Replacing the Subs

[Retired AF Guy]

Even more significantly we need a switched on MND to help us with getting capital equipment, besides fixing our issues with sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. While fixing our cultural is pressing, our ability to defend the country must not suffer too.

Well the new MND is Anita Anand. How switched-on she is only time will tell.

 

[Happy Guy]

Just read her profile on the internet. Seems to be a highly intelligent lawyer who worked in private practice and was a law professor at U of T. I thought that she did a good job as the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada in buying COVID 19 vaccines.

Time will tell if she is the right person for DND/CAF. Perhaps it is fortuitous that she was in charge of procurement hopefully she can speed things along with major capital equipment projects.

 

[Happy Guy]

I just read this article from the USN. They are making a case for the USN to procure Diesel-Electric (AIP) submarines and it is based on cost, capabilities and emerging threats. My head says SSKs but my heart still wants SSNs.

 

[Weinie]

Just read her profile on the internet. Seems to be a highly intelligent lawyer who worked in private practice and was a law professor at U of T. I thought that she did a good job as the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada in buying COVID 19 vaccines.

Time will tell if she is the right person for DND/CAF. Perhaps it is fortuitous that she was in charge of procurement hopefully she can speed things along with major capital equipment projects.

She bought nothing. The bureaucrats that work for her conceived the plan and then procured vaccines, albeit after a slow, politically driven start.

 

[Happy Guy]

She bought nothing. The bureaucrats that work for her conceived the plan and then procured vaccines, albeit after a slow, politically driven start.

Ministers in charge of their departments are aided by their specialists and staffs, but the Minister is the one who gives direction.

She was in charge and gave necessary direction / priorities to the procurement specialists. This meant detailed discussions with the medical communities, other government departments for their input, distribution and storage of the vaccines, packaging and so forth - she ensure coordination and synchronization of effort and information. She answered questions from the both political and media organizations which is not easy.

Cheers

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The Ministers decide day to day stuff, but at the end of the day, they pass on direction decided by the Cabinet PMO and figure out how best to implement it without to much embarrassment.

 

[Weinie]

Ministers in charge of their departments are aided by their specialists and staffs, but the Minister is the one who gives direction.

She was in charge and gave necessary direction / priorities to the procurement specialists. This meant detailed discussions with the medical communities, other government departments for their input, distribution and storage of the vaccines, packaging and so forth - she ensure coordination and synchronization of effort and information. She answered questions from the both political and media organizations which is not easy.

Cheers

She gave direction after receiving specialist knowledge from her staff. She is a lawyer, she knows next to nothing about government procurement. She relies on the bureaucrats to give her advice, and potentially makes the right decision.

She answered questions because Hansard and media expectations demands it. It is not supposed to be easy.

Cheers

 

[Happy Guy]

The medical specialists provides the details regarding vaccines and assists in the filing out SOW.
The procurement specialist provides details with respect to the contracting mechanism and the SOW.

The Minister makes the decision based on their recommendations. At this high level procurement is all about contract law. As she is a lawyer will be understand a good deal of this, although she will need to learn the terminology. As the Minister she would have learned procurement regulations, contracting laws, strategy and negotiation.

A Brigade Commander maybe a Infantry Officer. This person will be familiar with the Arty, Armd and Cbt Eng functions after being on the Cbt Tm Comd's crse. The Comd may have learn some things about comms, CSS and Med but this pers is not the expert. The Comd will rely on the advice and recommendations from the experts before making a decision. The Minister is the same as is the PM or CEO of any company. The Minister makes the decision not the procurement expert.

Cheers

 

[Eye In The Sky]

None of things see what is going on under the ice...
While the RCN may not need a sub to break through the ice - I firmly believe it does need a sub that can operate under the ice -- and based on what the Navy folks have posted here and elsewhere it is pretty risky to operate under the ice, if you can't break through in extremis.

Given the ability of current technology - and the state of the world - I personally believe that one would want to have the pulse of what is going on in ones own waters.


I know it's a snowballs chance in hell, but I think it is honestly the only credible submarine option for Canada.

I honestly think IF the RCN attempted to explain this to the .gov and Canadian public - that it would probably get a lot of support -- I mean you can squeeze "True North Strong and Free" for all it's worth - and even the non nuke beatnik's can't make much of a fit - because at the end of the day, it is a cleaner, and safer way to patrol CANADA's Oceans.

Space surveillance assets, LRP aircraft...AOPS (not really worth mentioning IMO; sorry RCN folks).

None of those have the presence and 'on station' capability a sub, especially a nuc (no snorting required) has. Satellites can detect, something still needs to go ONSTA. LRP...sure, if we had more. 14 is our fleet, total. 14...for all the FG, FE, FD....including ones that are 'gone' for TLIR, upgrades, etc.

If you want presence, on station up the wah-zoo compared to aircraft....a sub. If you want a capable sub....nuc.

I also agree....snowballs chance in hell...

 

[MilEME09]

Space surveillance assets, LRP aircraft...AOPS, not really worth mentioning IMO.

None of those have the presence and 'on station' capability a sub, especially a nuc (no snorting required) has. Satellites can detect, something still needs to go ONSTA. LRP...sure, if we had more. 14 is our fleet, total. 14...for all the FG, FE, FD....including ones that are 'gone' for TLIR, upgrades, etc.

If you want presence, on station up the wah-zoo compared to aircraft....a sub. If you want a capable sub....nuc.

I also agree....snowballs chance in hell...

Sometimes you just gotta get lucky with a big enough snow ball

 

[JMCanada]

For those who (like myself) would like RCN had SSNs... there is a series of three articles (up to now) by Peter Briggs in the Australian ASPI .
The last one provides interesting assessment on the training requirements and planning for their future nukes.

Making the shift to nuclear-powered submarines: training and recruiting | The Strategist

In the first post in this series, I considered the structure of the safety regimes needed to independently audit the Royal Australian Navy’s procedures and training to operate a nuclear-powered submarine (SSN), along with the ...

www.aspistrategist.org.au

 

[Czech_pivo]

Ministers in charge of their departments are aided by their specialists and staffs, but the Minister is the one who gives direction.

She was in charge and gave necessary direction / priorities to the procurement specialists. This meant detailed discussions with the medical communities, other government departments for their input, distribution and storage of the vaccines, packaging and so forth - she ensure coordination and synchronization of effort and information. She answered questions from the both political and media organizations which is not easy.

Cheers

Guys, are they shifting her out of this post just in time to avoid being tainted.

HC will approve Pfizer for kids any day now and when that happens tens of thousands of parents will be clambering to line their kids up for the shots and guess what? Not a single dose will be available for them.
Why?
Because HC has ruled that we can't use the existing Pfizer doses on hand and withdraw a smaller dose that is being approved for children 5-11yrs old. New doses/vials will be required that contain a larger amount of doses per vial and the formulation being specific to this age group.

Anand has said that we have a new, specific contract with Pfizer for children's doses but what she has never, ever said is the length of time required to fulfill this contract. It might be a few weeks after HC approves or it might be a few months.....but for certain no one is saying a word on timelines yet. For my 2 cents, I'm betting on early months of 2022.

Our current set of contracts, for the adult doses, does specify that we will receive millions of new Pfizer doses in 2022 and even more in 2023, but there are no timelines disclosed to the general public.

For each children's vial Pfizer produces there is one less adult vial it can produce. Simple production math.

 

[Good2Golf]

Can the Barracuda shoot Mk48s?

 

[KevinB]

For each children's vial Pfizer produces there is one less adult vial it can produce. Simple production math.

Not necessarily true.
That is assuming the production is limited by vial production, and not the quantity of the actual vaccine.
Based on what I have seen from production capacity from similar items - I strongly doubt the availability, and loading/sealing of vials is the issue.


Next week we start 5-11's down here.

All of which has nothing to do with Sub's...

 

[daftandbarmy]

She gave direction after receiving specialist knowledge from her staff. She is a lawyer, she knows next to nothing about government procurement. She relies on the bureaucrats to give her advice, and potentially makes the right decision.

She answered questions because Hansard and media expectations demands it. It is not supposed to be easy.

Cheers

And, in this government, the PM micromanages everything through the 'Lip Sticked Pit Bull', and cabinet committees etc, so there's that too.

 

[CBH99]

And, in this government, the PM micromanages everything through the 'Lip Sticked Pit Bull', and cabinet committees etc, so there's that too.

Like KevinB hinted at… getting back to Submarine chat…

- Yes, we do need a switched on MND that has a genuinely good relationship with the PM. I personally thought our current MND was going to perform a lot better than he has. As a guy who deployed several times in a combat theatre, and who was a detective with VPD on the civi-side… my expectations for performance in almost all areas or higher than what he has delivered.

- when it comes to military matters I don’t know that we will get another MND that was more switched on than someone who was in, and had deployed a number of times - yet wasn’t able to turn that experience into anything tangible once in a Minister’s post. (I truly do believe MND is a cursed post.)


- Yes, the MND & senior flag officers do need to educate their fellow MP’s on these issues. They need to be personable enough to communicate the issue(s) in a way that their audience will gladly focus on the presentation being made - I don’t think that will be an issue.

**I think the primary challenge is going to be how to communicate it in such a way that the price tag does not immediately cause the audience to balk.

** One thing we do terribly in this country is communicate the price tag of a project in a way that makes sense to anybody. We’ve discussed this before in other threads.

** I am sure it would be fairly easy to break the costs down into much more palatable sizes, than just throw a project with a giant price tag out there - the way we usually do. This would go a long way in getting much needed projects funded and approved, compared to the current pace of things.


0.02

 

[rmc_wannabe]

I am sure it would be fairly easy to break the costs down into much more palatable sizes, than just throw a project with a giant price tag out there - the way we usually do. This would go a long way in getting much needed projects funded and approved, compared to the current pace of things.

Ahhh yes. the ol' "turn this procurement of 25k into 5 procurments of 5k" model.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Ahhh yes. the ol' "turn this procurement of 25k into 5 procurments of 5k" model.

People do that because the procurement system is pretty much broken, so they find work arounds. so rather than fix the issues, they want to punish people for trying to get on with their job.

 

[Brad Sallows]

As a guy who deployed several times in a combat theatre, and who was a detective with VPD on the civi-side… my expectations for performance in almost all areas or higher than what he has delivered.

Not everyone is above average.

 

[Czech_pivo]

This is what passes as journalism in Canada today.

French nuclear submarines in Canada?

An important file on the office of the new Defense Minister Anita Anand. Last summer, Ottawa launched a study to purchase patrol submarines. France is on its way to winning this contract. Emmanuel Macron hopes to interview Justin Trudeau on this topic by the end of the year. The French are...

www.vaughantoday.ca