Not Reluctant,but Surprised:Canadians Must Lead a Battalion on NATO's Eastern Flank

Canadian soldiers find themselves among the leaders of the defence of NATO's Eastern Flank in the Baltic States and Poland,the Canadian Broadcasting Corportion revealed.Instead of playing a supportive role perhaps more in line with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's aspirations,Canada will now be dispatching at least 450 troops to Latvia next year to head one of NATO's four Framework Battalions agreed at the Alliance's recent Warsaw Summit.In addition to providing its own troops,Canada must also ensure there are enough personnel from other member countries to fill out the rest of the billets.When France bowed out of the leadership role because of heavy commitments of its forces to the domestic Operation Sentinelle against Islamist extremists,the US and UK urged Canada to take the lead in protecting Latvia.The US,UK and Germany are the other three nations that will provide Framework Battalions in the region:the US in Poland;the UK in Estonia;and Germany in Lithuania.The four battalions will amount to about 4,000 soldiers-or one brigade.After 6-9 months of service,other NATO members will assume the battalion leadership roles.*
France said it would provide 4300 troops for NATO service this year,but wanted out of the leadership role because of the strain domestic terrorism and other commitments were having on its military.Italy,Slovakia,Croatia,Poland and a Spanish-Portuguese unit are being mentioned as possibilities for Canada to draw upon to fill out its battalion.The four battalions express a doctrine known as Forward Enhanced Presence devised by NATO military planners upon request.It's new;it's groundbreaking,said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.It's a defensive,proportionate response to Russia illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine.The battalions will last as long as necessary.Russia has invested heavily and modernised its forces;it has even used its forces to interfere with the sovereignty of another country,Ukraine.The battalions are only one element of the FEP strategy;there is also the ability to reinforce NATO forces that is being developed through new headquarters,infrastructure,storage of equipment and supplies,Mr.Stoltenberg pointed out.Our military planners have also been asked to devise plans to increase our Black Sea region presence near Romania and Bulgaria in the air and at sea to complement the new Romainan-Bulgarian brigade that is being formed on land.*
Another key element of the new FEP strategy is the US quadrupling its expenditure in Europe by providing a second armoured brigade combat team of about 5,000 continuously rotated troops in addition to the brigade it already maintains.What is more,it is providing a set of equipment for a third armoured brigade which NATO forces can draw upon in a crisis.*
Canada's members of Parliament are asking who is joining their battalion;what equipment they will bring;and what the plan is in the event of a crisis,the CBC reported.