The Role of Maritime Forces in the Anti-Terrorist War

By Nigel Brodeur

Today’s war against terrorists is the sixth time since 1910 that Canada has faced the prospect of war. The others were: 1914 – World War One; 1939 – World War Two; 1950 – the Korean War; 1962 – the Cuban Missile Crisis; and, 1990 – the Persian Gulf War.

Most Canadians are unaware that Canadian warships were the first forces to be deployed at the outset of crisis on each of those occasions. They might also be astounded to learn that in the years following each of these crises, their Navy—the lead force to be deployed—has repeatedly been harangued to respond to the question: why do we need a navy? The blunt and concise answer is—so that you can safeguard your maritime interests in peace and war; promptly provide a capable military contribution in crises when Allies and trading partners shame you into action; and protect the shipping our army and air force will need when we send them to fight in distant lands … this is what the Navy’s motto Ready, Aye Ready is all about!

But when the great majority of Canadians live thousands of miles away from our three oceans and are preoccupied with the kaleidoscope of events occurring within our borders, it’s easy for them to act as though our maritime geography does not exist. We claim jurisdiction in one form or another over millions of square kilometres off our coasts but often seem to overlook the serious obligations commensurate with that jurisdiction—including to be “a security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasions.”

Until World War II, naval forces had limited capability to project military power ashore. The aircraft carrier and amphibious forces changed all that. Then, with the advent of submarine-launched intercontinental Trident ballistic missiles and long-range ship-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, naval forces possessing these formidable weapons could strike at landlocked nations far from the sea—as is the case in Afghanistan. Moreover, the modern 90,000 ton strike carrier with a crew of 6,000 and over 100 combat aircraft—a true mobile airfield—has greatly reduced reliance on foreign air bases and can be readily positioned to minimize over-flight problems.

Canada used to have a Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, and also two cruisers, HMC Ships Ontario and Quebec. Canada can no longer afford ships of that size … but if we had only a small ship coastal navy, our ships would lack the speed, endurance, habitability and weaponry to deploy to trouble spots thousands of miles away and to protect ourselves—let alone to safeguard vessels placed under their protection. Consequently, Canada would no longer be able to provide a useful naval force at the outset of a crisis, nor be able to protect our army’s shipping later on.

Modern missile-equipped destroyers and frigates like HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Vancouver, have the capabilities required for such deployments.

Consequently, our Navy’s foresight in acquiring such warships, over the objections of small-ship-navy advocates, has enabled Canada to make a viable military contribution at the very outset—in the Persian Gulf War, and now in the war against terrorism.

Looking at the 1990 Gulf War, had it not been for the new frigate program, Canada’s navy would not have had a pre-construction inventory of Harpoon anti-ship missile systems and Phalanx close-in air defence systems. Their restoration from storage and speedy ad hoc installation in the ships deployed to the Gulf War was one of the most impressive (and least recognized) Canadian naval accomplishments in that war. The 1997 book, “Operation Friction – The Canadian Forces in the Persian Gulf,” is worthwhile reading for anyone wanting the facts (as opposed to the popular disparaging fiction) about the Canadian achievements.

The addition of maritime patrol aircraft and shipborne multi-role helicopters tremendously enhances the capabilities of our destroyers and frigates. They enable hostile warships or submarines far beyond the horizon to be localized, identified and attacked. The helicopters can speedily distinguish, identify and destroy suicide and other attack craft in crowded waters; can spot and destroy floating mines; can evacuate casualties; and can transfer armed boarding parties, inspection teams and supplies between ships and from ship to shore.

An Operational Support Ship such as HMCS Protecteur, greatly extends the range and endurance of the Task Group. It also injects important augmenting capabilities—helicopter advanced maintenance facilities and machine shops capable of repairing a wide range of ships’ equipment and machinery as well as equipment from war-ravaged hospitals ashore. It can provide food, medical and dental assistance to non-governmental organizations ashore, as well as to military personnel. It can act as a local headquarters and provide rear-link communications between forces ashore and authorities back in Canada. It can provide cooked meals, showers and rest to soldiers and aircrews suffering from the unbearable conditions prevalent in so many countries where Canada has committed her military.

These are not imagined roles. Canada’s warships and helicopters have performed those tasks and many more, such as Search and Rescue and hurricane relief, in many far-off places throughout the past decade—in the Persian Gulf, off East Timor, off Haiti, off Somalia and even off Florida!

Given the omnipresent terrorist threat throughout the Gulf countries, epitomized by the suicide bombing of USS Cole, and given the vital role US carrier battle groups are playing in attacking terrorist and Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan, Canada’s naval Task Group will be an important contribution to Allied forces in the Middle East, and to the war against terrorism—all the more so now that our destroyers and frigates have shown themselves fully capable of working with US carrier battle groups.

The die is cast! Canada is a full participant in the war against terrorism! There’s no retreat from that commitment, except that of a nation of cowards!

Our soldiers, sailors and airmen have experienced many hardships at home and abroad so that we could enjoy that so-called “peace dividend,” and Canada’s parsimony towards her military has robbed them of much necessary equipment, manpower and training.

Our military and their families now deserve every Canadian’s unequivocal support and encouragement as our nation commits them to missions whose outcomes, now as never before, have a direct impact on every Canadian’s safety and way of life.

Nigel Brodeur is a former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff and Past President of the Defence Association National Network - Pacific. He is a member of NOAVI. The preceding OpEd was published in the “Victoria Times Colonist” on October 22, 2001, but rejected by the “Ottawa Citizen.”

(Originally Published in Vol. VII, No. 16 Autumn 2001 issue of Starshell)