I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I heard on the CBC that again, one of the Canadian navy’s infamous second-hand submarines was back in dry dock after only a few days at sea, because of major malfunctions.
I can’t recall how many times these sad samples of subs have been mentioned in this column since their purchase from England, oh, I’d say about 15 or 16 years ago at a great discount price. Well, there is that old adage … you get what you pay for.
That same report bore the information that the other three ex-English submarines were still in dry dock, undergoing repairs, and have been for several years.
These malfunctioning lugs even cost the Canadian navy a life with one seaman dying after one caught fire during a training run.
I’m willing to bet none of the four have spent more than 20 hours actually under water serving the purpose for which they were intended.
I would think by now, the navy has spent hundreds of millions, if not a billion or two, trying to get these scrapped tin cans sea worthy. You have to wonder at what point does the head boy for the Canadian military give the order to send these pieces of junk down for the last time … to serve as a home for lobsters and crabs?
These boats have probably been the worst purchase the navy has ever made over its entire history, and, I had mistakenly believed they had taken them out of service a year or so ago, following another publicized faulty run when a couple of them were supposed to be deployed for a NATO defence practice session somewhere in the Caribbean, but couldn’t get there, let alone do anything if they had been able to reach a destination.
It must be a real morale buster for any respectable sailor assigned to these rust buckets.
Let’s face it, Canada has a less than stellar record when it comes to equipping our military. Thank goodness the personnel are supposedly well trained because what they’re being expected to use in the form of equipment, is an embarrassment.
The ancient CF-18 jets can’t be replaced for a couple of decades now because it seems the military and accountancy brain trusts in Ottawa (and elsewhere) can’t agree on replacements, and it seems, they never will. They have been arguing about this file for over 10 years and have spent billions of your dollars on indecision.
It’s the same thing for the military helicopter replacements, and it’s to the point our chopper pilots aren’t too excited about taking the cranky old ‘copters out to do the military chores because they are way too far past their best-before dates … like a few decades.
Just to add to the woes, keep in mind the companies who do build stuff for the military are experts at gaming the system, which, of course, means additional millions out of your pockets and extra millions into the pockets of their majority shareholders and CEOs.
I don’t believe our soldiers have been treated fairly either, being forced to use antiquated equipment on the fronts, even as they were being dispatched to Afghanistan where everything was for real. At least we believe they were able to get a slight upgrade on their muzzle-loaded rifles.
The Canadian military has been the whipping boy of the politicians long enough. Maybe it’s time for someone smart … like a commonsense woman perhaps, to step in and clear up the mess and clear out the male egos.Â
