Canadian soldiers gather in Inuvik, N.W.T., for the annual Arctic training operation in March. The new military command will help train forces to be ready for future conflicts.COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images
The Canadian military is adding a new department – known as a command – that one expert says will put the organization on a better war footing and make it more prepared to deploy and fight in case of conflict.
Canada’s military allies have similar organizations, including Britain’s Cyber & Specialist Operations Command and Australia’s Joint Capabilities Group.
The Canadian Armed Forces unveiled the Canadian Joint Forces Command on Thursday. It is to be led by former fighter pilot Lieutenant-General Darcy Molstad and Chief Warrant Officer Donovan Crawford.
It will oversee responsibilities such as logistics, health services, sustainment of operations and joint force development, which involves training forces to be ready for future conflicts.
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“This is a reorganization that better positions Canada for the possibility of having to fight a war,” said David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute think tank.
“Better organization of logistics and operational support, which hasn’t generally been a high priority for the Canadian Armed Forces, is really important in the current global environment.”
The NATO military alliance, to which Canada belongs, in June committed to boosting core defence spending to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2035, citing the long-term threat that Russia poses to European security.
Numerous military commanders in Britain and Europe have talked of the risk of war with Russia, which in the course of its assault on Ukraine has converted its economy into a war machine and created a huge standing army.
The new Canadian command will oversee capabilities common to all three branches of the Armed Forces including, for instance, finding ways to better deploy drones and counterdrone measures.
Drone and anti-drone warfare is playing a critical role in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Lt.-Gen. Molstad said in an interview that the Canadian navy, the air force and the army are all working on drone and counterdrone measures. But he said he wants to find ways to “break down silos” and bring technology to all branches at a faster pace and at greater scale.
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“I want to create outcomes in order to deliver capabilities to the war fighter,” Lt.-Gen. Molstad said.
“I’m not looking to figure out what is the next fighter jet or the next tank or the next ship,” he said. “I have to figure out what is the game-changing technology and system that can operate in all the domains, or some of the domains.”
Mr. Perry said a command that elevates the focus on logistics and operational support is necessary as geopolitical risks have risen. The ability to conduct rapid deployment, for purposes such as reinforcing defences in Europe, is the kind of “real-world planning in a serious way that we’ve not really focused on for a very long time.”
He said existing plans would be likely to result in everything being shipped out of one port, in Montreal, which he said would not be sufficient given the current set of threats.
“We need more focused thought on that, and a more strategic approach to how you would actually get Canadian military capacity overseas.”