is not attractive for recruiting. We need to create super bases near large metropolitan areas rather than in the back woods. Having mobile forces that can deploy to remote locations is the key. Plus I liked your idea of increasing the reserve forces.
Jonny In years gone by we used to have Air Force Day and as a kid it was so exciting to see the airmen, and all the planes and displays and it made me proud to be Canadian and I joined as soon as I could. I doubt most kids know we even have an Air Force or what it does now.
@@sparky16261 They will see the RCAF at the air shows. We just need to replace the Snowbirds with our training aircraft, the Harvard II.
@@JonnyDS I doubt you have been to a AIR Force day as they were I have been to thousands of air shows and nothing comes close. Yes they have the Snow Birds and a few others but nothin like it was I agree with the Harvard 11 beautiful bird.
@@sparky16261 I have actually flown as an Aircraft Captain on the CH-146 at CFB Moose Jaw for the Airforce day preparing for the Vancouver Olympics. I also had to do many static air displays as a First Officer at both International Air Shows and RCAF Days. Happy 100th on 01 April 2024.
@@JonnyDS Great living here in Surrey, I do not kow of one air force day around here anywhere. There are a few RCAF planes at Abbotsford air show but that is a far cry from what I am talking about.
It was a huge mistake to buy the CF-35. Canada doesn't need a fifth generation fighter. It would have been more cost effective to buy the F/A-18E Super Hornet. For all the remote and over water flying, the second engine is a huge safety consideration. The conversion costs and retraining costs of both maintenance and pilots would also be minimal to the point where possibly more F/A-18Es could have been purchased for the same price.
F-35 was the best and only choice from a capability standpoint, as well as an interoperability standpoint with the majority of our allies ...who are all shifting to the F-35.
The Super Hornet wouldn't have been as cost effective, as it was dropped for either Gripen or F-35. Also, the training for a conversion to the Super Hornet isn't as straightforward as one might think. Only thing the Legacy and Super Hornet have in common is the grey paint job. The Super Hornet is a completely different aircraft.....so much so that the servicing equipment we have now, isn't compatible with the Super Hornet.
The single vs dual engine argument is moot as well because the engine in the F-35 is the most advanced engine in existence and very reliable. Even with a two engined jet, it takes one big catastrophe with one engine to disable the other one. That and F-35s (and F-16s for that matter) have made hundreds of trans-oceanic crossings with zero issues......and also operating from aircraft carriers.
F-35 is highly capable but is not really the best fit in terms of capabilities needed by Canada.
@@stupidburp The sensor suite alone on the F-35 gives the RCAF an intel gathering and reconnaissance capability it has never had before. The ability to command and control also bodes well for the RCAF.
@@yxeaviationphotog F-15EX has a larger radar that doesn't need to operate in a stealth mode, which means that it has significantly greater effective range for detecting incoming threats. It is also much faster for interceptions and carries much more firepower. Legacy F-15s served in Alaska and proved their utility and reliability in arctic conditions. F-15EX has similar acquisition cost but much lower operating costs and much longer expected lifespan in flight hours. These are relevant factors for Canada and are probably more important for the majority of missions in Canada than the deep stealth and sensor fusion of F-35.
On a positive note. You are absolutely correct. Unfortunately, in some instances. The top down Starship Troopers approach of command. Utilized by the Federal government. It is also used by the military co.mand structure. This is not working. Command and leadership only works in a two-way fashion. Mutual support, not bullying. The Freedom Convoy shows the Canadian general population to be able to identify the failings of the Federal government. A lesson learned internationally but is being very slow to positively effect Federal leadership. The general feeling within the Canadian Armed Forces is one of betrayal on many levels. One very notable example is this transexual WOKE mentalty. Or one genderism. I believe that a step forward would be making the Armed Forces a WOKE free environment. Because misgenderisation is a wound that combat medics do not need to add to their already overloaded skills set!
Navy's not doin' so hot either
I see a major cost saving opportunity with the navy. And if the government was smart enough to actually tell it like it is, anyone who gave it a moment's consideration would agree.
We're about to spend close to $100B on new surface combatants to replace the Halifax class. Anyone with eyes and who has paid the least attention to what's going on in Sevastopol and Novrosisk and the rest of the Black Sea knows that large ships are just expensive targets that cannot adequately be defended from drone attack. We need to cancel the CSC order, explain to the public that given the change in modern warfare, these ships are no longer the intelligent option, and use that money to buy drones, drone ships, and other assets that won't end up alongside Moskva for a cost to the enemy of a few missiles, or a few hundred thousand bucks worth of seaboard drones. Navy leadership knows if we cancel them, we'll get absolutely nothing so they can't recommend it be canceled. I'm not in their heads so I don't know if they are aligned with my thinking but if they aren't they shouldn't be left in their job, they're too incompetent. Again, if they recommend canceling it, we get nothing so they'll never do that. Our government is too inept to realize that we're (planning on, haven't even started yet) building battleships in 1954 when the rest of the world is already building carriers. The RCAF and the RCN are fooked and the government won't change course even when it's so obviously the right thing to do.
In retrospect though sir, the CF 18's have been all refitted and upgraded to keep up with the demands of NATO till the F35's are delivered. I agree yes, she's an old bird but hey !! the US Navy still use them as part of there fleet and I'm sure they have a lot more wear and tare on them than ours !!!
The fact that there would be less requirement for management structure will be a threat to all the desk jockeys...
Don't worry lil' buddy; Yer big neighbor gotz U.
Good thing we are getting one of the most expensive and technically advanced fighter Jets in the world. Now we just need pilots to fly them and seeing as we are on the cusp of WW3 the Canadian government needs to get its 💩 together ASAP.
88 F-35, for the same money it would have bought 120 F-15X, four AC-130, twelve AH-Cobra, four MQ9 drones, eight A29 LA
Not true
Not true in the slightest!😂. Right now, the F-15EX is more expensive than the F-35As that we're getting . And why do we need AC-130s and AH-1 Cobras?
F-15EX total cost of ownership is vastly less than F-35 because of the much larger operating costs for F-35 and lower availability rates for F-35, requiring more aircraft in inventory to service the same number of missions. The cost per flight hour is about twice as much for F-35 and the total number of flight hours available on each aircraft are less than half as much, which means that the F-35s will need replacement much sooner and they will drain more annual operating costs. F-35 is a good aircraft but it has pros and cons.
Oh and the initial acquisition costs for the aircraft are close to the same. But F-35 requires a lot of extra new infrastructure on the ground for maintenance of exotic stealth materials, that is an extra billion USD or so.
@@stupidburp Infrastructure is a bit of a moot point as new infrastructure was part of this, regardless of what aircraft was chosen. This was determined well before the new jet was chosen under another DND initiative.
Somewhere close to 400 billion on Covid
Almost 10 billion to Ukraine
Could have rebuilt our military with that