Mission Creep II: Send In the Tanks

The Globe and Mail reports that the final numbers are in on the current "internal reassessment" in Afghanistan, with the result being another 5% jump in the number of troops in the line of fire:

The Canadian Forces' main tank unit is racing to prepare 120 troops and 15 Leopard tanks to send to Afghanistan as early as next week, in what would be a major boost in Canadian military capability there, according to a military expert who observed them.

The Lord Strathcona's Horse unit has been asked to ready a tank squadron so they could be shipped out by Sept. 19, the end of a current training exercise, and possibly sooner, said Bob Bergen, a military expert with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary...

Mr. Bergen said the preparations have reached a hectic pace, including a scramble to centralize all of Canada's tanks at CFB Wainright, so that future rotations of the tank squadron could be trained there. Canadian troops are sent abroad for six-month rotations and return home for at least a year before they are sent again...

The Lord Strathconas are essentially Canada's major tank unit. But it has only 330 soldiers, enough for two rotations, but not three.

It's particularly noteworthy that the likely deployment is one that's unsustainable on its face in light of the number of troops within the squadron. Which means that in order to keep the planned numbers abroad past the one-year mark, Canada will have to either follow the U.S.' pattern of extended stays overseas, or rush to try to train replacements - neither of which will provide much comfort to those who'll be in combat outside the usual timelines or training routines.

But then, the Cons have always been more interested in shows of bravado than in sustainable plans, and this latest consultation-free increase in troops in Afghanistan certainly fits that bill. The question now is whether the House of Commons will withdraw its symbolic acquiescence in PMS' militarization...or whether the Cons will be allowed to "reassess" Afghanistan into yet another entirely new mission, whether or not Canada's military is equipped to handle it.

Update: It turns out that the actual increase in the number of troops is 450, including an additional 125-150 soldiers beyond those needed to operate the tanks.