to move up and down
Graphic: The Dambuster Raid Anniversary
Operation Chastise was a daring attack on German dams carried out on May 16-17, 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, flying modified Avro Lancasters, known as “The Dambusters,” the aircraft dropped a bomb specially developed to skip along the surface of a reservoir, over the anti-torpedo netting, and into the dam wall before detonating at a preset depth.
Graphic: The Military Balance on the Korean Peninsula
Tensions in the Korean Peninsula have soared with a series of provocations from North Korea as well as a revelation in a U.S. intelligence report that suggested the Hermit Kingdom now has the ability to arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead — even if the weapons would lack reliability. Some analysts fear a miscalculation by Kim Jong-un, or an accident, could provoke a regional war dragging in even China and Russia.
The whole North Korean army in one place
We stand on guard for… Iceland: Canada takes its turn defending only NATO country without an army
With no air force of its own, for the next five weeks the only thing guarding Iceland from air invasion will be a sextet of Canadian fighter planes.
In mid-March, six CF-18s and more than 160 Canadian Forces personnel bunked down at a Cold War-era base just outside Reykjavik to kick off Operation Ignition, a periodic mission in which Canada takes its turn defending the island nation, which is the only NATO member without a single soldier or pilot on the payroll.
Canadians will monitor radar, escort “unauthorized” aircraft out of Icelandic airspace and practice scrambling jets to “intercept and identify unknown airborne objects,” according to a statement by the Department of National Defense. (Cpl Pierre Habib/DND)
Nearly 150 years after conflict ended, U.S. government still making payments to children of Civil War vets
If history is any judge, the U.S. government will be paying for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the next century as service members and their families grapple with the sacrifices of combat.
An Associated Press analysis of federal payment records found that the government is still making monthly payments to relatives of Civil War veterans — 148 years after the conflict ended.
At the 10 year anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, more than US$40-billion a year is going to compensate veterans and survivors from the Spanish-American War from 1898, World War I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the two Iraq campaigns and the Afghanistan conflict. And those costs are rising rapidly. (AP Photo/Library of Congress, Alexander Gardner)
![U.S. Army deserter escapes capture outside Vancouver church ‘sanctuary’ when elderly friend fights off policeFor more than three years, U.S. Army deserter Rodney Watson has staved off deportation using nothing more than the brick walls of Downtown Vancouver’s First United Church — and the unwritten biblical code of “sanctuary.”Thus, when border officials spotted Mr. Watson “off property” during a routine check of the building Tuesday, they saw fit to make their move.Seeing the officers approach, an elderly friend of Mr. Watson rushed in to fight them off, allowing the 35-year-old to foil their pursuit and slip back over the church’s threshold.“It was a bit of a mystery why [border officials] were there at that particular time, almost waiting, it seemed,” said a church official.The episode is one of the starkest examples yet of Canadian border agents being stopped by the “sanctity” of a church — a practice they claim not to recognize. (Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News files)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/394fdc874feb60420709760f632f6d1a/tumblr_mhhtelYaCI1qze0z6o1_1280.jpg)
U.S. Army deserter escapes capture outside Vancouver church ‘sanctuary’ when elderly friend fights off police
For more than three years, U.S. Army deserter Rodney Watson has staved off deportation using nothing more than the brick walls of Downtown Vancouver’s First United Church — and the unwritten biblical code of “sanctuary.”
Thus, when border officials spotted Mr. Watson “off property” during a routine check of the building Tuesday, they saw fit to make their move.
Seeing the officers approach, an elderly friend of Mr. Watson rushed in to fight them off, allowing the 35-year-old to foil their pursuit and slip back over the church’s threshold.
“It was a bit of a mystery why [border officials] were there at that particular time, almost waiting, it seemed,” said a church official.
The episode is one of the starkest examples yet of Canadian border agents being stopped by the “sanctity” of a church — a practice they claim not to recognize. (Nick Procaylo/Postmedia News files)
Pentagon to allow women in front-line combat by 2016
Senior U.S. defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military’s ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war.
The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule prohibiting women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta’s decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women. (DAVID FURST/AFP/Getty Images)
Graphic: Canada’s fighter jet options and potential adversaries in the sky
Ottawa is reconsidering its costly pick for Canada’s next fighter jets. Here’s how the F-35 stealth fighter stacks up against its possible competitors.
Kandahar Journal: Getting out of Afghanistan
“I’m worried for them.” As the Afghanistan mission winds down, unease lingers (Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Canada’s Special Operations Regiment finds new teaching niche in Afghanistan
These aren’t men you’d describe as approachable. Something about their mix of self-assurance, muscular build, facial hair and abundant tattoos keeps you at bay. Something around their eyes warns you off — the dull clarity in their unflinching gaze, hinting at knowledge of things best left unknown. There’s something in their movements, something calculating, something constantly measuring, something pent up, leashed, held in check. These are not men you’d like the look of, but these are the quiet professionals of Canada’s Special Operations Regiment (CSOR).
(Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Maintaining the Afghan Air Force, by whatever means necessary
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) MI-35 Hind helicopter gunship sits squatting on the runway in the noonday Kabul International Airport (KAIA) heat. The cowlings surrounding the twin engines are open and a mechanic is wrenching – with a wrench – at something that is not properly aligned – yet.
Even with its innards exposed, the Hind still looks threatening. It looks just like the Apache doesn’t. While the Apache looks like a toy, the Hind – even this 30-year-old bird – looks like the grown-up real-deal. It looks like it could take a “young boy’s wish” and crush it.
The look is all illusion though. This Hind is a legacy vehicle of the AAF. It somehow survived the fall of the Soviet Union, the resulting civil war, the abuse and abandonment of the Taliban, and the aerial bombardment by the U.S. in response to 9/11. (Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Just ‘good enough’ for Afghanistan
“It can be hard to swallow for the Canadians. It is hard for them to let go of a soldier when you know he will probably die in the first days of battle, because the training they have received is so limited.” (Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Leading by example in Kabul
“Soldiers are soldiers, once you train them they will know their job. The problem is getting good training in a good time period. We are trying to instill as much as we possibly can. But in the end it has to be an Afghan led training team to build an Afghan Army.”
(Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Canadian mentors have nine weeks to turn new Afghan recruits into soldiers
As for the prospects for Afghanistan when ISAF eventually pulls out, Lt. Buck feels that the men he has trained have a better chance of holding the country together.
“I worry for them. I’m worried that someone else will take over, or that some of the ANA will turn and take over. But I hope that by training ethical leaders, they will remain patriotic for Afghanistan rather than for themselves.” (Illustrations by Richard Johnson/National Post)
Kandahar Journal: Canadian doctors helping the Afghans lead
In an intensive care unit in Afghanistan’s Armed Forces Academy of Medical Sciences in Kabul lie 10 mangled men.
This is the end of the journey for many ANA soldiers. They arrive here after having stepped in the wrong place or having finally run out of luck at bullet dodging. For most of these young men — in truth, they are barely more than boys — their luck ran out in the last 10 days.
Many are missing limbs, others have been filled by shrapnel. Some have bullet wounds to the head, or other massive concussion trauma. The very fact that they are in ICU means that they are on the edge of death or — with a little help — on the edge of life.
“My role here is what my [Canadian military] mission is, but I am here ‘personally’ because I want to help,” says Lieutenant Commander Vincent Trottier. The same thing could be said of every member of Canada’s Medical contingent here in Afghanistan. They are not here for the money, or the prospects of promotion. They are here because they want to help.
(Illustrations: Richard Johnson/National Post)
