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The Vanguard Podcast

Welcome to the Vanguard Podcast, a weekly radio show discussing news, trends, and event coverage for the Canadian Defence Industry. Vanguard is Canada’s oldest trade journal of record that provides a forum for Canada’s security and defence community, discussing strategic perspectives and overviews of government and military policy and practice, through interviews with leading practitioners and contributions from renowned experts, including representatives from industry. Intersecting strategy, technology and policy, Vanguard explores emerging trends and best practices to help enhance Canada’s holistic approach to defence and security, both domestically and internationally.
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Now displaying: October, 2016
Oct 31, 2016

Vanguard Radio Oct 26 2016

 

Thanks Terri.

The battle rages on in northern Iraq as Iraqi troops and Kurdish fighters continue their push to root out ISIS terrorists who once held sway in Mosul.

That and just what is the nature of Canada’s involvement in the assault on Mosul is one of stories in this week’s episode of Vanguard Radio.

But first, an update on the latest issue of the Vanguard Magazine

 

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That’s right the digital format of the Oct-Nov 2016 issue of the Vanguard Magazine is out.

Our print issue will surely follow in the next few days.

This time around, Vanguard takes dives into the topic of underwater drones or Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

The Navy is looking to procure AUVs for marine mine hunting operations.

Rick Gerbrecht of Atlas Elektronik Canada explains why underwater drones are perfect for such a task and also provides us a glimpse of the future of “drone swarms.”

While armed airbourne drones have been called the terror of the skies, unmanned aerial vehicles could be their life-saving counter-parts.

In the latest issue of Vanguard Magazine, Ken Chadder and Kevin Young of Hexagon Safety and Infrastructure, talk about the critical role that drones will play in the planning of real-time emergency response.

For this issue, our Game Changers are: Heather Pilot, president of business consulting firm Pilot Hill and lead organizer of the Best Defence Conference; 

Bodo Gospodnetic, president of Dominis Engineering Ltd., a pioneer in the design, machining and measurement of marine propellers, water jet impellers, and hydro turbine runners;

and George Palikaras, founder and CEO of Metamaterial Technologies.

Be sure to check out the latest Vanguard Magazine you’ll find  the link to it at the bottom or our web site.


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On Oct 17, Iraqi government troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces moved in on Mosul to dislodge ISIS terrorists that have been holding the northern Iraqi city since last year.

The Iraqi troops and the Kurds are being backed by a US-led coalition which also includes Canadian forces.

You’ll find some of our earlier accounts of the battle in the stories Major Move Mosul and ISIS sleeper cells launch counterattack.

But what many Canadian would like to know is the nature of involvement of the Canadian Armed Forces personnel in the operation.

Are our soldiers involved in armed combat or not?

Last Week, photos surfaced on social media which gave the impression that they are in the front lines.

Pictures appearing on Twitter showed men in Canadian uniforms apparently setting up heavy weapons or manning armoured vehicles.

Accompanying reports said they were helping Kurdish fighters in an area east of Mosul.

In our recent story Are Canadian in the front lines in Mosul, the reaction of Defence Chief Harjit Sajjan has been cryptic.

While he did not question the photos, he also did not clearly say if Canadian troops were involved in combat.

Under Operation Impact, the Canadian Armed Forces provide training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces.

We support the Coalition with highly skilled personnel, and provide support to Coalition air and intelligence efforts.

 

Canada is at the forefront of international efforts to defeat Daesh and to address the significant security, humanitarian, and political challenges it poses.

 

But right from the start, the role of Canadian troops was stated by the Liberal government to be non-combative.

Has this role somehow changed to active battle involvement?

 

We think Canadians deserve to know.

The government needs to be more transparent

Canadians shouldn’t be kept in the dark about this and left to find out what’s happening really happening through Twitter.

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That’s it for this episode of Vanguard Radio.

We hope you enjoyed our recap of some of the developments we have been following this week.

Vanguard will continue to monitor the unfolding events in Mosul as well as the latest reports from the defence industry.

This is your host, Nestor Arellano

Saying see you again next week on the Vanguard Radio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 4, 2016

Vanguard Radio reports on the military ombudsman’s call for an end to the delay of benefits for medically discharging CAF members. And, the head of Canada’s Communication Security Establishment sounds the alarm on a ticking time bomb called quantum computing.

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Last month Gen Jonathan Vance provided the public an update on Operation Honour, the CAF’s military campaign against sexual misconduct in the military.

At that time, the CDS said the campaign was off to a good start but also warned that there awas lots of work ahead.

Last week, those tasked with carrying out Operation Honour received much needed help with the launch of The Sexual Offence Response Team.

The new 18-member team will help identify, investigate and help prosecute CAF and DND members responsible for criminal sexual offences.

The Sexual Offence Response Team are dispersed in three-member teams at the six Canadian Forces National Investigation Service’s regional offices located in Victoria, Edmonton, Borden, Ottawa, Valcartier, and Halifax.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service is a unit within the independent Canadian Forces Military Police Group.

Frontline Military Police remains a key part of the investigative process as they are often the first point of contact for complainants in reporting any offence. 

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Several weeKs ago, Vanguard covered the release of a report from the military ombudsman’s detailing the procedural red tape that delays the benefits and medical services that many medically discharged CAF members need.

The report by Gary Walbourne, the DND and CAF ombudsman, was written back in May but only made public in September.

In it he said the voluminous documents and requirements and administrative procedures that ill and injured CAF members need to navigate through illustrate that the current system is broken.

Last week, the Ombudsman produced another report.

Plainly titled Simplifying the service delivery model for medically releasing members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the document provides a more detailed account of the changes that Walbourne’s office is recommending.

Once more, the Ombudsman also decried the complex procedures which CAF members and their families had to deal with.

For example, medically discharging CAF members had to discuss their cases and produce documentation for three distinct offices – the CAF Veterans Affairs and the Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP).

This meant they had deal with three separate case managers, file 21 separate applications, and navigate three different processes with different timelines.

Among the recommendation of the Ombudsman were:

  • The retention of ill or injured CAF members until all benefits and services from CAF, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC)and Service Income Security Insurance Plan (SISIP) are put in place.
  • The establishment of a transition concierge service to act as a single point of contact for members and their families. (The UK and U.S. provide this service).
  • The development of a secure web portal (already done by VAC, but not DND and SISIP) single point of entry for all matters related to the transition from CAF to civilian life.

“Far too many members are medically released from the military before they learn what medical or financial support, if any, they will receive,” said Walbourne.

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Quantum computing is a much vaunted revolutionary way of computing which promises to help organizations solve complex problems more than a thousand times faster that they could with the fastest computers available today.

Researchers, technology experts and leaders of various sectors believe quantum computing will help accelerate innovation, cut down cost of production and more.

However, quantum computing could also usher in a new age of cyber insecurity where even the strongest data and network protection tools and techniques could be easily bypassed by hackers.

Greta Bossenmaier, head of the Canada’s Communication Security Establishment, warned that within a mere 10 years or by 2026 quantum computing will have the ability to break down even the toughest encryption method we use today.

This has a tremendous impact on how governments, militaries and businesses protect their networks since much of the world’s industries, businesses and utilities are tied to power grids and connected to the Internet.

The CSE fears that an attack on one system could create a cascading effect that would topple other systems connected to the initial target.

The CSE and other similar agencies around the world are now working to develop a new encryption standard before Y2Q – or year to quantum arrives.

“The clock has started to tick. So, unless we collectively get ahead of the quantum challenge and rethink encryption, the systems, and information of companies, governments, of organizations, of citizens – potentially every Canadian citizen – could be vulnerable,” she said.

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That’s it for this week’s Vanguard Radio.

Thank you very much again for tuning into our show.

If you would like read more about our stories today, please head over to vanguardcanada.com

I know not a few of you have your own thoughts about the developments we reported on.

You can always leave your comments and thoughts on the comment section of each story, tweet them to us, or share them on our Facebook page.

Until then, this is your host Nestor Arellano, saying see you again next week On Vanguard Radio.

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