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6月17日
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Canadian Forces Sniper’s Rifles — C3A1, Tac-50, and the Future |
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 The Precision Tools of the Trade [1]
The sniper’s rifle is unlike any other military equipment. In contrast with the mass–produced weapons of the infantry, each individual snipers rifle is a carefully hand-tooled example of the gunsmith’s art. Canadian snipers have been well served for 3 decades by 7.62mm Parker-Hale C3A1 rifles.
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‘Big Mac’ To Go — the CF’s New 12.7mm McMillan Tac-50
In 2000, the venerable C3A1 was joined by a heavy hitter, the .50 calibre Tac-50. CF interest in this big rifle originated with Combat Engineers who saw its potential for safely detonating unexploded ordnance but the ‘Big Mac’ has revolutionized CF sniping tactics.  | |
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  There are about 150 qualified snipers in the CF. The skills of these snipers are honed through regular competitions at CFB Gagetown, home of the CF Infantry School’s ‘Sniper Cell’. The sniper teams have undergone a transformation. While team commanders continue to use old C3A1s, this 7.62mm weapon now acts as a back-up for the big 12.7mm Tac-50 wielded by the primary shooter. The spotters are armed with 5.56mm automatic rifles to provide security for the snipers. In the past, the weapon of choice was the compact C8 carbine. Increasingly the back-up weapon is the standard C7A1 rifle (left) fitted with a telescopic sight.
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| [1] Sniper’s rifles are each given system descriptions as well as specific designations. The C3A1 is the MRSW (Medium-Range Sniper’s Weapon), the Tac-50 is the LRSW (Long-Range Sniper’s Weapon), and the scope-equipped C7A1 is the MRS (Marksman Rifle System). |
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Photo Credits — .338" Timberwolf: Stephen Priestley, top right, modified from a Canadian Tactical image, other images: CF / DND |
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DND 101 — A Visual Guide to the Canadian Forces 2005 Edition |
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© Stephen Priestley 2001/2005 | |
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Canadian Forces Sniper’s Rifles — C3A1 Replacement [Part 1] |
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  Testing Future Sniper’s Rifles and Suppressors
In October 2001, the CF’s Land Forces Trials and Evaluations Unit and the Infantry School ‘Sniper Cell’ began testing new sniper’s rifle designs. At the same time, suppressors were trialled – these serving to reduce the firing signature, both noise and muzzle blast. Several suppressor designs and seven distinct models of rifle, from six different manufacturers, were demonstrated at CFB Gagetown.
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 Among the candidates were AI’s .338 AWM, [2] the Blaser LSR2, and PGM’s Mini-Hecate. [3] All three are of radical design based on a rigid frame (steel, in the case of PGM) to which composite ‘furniture’ (what there is of it) is attached. Both .308" and .338" rifles were tested but the CF favoured
.338, a powerful round with many of the capabilities of the 12.7mm used in the CF’s big McMillan Tac-50. Continued >
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[1] An unsuccessful British competitor was Parker-Hale’s M85 (in effect an updated C3A1). Accuracy International’s winning L96 design is set apart by its integrated design – all major components (including the stainless steel barrel) are mounted to a rigid aluminum chassis.
[2] The AWM’s (Arctic Warfare Magnum) bolt action is designed to operate without binding down to -40°C. Initially designed for .308" (first adopted by the Swedes as their 7.62mm PSG-90), the Magnum fires .338" Lapua rounds. The AWM has been adopted by the British Army as the L119 squad support weapon (taking advantage of that powerful round) rather than a sniper’s rifle. In CF service, a new .338- calibre rifle would probably be used for anti-personnel/counter-sniping allowing 12.7mm Tac-50s to be focused on their anti-matériel roles.
[3] As its name suggests, the Mini-Hecate is a scaled-down version of PGM’s 12.7mm Hecate. PGM products, which are Swiss-designed but built in France, are marketed in North America by FN. Germany’s Blaser is represented by Swiss SIG. The Blaser LRS2 (or Long-Range Sniper) is a straight-pull (as opposed to rotating bolt) design. LRS2s are also called R93 Tacticals, a reference to their hunting rifle origins. |
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DND 101 — A Visual Guide to the Canadian Forces 2005 Edition |
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© Stephen Priestley 2001/2005 | | 5月19日
INDEPTH: CANADA'S MILITARY
Disaster relief : Canada's rapid-response team
CBC News Online | October 17, 2005
The Disaster Assistance Response Team – about 200 Canadian Forces soldiers – is designed to fly into disaster areas around the world to provide drinking water and medical treatment until long-term aid arrives.
DART medical staff treated about 7,500 patients in the Honduras, after a hurricane ripped through in October 1998. (DND Photo) |
The military created DART in 1996 because of its experience in Rwanda two years earlier, when international relief organizations arrived too late to save thousands of people from a cholera epidemic.
That convinced the federal government it needed to be able to respond more quickly.
Since then, DART has helped disaster victims in Turkey, Honduras, Sri Lanka and, most recently, Pakistan, after the October 2005 earthquake.
Ottawa decided not to send the team to Haiti during the hurricane season of 2004, with Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew saying that Canada must consider the cost of such an aid mission. The team's mission to Turkey, for example, cost $15 million.
What does DART do?
DART consists of about 200 Canadian Forces staff who can ship out quickly to conduct emergency relief operations for up to 40 days.
The team has four main goals:
- Provide basic medical care: Its tented medical aid station can serve up to 250 outpatients and 10 inpatients a day. The medical platoon treats minor injuries and tries to keep diseases from spreading, but doesn't perform surgeries. The aid station includes a lab, a pharmacy, limited obstetrics services and rehydration and preventative medicine section.
- Produce safe drinking water: Water purification staff can produce up to 50,000 litres of potable water a day, as well as chlorinating local wells and monitoring water supplies.
- Repair basic infrastructure: Engineers can fix roads and bridges, repair electrical and water supply systems and build refugee camps.
- Make communication easier: DART sets up facilities to make communication easier between everyone involved in the relief effort, including the afflicted country, non-governmental organizations and UN aid agencies.
DART does not go into places where it will face organized resistance and tries not to step on the toes of aid agencies.
The team receives less money than any other unit in the Canadian Forces, with an annual budget of $500,000.
DART troops often face washed out bridges and roads when they try to deliver help. (DND Photo) |
What troops are in DART?
Apart from a handful of staff at DART headquarters in Kingston, Ont., the team uses personnel from military units across the country.
The team consists of:
- Engineer platoon: About 37 field and construction engineers.
- Medical platoon: About 40 staff who operate the aid station.
- Defence and security platoon: About 45 personnel who guard camp and support DART operations.
- Logistics platoon: About 20 staff who provide maintenance, transportation and supplies.
- Headquarters: About 45 personnel who oversee operations and co-ordinate DART's response with other countries and aid organizations.
How does it get sent out?
The Canadian government makes the decision to send DART after it receives a request from an individual country or the United Nations.
A reconnaissance team of about 12 people – drawn from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency, National Defence Headquarters and DART – heads out first to find what's needed.
Once DART knows where to set up camp, it begins shipping troops and equipment, usually from the airport at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario. Almost everything DART needs – more than 40 vehicles and 340 tonnes of supplies – is stored in a warehouse at the base, ready to be shipped at 48 hours notice. Another 11 tonnes of medical supplies are stashed nearby.
What has it done in the past?
Canada has deployed the full DART team on two major operations: in Honduras, after a major hurricane struck, and in Turkey, after a massive earthquake tore through the country.
Honduras: Operation Central
A severe hurricane that ripped through Honduras in October 1998 killed thousands and left several million people homeless. DART deployed to the most devastated area, the Rio Aguan Valley in north-central Honduras.
Because many of the roads and bridges were destroyed, four CH-146 Griffon helicopters from CFB Petawawa flew down to shuttle medical teams, food and water out to isolated villages.
DART staff:
- Treated about 7,500 patients, largely for ailments such as respiratory infections, skin and intestinal infections, diarrhoea and parasites.
- Produced thousands of litres of clean drinking water and chlorinated local wells used by about 15,000 people.
- Repaired roads, bridges and electrical and water supply systems.
- Delivered more than 113 tonnes of food, water and medical supplies by the time they left in mid-December.
Turkey: Operation Torrent
The DART team, in Turkey after an earthquake in 1999, built a refugee camp and purified 2.5 million litres of water. (DND Photo) |
An earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey in August 1999 killed tens of thousands of people and left more than half a million homeless. The DART team, which set up in the town of Serdivan about 135 kilometres east of Istanbul:
- Treated more than 5,000 patients.
- Produced more than 2½ million litres of purified water, tested 50 water sources for safety and monitored a water treatment plant and reservoirs.
- Helped clean up a local school.
- Restored electricity at a medical clinic.
- Constructed a 2,500-person tented camp in Serdivan.
Sri Lanka: Operation Structure
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a series of tsunamis in Southeast Asia, killing an estimated 275,000 people. Prime Minster Paul Martin announced Jan. 2, 2005, that DART would be sent to Sri Lanka.
The Canadian government was criticized at the time for its decision to send DART to Sri Lanka rather than to a more severely affected area, such as Indonesia, and for its perceived slow response to the crisis.
The DART team, which set up in an old sugar factory in Ampara:
- Treated more than 7,620 patients.
- Produced nearly 3.5 million litres of drinking water.
- Transported nearly 70,000 across a local river.
- Helped in repairing schools, clearing rubble and constructing temporary shelters.
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5月16日 Canada's Elite Secret Army
The most secret, unpublicized and least known branch of the Canadian military.
JTF2 (Joint Task Force II).
(There is no Joint Task Force 1)
The Department of National Defence (DND) won't talk about JTF2, other than to admit it exists and is headquartered at Dwyer Hill, outside Ottawa.
JTF2 is a hyper-secret, elite counter-terrorist and VIP security force of some 250 hand-picked volunteers who are super-fit and super-trained, whose identities are secret, whose budget is classified and who are a version Britain's SAS and U.S. Special Forces.
Originally the brainchild of Robert Fowler when he was deputy defence minister (before his UN ambassadorship) and then-chief of defence staff (CDS) General John de Chastelain, JTF2 quickly evolved into something of a secret army outside the military chain of command, reporting directly to the CDS.
Members operate in small units (called "bricks") and act as bodyguards to the PM and Defence minister when they travel to dangerous places.
JTF2 replaced the RCMP's anti-terrorist Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), which was deemed unsuitable for quasi-military operations. In fact, JTF2 has replaced the disbanded Airborne Regiment as our "elite" military unit.
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Update:
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Tuesday » May 16 » 2006 |
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JTF-2: They've got dolls
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| Chris Wattie |
| National Post |
Friday, April 21, 2006
The commandos of Canada's elite Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2) have achieved a milestone in the world of special forces units: they have their own action figures.
A Kingston-area military modeller has commissioned a pair of 12-inch, hand-made and detailed toy soldiers dressed in typical commando uniforms, the first time a Canadian army unit has been the model for its own action figure.
"The guys think it's kind of neat," said Lieutenant (Navy) Walter Moniz, the spokesman for the secretive special forces unit.
"But beyond that I don't think they give it much thought ... This is the sort of thing we've come to expect: As the unit's history and reputation builds, it's going to attract this kind of attention," Lieut. Moniz said.
The two figures were produced from scratch for a collectors' convention to be held in Kingston, Ont., this summer and organizer Scott Dommitt said they will be raffled off, with the proceeds going to the War Amps charity.
"We wanted to do something special and we wanted it to be Canadian," he said in an interview from his Amherstville, Ont., hobby business. "There's that mystique about special forces."
The two figures, which Mr. Dommitt calls "prototypes," were made by a British modeller, William Pryce-Thomas, and donated for the Great Canadian Action Figure Convention set for this Aug. 19 and 20.
The toy soldiers depict members of JTF-2 "as they would have appeared early in the Afghanistan conflict," he said.
Mr. Dommitt acknowledged, however, that getting the necessary information to create the two intricately detailed models was an uphill struggle. JTF-2 is notoriously secretive and gives out virtually no information about its commandos and their equipment, even to other soldiers.
"There wasn't a lot to go on. We had to work from the few little pictures that are out there," he said. "But the end result is wonderful. When I first saw them, I was just flabbergasted."
Lieut. Moniz said the full-sized JTF-2 soldiers are aware of the new action figures, but was quick to add: "The unit had no involvement in producing them."
© National Post 2006
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工具 
Now What? “I dipt into the future”
rifle, but now chambered for the powerful .338" Lapua round. Support weapons have not been ignored. Among the trialled weapons were the 5.56mm C7CT and MRS, ‘sniperized’ versions of the C7 automatic rifle. 
Hunting for a New Sniper’s Rifle ( and a New Round, Too )
radical new design by AI (Accuracy International). Then, the Finnish Army adopted a new, purpose- designed sniper’s round – 0.338" (8.5mm) Lapua – designed to penetrate up to five layers of modern body armour at 1000m.
