Wednesday, September 17, 2014

What's Next for Canad's Armed Forces - Dumpster Diving?

Yes, That Old!

Hardly a week passes without another example of how Stephen Harper has neglected the armed forces he boastfully claims to revere.   The jumped up little shit doesn't hesitate to proclaim how he's going to buy this for them and that for them but, somehow, this and that never seem to show up.

BBC News reports that Canadian air force personnel had to cannibalize a C-130E Hercules on display at a base museum at CFB Trenton.

"They sort of called up and said, 'Hey, we have these two INUs (intertial navigation units) that we can't use.  Do you have any on yours?'" museum curator Kevin Windsor recalls.  He says they were lucky the parts were available and interchangeable, and took only half an hour to remove.

The former head of military procurement, Dan Ross, says it's embarrassing that the air force has to "cannibalize old stuff that's in museums" to keep up its rescue planes - eight Hercules and six Buffaloes - which are apparently on their last wings.  The planes respond to thousands of emergencies every year.  The government has been promising since 2002 to replace the planes but has kept putting it off  to make sure it's "getting the purchase right."


8 comments:

Edstock said...

Soon, they'll be trying to rent the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster.

The Mound of Sound said...

It reminds me of when the Brits set out to bomb the airfield at Stanley in the Falklands. They got the Vulcan ready but found the refueling probe was u/s. They scavenged one from a Vulcan resting on display atop a plinth.

the salamander said...

.. the item that should be is a museum is the political creature that talks out both sides of his mouth..
Plus a seperate room for all those outdated, stale MP's that have learned his trick of saying one thing then proceeding to do nothing, or something completely different.

Props to the resourceful air force staff sarge who rounded up the needed part.. shame on the public servant who sets up our military to fail, be grounded or auger in

the salamander said...

.. the title of your article deserves more attention ..
looking at it, contemplating.. I saw the larger context..

Our last federal election & quite likely our next
will essentially be forensic dumpster diving ..
not for a propellor, nav system, fuel filter, radio part
but for shreds of reality

Just as our 'royal' air force in disrepair does not represent our Canadian capability.. our perceptions, beliefs or wishes.. nor does our 'elected' government represent our perspectives, beliefs, values or acceptable initiatives.. or even more shocking.. our government does not reflect us.. yes.. US ..

We should now worry on the breathless news of Rob Ford, not Fort Mac. Forget Cabinet Confidence, China & FIPA, we gots Lord Franklins wreckage, right where its been for nigh to 100 years

Think you hit the nail on the head re 'dumptster diving' Mound.. currently what emerges from the steel tank of the dumpster formerly known as Canada's intellect, reputation or integrity.. is registering ZERO on the factual, veracity or Values Richter Scale..

Look what slithered from the tank! Harper and Ray Novak, Duffy, Arthur Porter, Toews, Fantino, Butt, Anders, Adler, Gerstein, Kent.. Primordial stuff, glow in the dark skank n wank cranks in big suits.

And who rented the dumpster to Canada and Canadians? Their corporatist partners.. Big Energy, Finance, Wealth, Media .....

The Mound of Sound said...

I hadn't thought of the Hercules incident as a metaphor for our government generally but you're right, Sal. We live in an era in which democracy is being consigned the scraps by governments that have been "captured" by corporate interests. I'm not sure that the others would be substantively different than Harper although the optics would shift dramatically. Mulcair, finally realizing that he's getting nowhere in the congested middle is trying to deke to the left but it's unconvincing and probably too late. Trudeau is patterned more on Ignatieff than any real Liberal stalwart of the past. As I see it, they've yielded to corporatism without a fight.

Anyong said...

What will the world look like in seven years?

From CBC's Ideas Evening Program hosted by Paul Kennedy. Very Interesting! Should these preditions come about...where in the world will Canada fit?


Spur is a talk series held across Canada organized by the Literary Review of Canada. It features speakers who try to envision what the world will look like in seven years. One of the speakers at this year's festival was Diane Francis, journalist, author and editor-at-large at the National Post. She spoke in Calgary about the shifting sands of geopolitical realities. Later, she joined host Paul Kennedy in studio where they teased out the implications of her predictions.

The Mound of Sound said...

Anyong, do you have a link or something to connect to your comment?

Anyong said...

Yes...go to CBC.ca/ideas Enjoy...it is very interesting. Cheers