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Index of Gulf War Coverage. Gulf War Index

The Wednesday Report
Canada's Aerospace and Defence Weekly
Volume 4, Number 43 October 24,1990 
Comment:
This special edition is devoted to you,
the men and women of the Canadian Forces serving in the Persian Gulf region or supporting Canada’s Gulf mission. With the invaluable support of Air Transport Group (ATG) at CFB Trenton and ALCE in Qatar, it is our pleasure to circulate this specially written issue to more than a thousand of Canada’s dedicated serving men and women in Qatar, Bahrain, Cyprus, CFB Lahr, and on the waters of the Persian Gulf aboard HMCS Athabaskan, Terra Nova, and Protecteur. -- 
Editor, Micheal John O'Brien

Message:
The Prime Minister of Canada

I would like to extend my sincere greetings to the men and women of the Canadian Forces stationed in the Persian Gulf region.
You are doing a tremendous job and are admired and deeply respected for the professionalism with which you are carrying out your duties. Each of you is certainly missed a great deal and I know all Canadians are proud of your courage and dedication.
 
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Ottawa 1990
Message:
The Minister of National Defence
I would like to thank the publisher and staff of The Wednesday Report for this opportunity to send greetings to our Canadian Forces personnel serving in the Persian Gulf area.
You are part of a major international effort driven by the United Nations, and inspired by the principles of international peace and order which it embodies. 
Those principles include the determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, faith in fundamental human rights and dignity, and an affirmation of the equal rights of nations large and small.
Canada -- a founding member of the U.N. and a peace-loving nation -- had to take a stand with the world community against Iraq’s flagrant violation of international law and civilized values. We and our allies have learned the lessons of history -- that we must not turn our backs on aggression, but unite our strength to maintain world peace and security.
Whatever your individual tasks and roles, in whatever capacity you serve, you can take pride in your contribution to this great multinational effort involving more than 25 nations. I hope you will also take heart from the solid support and admiration of Canadians for the work you are doing. 
The crisis in the Persian Gulf area has reminded us, once again, that the Canadian Forces are a vital asset for a sovereign and mature nation like Canada.
On behalf of the Department of National Defence, my colleagues in government and the Canadian people, I want to express my deep appreciation to all of you for your dedicated service. 
You are in our thoughts daily, as we work for an early and -- we hope -- peaceful resolution to this crisis.
Bill McKnight
Minister of National Defence
 
Publisher and Editor In Chief: Micheal John O'Brien
Editorial Staff Writer:
Frederick J. Harris
Contributing Editors:
Jim Henderson (Toronto)
Mike Martin (Ottawa)
Patrick McManus (Halifax)
William Kane (Washington DC)
John Reed (London, England)
Moshe Karem (Jerusalem, Israel)		 The Wednesday Report is published weekly by 
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Suite 201, Aurora, Ontario, Canada L4G 1L8. 
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 Comment:
"ATTITUDES"
While Canadians were busting each others’ chops -- literally, figuratively and verbally -- throughout this past summer and into the fall we here in the little farmland town of Aurora (north of Toronto) watched from a somewhat existentialist viewpoint -- close enough to be involved, but sufficiently remote to be spectators.
Since the days of the fiesty but ill-fated 1987 defence white paper, the world -- and Canada -- seems to have been going through a metamorphosis. I think the truly ugly stage for Canadians (not fluffy caterpillars, and not yet pretty butterflies) is now. Or did we just go through it?
The past summer was ugly/bad/great. It really tore deep into the gut to see Canadians behave the way they did over the Meech Lake thing and at Oka and Kahnawake. Too many put their own interests well ahead of their country’s. But it was summer.
We each have our own thing. For me, like my dad and grand-dad, it’s aviating and motorcycling -- each a good way of ‘getting away’ and clearing out the cobwebs. As editor of The Wednesday Report I put in long hours, but like every Canadian, I find ways. Mornings during the summer, often as the sun barely glinted, I would roll out of bed (thud), skip the shave, stumble down the stairs (bumpety-bump), and head for the fresh outdoors. Straddling my gleaming second-sweetheart, a sleek Harley Davidson freedom-machine, I’d stir the birds with its deep rumbling thunder, twist the throttle, squirt a gulp of fuel-mix into her massive 1200cc engine, and chuff down the highway. Five hundred meters from home, the town ends and rolling farmland glides past each shoulder.
Motoring along Highway 9 at 80 kilometers the rush of dawn’s cool air is crisp and clean. There is a delicious mixed sight and scent of pines, maples, and fertile farmlands, warm on the hills, chilled in the valleys. At the end of the half-hour run is a sweet little restaurant nestled in the trees near Orangeville. Approaching it you can sniff the back bacon across two valleys. Ahhhhh, breakfast. Life is great.
But the ritualistic reading of The Globe and Mail and other morning papers while sipping breakfast’s orange juice became a rude intrusion. Sylvia the waitress says she doesn’t read the papers or watch the news any more, she hears all she needs from customers. "Meech On ... Now Off ... Canada’s Breaking Up ... Partisan Politics Killing Canada ... Mulroney’s Fault ... Police Attack With Machine Guns ... Recession ... Peace Negotiations In Oka ... The Army Moves In ... Saddam Hussein Invades Kuwait ... Saboteurs Topple Power Transmission Lines ... Senators Threaten To Hijack Parliament."
It’s colder now. The air is still fresh, farmers have taken off their crops, and life is still great. Too often it rains. But when the skies are dry the eyes open to autumn’s myriad patterns of golds, reds and bronze as nature signals, "button-up warmly". The ritual continues til the snow flies. The relaxing trip home for shower, shave, shirt and stroll to the office has comprised many hours of reflection. The daily headlines have been a diary to ponder of a country behaving like a teenager -- a teenager with an ‘attitude’.
It has now been some 12 weeks since Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. A recent Gallup poll here in Canada shows that a softening 58 percent of the Canadian population continues to support Prime Minister Mulroney’s decision to send you to the Gulf region. We see two different ways of looking at that.
Firstly, we at The Wednesday Report are somewhat embarrassed by the demeanor of our countrymen. Very recent Gallup polls show quite a different disposition among European and American peoples. Seventy percent of Americans said they supported President Bush’s decision to move troops into the Gulf. Eighty-six percent of Britons back military action to free Kuwait. When other Europeans were asked by Gallup, 75 percent of France’s population said "Yes." Similar positive support came from Germany (63 percent), Italy (59 percent), and Spain (66 percent). Canada’s 58 percent is the lowest.
The second view, and likely the most practical and least subjective puts the Canadian statistic in the context of a nation that today is wrangling with a bratty, adolescent phase of nationhood. If you have or once were a teenage son or daughter who hit a stage of irrational, cranky, obstreperous behaviour, maybe you can imagine an entire population acting out in the same manner.
Fifty-eight percent is pretty good in the context of a nation wherein the politics of grievances has become obsessive. When geriatric Senators beat the hell out of their desks and blew kazoos in that so-called high place they call the "Upper Chamber"; native Indians stormed about with AK-47s, M-16s, homemade bombs and God-knows-what-else; after every tiny minority group has taken to the streets to demonstrate against taxes, this and that; and when nobody agrees with anything, the population as cranky as the devil; fifty-eight percent is the highest consensus you’ll get on any issue.
I guess what I am trying to tell you is that no matter how many Chicken-Little-Says-The-Sky-Is-Falling headlines you might read, we are all behind you. All the way. And when your mission is done, the beautiful rolling farmlands, the pine stands, the maple trees and the clean, fresh, country air, they’re all here: Canada, waiting for the day you return. God Bless. Come home safe.
Mike O’Brien
 THE AGGRESSOR -- SADDAM HUSSEIN
He has an unsophisticated astuteness for the nuances of terror and psychological warfare and he employs that knowledge to the fullest. A pseudo-fundamentalist Moslem with a serious antisocial personality disorder by any definition, Saddam Hussein is also intelligent, credible, cognitive of the axioms in the ‘science’ of mass manipulation, and has an impassioned desire to control the moment. He seems to know very little about the West, and too little of the value that western cultures place on human life. But he is certain of the West’s vulnerabilities.
He is practically unable to distinguish right from wrong within the set of values established by most civilizations of the world. He too, as did Hitler, has an uncanny ability to identify weaknesses in his prey and work the hell out of any vulnerability he may discover. Thus, Saddam has an incalculable capacity to ignite tensions and erupt the violence ever-burbling in the Middle East.
By early summer this year, Hussein was losing some control and saw the tedious progress in negotiations with Kuwait over war debts and oil rights to be a direct challenge to his personal power. Typical of one with his disordered personality he invaded Kuwait knowing his soldiers, in uncontrolled fashion, would rape, pillage, brutalize and steal from helpless people of that kingdom.
Although not so utterly disordered as was Adolph Hitler, and it is a very serious disorder in any measure, Saddam Hussein (also spelled "Husayn") is given to dramatic, gruesome action. Don’t let anyone fool you. He is a vile yet savvy aggressor with infinite ambition. No, he is not the only villain on earth, nor is he likely the worst, but he is now the most powerful. He has threatened the globe with pervasive, naked aggression. He has wrecked the lives of millions.
Saddam Hussein is inclined toward radical action more so than he is prone to sit back and issue threats. He does not need any large measure of assurance that his actions will yield what he seeks to achieve, he is satisfied merely in their doing, happy that he is in control of the moment. Beyond that, little matters to him. He will indiscriminately hurt, and that hurt will be directed at anyone as it suits his purposes. Even little children.
Fear and hurt are his chief operatives. Imagine your horror if the youngsters in your family came home from classes telling of their school’s air-raid drill during which they were taught how to wear a gas mask. Think about your revulsion when civil emergency authorities out of necessity must teach mothers how to treat oozing blisters on their babies’ flesh. Saddam has threatened to destroy half of Israel with "dual chemicals". Although there is no evidence to indicate Iraq has matured development of binary nerve gas, no one was certain about what agents Saddam was referring to, Israeli leaders must nonetheless redirect resources to civil defence training and equipment. In Israel, school children routinely don gas masks as part of their air-raid drills. Recently, a process began to equip each Israeli with gas masks as well as antidotes and remedies for nerve gas and blistering agents. Worse, with the passage of time, the threat may expand to include agents of biological origin with the help of another scoundrel, Muammar Gadhafi. Saddam must be stopped.
He is a coldblooded murderer. He has indiscriminately gassed and killed more than 50,000 Iranian soldiers and citizens. Not even as an act of war, in March 1988, the Kurdish families of the Iraqi town of Halabjaby, by Hussein’s order, were condemned to the same painful and undignified death as were the gassed Iranians. His thirst for gore braces his grip on power. He imprisons, tortures and kills his political opponents.
He is a manipulative tyrant. That the Arab countries of the Middle East are no more than desert tribes with a flag, there is little doubt for him. His masterful manipulation of the fundamentalists, the Palestinians and the extremists has sent shock waves through the region and set his Arab state adversaries into a frenzy of fear. Hussein has set the ‘cat amongst the pigeons’ with his hot-blooded plea to the steamy fundamentalist masses for a "Holy War". Jordan’s leadership is tied up in knots with conflicting loyalties and a pro-Iraqi public. Religious leaders and extremists like George Habash support him while legitimate Arab rulers are desperately afraid of Saddam. Tension in Egypt has been heightened with the recent assassination of a government minister.
Yes, he must be stopped. He intends to control the Arab world. But forces allied under the aims of the United Nations have not just entered a ‘pissing’ contest with a misbehaved heathen over a lust for cheap oil. We are dueling with a wily, powerful dictator, who, like Adolph Hitler, has the worst traits of a psychopath. With absolute power in his own country and with his recently blooded million-man army he has his own set of keys to destruction forged by followers, some of whom live within nations George Bush now calls "friends".
The Middle East has for all its time been a place of treachery and deceit, many of its people sharing the belief that our world is evil and should be destroyed at any cost in lives.
There may be more bloodshed in the Middle East before the scourge of Saddam Hussein has been terminated. Be wary. Don’t let his cunning and treachery dissuade you from your purpose nor your belief in justice and freedom for all peoples of the world. Your will to protect weaker nations from the tyranny of stronger ones is your strength -- a strength and virtue far more powerful than the cowardly dictator who bullies and kills his gentle neighbour. Saddam and his ruthlessness must be stopped before he gathers so much momentum that the price in blood to free the oppressed from their aggressor is more than any group of nations can afford.
Mike O’Brien
OPERATION SCIMITAR: DEALING WITH THE AGGRESSOR
Should Iraqi aggressors ‘pick a fight’ with our sailors, they’ll get an awful ‘bloody nose’. If HMCS Athabaskan’s crew with their standard equipment, 2 quad-launchers of Sea Sparrow don’t do the job first, gunners aboard the three ships will repel or punish attackers with 3"-50, 3"-70, and 5" medium calibre ordnance; .50 calibre machine guns; 40mm L60 Bofors guns; and 20mm gatling guns of four Phalanx CIWSs.
Any Iraqi pilot who is stupid enough to think he can penetrate the barrage should be warned about the sharp-eyed, air defence marksmen of the 119th Air Defence Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) from Chatham N.B. who will be aboard Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur comprising 15 detachments equipped with the Shorts "Javelin" Mk 1. What they see they’ll hit.
But, the gunners may not get their chance. The dingbat Iraqi flivver-flyer turned aggressor will likely be jumped first by the best fighter pilots in the world flying the hottest fighter aircraft ever to go sonic, Canada’s CF-18. Such is the potency of Operation Scimitar; such is the mindset of its resourceful, well-trained, highly-skilled personnel.
If the aggressor will not back down peaceably, if rights and freedom are not returned to his victims, our Canadian Forces personnel are just as capable as any Western nation’s to ‘link heart and mind together with peace defenders of other countries and go full-tilt boogie for freedom and justice’. Yes sir!
Throughout NATO, Canadians are renowned for their resourcefulness. And they come by it honestly. A joke about CF-18 pilots from the Hornet’s early days, in an odd sense, tells why.
"How many CF-18 pilots does it take to screw in a light bulb?" (You’ve heard this, right?) The answer is "Ten! Yes. One climbs the ladder, removes the old bulb and screws in the new one. The other nine pilots huddle at the base of the ladder bickering that ‘the old one was better’."
Hidden there is a stunning reality. Those innovative pilots did miraculous things with their venerable, comparatively crude CF-104s. Thus, when our fighter pilots got their brand new CF-18s, they were able to teach the world’s best a thing or two about how to fly ‘em.
Our sailors too have learned to be resourceful. Soon they will sail new patrol frigates, the first of which is a splendid beauty, HMCS Halifax. But for more than twenty years there has been a steady decline in Canada’s naval strength due to the critical aging of equipment. With an increasingly disinterested population, deteriorating public awareness, and no budget nor government will to slow the pervasive "rust-out" until lately, the men and women of Maritime Command have learned to make do with what they have.
But let’s all be certain of one thing. The crews in the Gulf serving aboard the venerable fighting ships Athabaskan and Terra Nova will kick-ass if that’s what’s required of them. Nobody will do any U.N. sanction-busting if it means they have to get past our sailors. Saddam had better wake up, pay attention to what the whole world is telling him, and get his butt out of Kuwait.
An all-volunteer, highly educated, well-trained force, Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen have collectively become the most resourceful, innovative and effective military team in all the world. And when they tell you that they can do a particular job -- believe it. What was accomplished dockside in Halifax N.S. was nothing short of miraculous for mere mortals, but it was a cakewalk for ‘our boys’. And when they say they will do Canada’s share in making effective the will of the united nations of the world and enforce U.N. sanctions against a roguish Iraqi tyrant, you can bet they will.
Staff
CONTENDING WITH FEAR
My soft-spoken friend, recently-retired army Colonel Glen Decker suggested to me in a chat last week that, "With a crackpot like Saddam Hussein on the loose, any serving man or woman stationed in the Gulf who says ‘I am not afraid’ is certainly putting on a courageous face." From my own experience in the cockpit I think I can understand what he meant. We probably all know that a healthy balance of confidence/fear for a well-trained individual -- especially when there’s a demon like Saddam Hussein on the loose -- could be as high as 80/20.
Long ago, a combat-veteran flight instructor explained to me that the best way to see a ripe old age was to climb into the cockpit with eighty percent confidence based on one’s trust in his mates, his training and instincts; and twenty percent fear based on an honest appraisal of the threat and the risk. The wise old flyer also said, "Fear is normal, panic is abnormal, the difference is training." Good continuous training works. It builds confidence and prepares one for the test that any emergency can pose.
We think that you, the Canadian Armed Forces are the best prepared in the Gulf. For each man and woman, the Canadians to your left, right, top and bottom are the best you could ask for. Be good to them. Count on them.
The Canadian Forces is an all-volunteer organization trained by the best and the brightest in the world. Whereas Canadian serving men and women have not ‘fired a shot in anger’ since the last U.N. effort, the Korean War, they are part of a defence force that is focussed, without distraction, on being totally prepared. And we believe you are. In August we told Canadians at home that we knew "Canada has mustered an impressive Middle East Task Force." Your actions in the Gulf have continuously proven that to be true.
Mike O'Brien
IF YOU DON’T LIKE WHAT YOU READ, ‘BEEF’ ABOUT IT
There’s quite a gulf between the sands and waters of the Middle East and the peaceful town of Unionville, Ontario where this Toronto writer for The Wednesday Report keys words into his computer. Here the trees are turning gold and red, and people are cleaning up their yards while the local markets sell pumpkins and Hallowe’en candy. In over-the-hedge conversations my neighbours talk of simple, homey things -- roses, or the new porch planned for next spring.
The conversation often comes around to the Gulf. We noticed that one of our Canadian sailors was a little peeved about an article he read in a newspaper. Us too. I cannot swear to the morale of each and every one of you, but my years of reporting about Canadian Forces personnel tells me what it is collectively. That experience also lets me understand the effect that unbalanced reporting can have on you in the Gulf and on your friends and family at home.
There is something you can do about it. If you see media coverage you don’t think is fair, let the appropriate publication know about it. You might want to write a simple, responsible letter. As Master Seaman J.B. Eldershaw of Athabaskan found out when The Globe & Mail published his criticisms of a Paul Koring article on "low morale" on his vessel, it is possible to rebut such jabs.
"Let me make this very clear:" wrote Master Seaman Eldershaw, "our morale is very high. In fact, I have never seen it higher and I’ve served aboard Athabaskan for the past four years." That missive told several million Canadians that there was another opinion, one that really counts.
Well, I hope you find this issue of our publication interesting. We sure have been thinking about you a lot. And we’ve published a lot of articles about the good work you are doing. As a longtime writer for The Wednesday Report, I consider it a privilege and an honour to have this chance to send you best wishes and tell you sincerely that my prayers and those of a great many other Canadians are with you. Keep up the good work and come home safely.
Dale Grant


 Message:
Gen. John Cabot Trail, Commander of the Cape Breton Liberation Army
(a.k.a. Dave Harley, Halifax radio personality and local comedian.)

How’s she going boys? Ya know, there are three things Canadian sailors miss about Halifax: the nude beaches, Bud the Spud, and Friday night fights on Gottigen Street. When the sailors left for the Persian Gulf they took everything -- guns, bullets, bombs, the noonday cannon from Citadel Hill, Ron Wallace’s boxing gloves, and the doorman from The Misty Moon.
I saw where Saddam Hussein made a 72-minute tape for American television. Too bad America’s Funniest Home Videos is only 60 minutes long.
The Cape Breton Liberation Army is getting ready to send you help. It has a new weapon for the Persian Gulf, a solar powered submarine -- it only comes out at night. Take care, boys and come back soon, and remember, Up the Causeway.

FROM THE HALIFAX HOMEFRONT
The Wednesday Report’s Patrick McManus in Halifax, Nova Scotia went to work and gathered messages from your local compatriots and dignitaries. They all wanted you in the Persian Gulf to know that your families have become foremost in their minds.
The Mayor of Dartmouth says if you have concerns, "...just wire me at Dartmouth City Hall".
"We extend best wishes and the citizens of Dartmouth join all Canadians in wishing the sailors a safe mission, a speedy return and Godspeed. We will do everything in our power to make certain the families of those serving in the Canadian Task Group are as comfortable as possible and reassured as we can. If individual sailors have any concerns or questions they can just wire me, Mayor John Savage, at Dartmouth City Hall." -- Dartmouth Mayor John Savage, former British army doctor who also served on Red Cross teams in Nicaragua in 1983 and 1985.

"We hope the fact we haven’t been called upon to do warranty work since you left is a measure of the quality of the work we did to prepare you for your task. We’re proud of what you’re doing and proud of our achievements to get you there. The prelude to action is the work of the Ship Repair Unit and friends (with apologies to Admiral Jellicoe)." -- Captain (N) Roger Chiasson, commanding officer of the Ship Repair Unit (Atlantic). (The organization which retrofitted the naval task force with modern weapons.)

We at The Wednesday Report must tell Leading Seaman Gerry Fox aboard HMCS Protecteur that his little Alex sure is remembered by Canadian television viewers. He was the little boy on the wharf telling his dad, "Don’t cry" as the three-ship task group was about to sail from Halifax harbour. Since then the sweet little face of this four-year-old has appeared in vignettes during several TV news reports. Sorry to single you out Gerry, but we thought you’d love to know that little Alex has become a real hit with folks across the country. We chatted with Shelley. She says, "Tell him we love and miss him very much and hope he comes home soon." Alex too. The little guy says, "Tell him I love him very much too." Take care Gerry. You and your shipmates are in all of our thoughts and prayers. -- Staff

"You are doing the job that we need a navy for. We are backing up the United Nations the same way we did 40 years ago. When the government called, the Canadian navy was the service ready to go quickly. That’s why we need a navy to protect our national sovereignty. I am proud of you as peacekeepers."-- Rear-Admiral (retired) Fred Crickard, former deputy commander of Maritime Command and professor of strategic studies at Dalhousie University.

"Tell them the base chief sends his best wishes, good luck, and hopes to have
them back real soon." Chief Warrant Officer George Cook, Base CWO, CFB Halifax "We fully support their role and are thoroughly behind them, and we're looking forward to the day they come home. We're behind them 100 percent and I hope they know that."
-- Commodore Charles Westropp, Chief of Staff (Personnel), Maritime Command

CANADA's SECOND CITY HUMOUR GANG 
SENDS GREETINGS TO THE GULF
Throughout their thirty-one years, the hilariously humorous gang from The Second City have spawned hundreds of great Canadian comedians like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and John Candy. The producer, cast and crews all send you their warmest of greetings and thank you for the work you are doing. The Wednesday Report spoke to Sally Cochrane, Producer of The Second City in Toronto. She said, "We had several possibilities for our Review opening November 1 -- Reviews titled `What'Suddam Funny' and `Between Iraq and A Hard Place' were just a couple. But we so very much hoped that the Gulf crisis would be resolved peacefully in a very short time and would be old news long before the end of our show."
"New Democrats On The Block" is The Second City's new show running in Toronto for about seven months. ("Hope you're back in time to take in a show.") Sally says, "We figured that `Premier Bob' [Rae] would at least be around til the end of our Review." -- a lot longer than that rat Saddam Hussein.

SOME 600,000 CANADIANS 
HAVE A SPECIAL COMMITMENT TO YOU
Our aerospace and defence industries' men and women export most of their products and services. From within a country which exports some thirty percent of its output, the exploits of these Canadians have taught them well about the competitive world within which we must coexist with many different peoples. Patriotism rides high. They are well-travelled Canadians who far more often
than others, proudly say, "I am from Canada!". These folks who serve their country in the competitive battles of the international business arena bolster our nation's exports and grow our Gross National Product. They serve their country in a different way. They, like you, have a special love for Canada, for just like you, they stake their careers on it.
I can't begin to tell you how much support you have among these people, your comrades. (As you probably know, many thousands of people in these industries have also served.) When some of these companies, our regular subscribers, heard through the grapevine that our October 24 issue was being shipped to you in the Gulf, they `passed the hat' just a few days before press day and contributed funds that paid half our extra printing costs to get this issue to you. We are
just a little company and don't have large resources. For us it was especially nice to know that so many of our readers took that initiative. We really wanted you to know that so many Canadians are thinking about you in such a special way. We invited some of these folks to write you a little message. They are what follows. -- Micheal John O'Brien, Editor
 
 

HEARTFELT SUPPORT FROM 
ALLIED-SIGNAL AEROSPACE CANADA
To the Canadian men and women in the Persian Gulf: soldiers, sailors, airmen, and all of those CF personnel who are supporting you, the management and 2,400 employees of Allied-Signal Aerospace Canada in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver send their heartfelt best wishes. We think of you often and support you in your efforts and the challenges which face you. We know how important your role is and we all feel that we share, at least in spirit, in the task at hand. We are behind you completely. We all wish you Godspeed and a safe return home to your loved ones.

BEST WISHES FROM OERLIKON PEOPLE AT HOME AND IN THE FIELD
Seven hundred Canadians in southern Quebec are thinking of you each and every day. The people of Oerlikon Aerospace Inc. are fully conscious of your commitment to oppose further aggression in the Middle East and contribute to the successful fulfillment of U.N. resolutions. We pray for a peaceful resolution to the Gulf crisis and are sharply aware of the tremendous contribution you are each making to that goal in which we Canadians have united with the rest of the world. The personnel of Oerlikon in Saint Jean-sur-Richelieu and at the training unit at CFB Chatham, New Brunswick bid you Godspeed and a safe and early return home.

"A SAFE RETURN TO YOUR LOVED ONES" FROM FOLKS AT PARAMAX
From all 1,200 employees at Paramax Electronics Inc. in Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saint John and Halifax, we would like to extend our support and good wishes to all of you stationed in the Gulf. We are proud of your dedication and hard work. Our thoughts are with you and your families and we can only hope that a speedy and peaceful resolution can be found so you can be soon reunited with your loved ones.

"GODSPEED IN YOUR MISSIONS" -- 3,600 CAE EMPLOYEES
For many years, CAE Electronics has worked closely with Canadian Forces personnel, both in the field and at our plant in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. We are proud of our contribution to the training of CF-18 and C-130 flight crews and our role in support of your CF-18s. To all the men and women of the Canadian Forces, we support and appreciate your role in the Gulf -- and the 3,600 employees of CAE say hello from home, Godspeed in your missions and a speedy, safe return.

"WISHES FOR A SPEEDY RETURN HOME" FROM INDAL
The 360 employees at Indal wish you well and a safe return for all. Indal Technologies Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario is a manufacturer and supplier of aircraft and cable handling systems and specialized structures. Personnel aboard HMCS Athabaskan would know us best. Our Helicopter Hauldown and Rapid Securing Device (HHRSD) also known as RAST (Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse), telescopic helicopter hangars and hangar doors, handling systems for Variable Depth Sonar (VDS), towed line arrays and torpedo decoy subsystems are in operation by many of the navies represented in the Gulf.

PROUD OF YOUR DEDICATION  -- CANADAIR
To all men and women serving in the Gulf, our thoughts are with you in this time of international strife. We at Canadair in Mirabel, Quebec proudly support Canada’s fleet of CF-18s, and we proudly support your efforts -- your dedication to world peace.
 

MIDDLE EAST NEWS BRIEFS
Naval interceptions to enforce the U.N. embargo against Iraq have reached in excess of 2,500 interceptions and 240 boardings over the past two months. In 11 cases, commercial ships were diverted to ports other than their destination after being suspected of carrying cargo bound to or from Iraq.
Iraqi Oil Minister Issam Abdulrahim Chalabi says Iraq has begun to ration gasoline this week for private cars, trucks and taxis, but not the military. Sanctions may now be taking their toll.
Last week, Canada suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait. Department of External Affairs personnel have moved from their embattled embassy in Kuwait City to Baghdad. Saddam ordered embassies in Kuwait closed after he annexed the emirate, and although only the British, French and U.S. embassies now remain open, most nations still recognize Kuwait as a separate nation.
In Kuwait, Iraqi troops have placed explosives at oil fields, gas and gasoline storage tanks as well as on bridges and viaducts, according to Sheikh Mishal Mohammed al-Sabah, an exiled Kuwaiti from the emirate’s ruling family.
Iraq via Radio Baghdad has told all foreigners still in Kuwait to register by November 5 and says that "anyone who does not get a valid residence visa will be fined or jailed." Jordanians, Egyptians and Yemenis were excluded from the order. Iraq has already warned Kuwaitis that anyone caught harboring a foreigner could face execution.
The U.S. Air Force will orbit a geosynchronous satellite at 460 miles altitude over the Middle East sometime next month. Although details are yet sketchy, various reports suggest that the bird will be a 22,000-pound photo-reconnaissance unit providing real time data on Iraqi troop and vehicular movements. The satellite will be put into orbit when space shuttle Atlantis flies next month. Tests were to be conducted today.

SOVIET NAVY OFFICIALS VISIT HALIFAX
As friction heats in part of the world, it appears to be cooling in another. More evidence of this came with senior-ranking Soviet naval officers who were in Halifax last week as part of a post-glasnost agreement to make the high seas safer for themselves and the Canadian navy.
The Soviets were in Canada as part of six planned exchanges under the Incidents at Sea Agreement signed last November in Moscow by External Affairs Minister Joe Clark and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze. The purpose of the agreement is to prevent any near brushes on the high seas which could lead to an international incident with awful consequences. Led by Vice-Admiral D.M. Komarov, First Assistant of the Soviet Chief of Naval Staff, the team was in our country to discuss communication procedures, mostly flag and light signals.
Commander David Cooper, director of Maritime Doctrine and Operations in Ottawa told The Wednesday Report that the agreement is similar to ones between the Soviet Union and the United States, Britain and France. Commander Cooper says the Soviet team, which included international naval arms control negotiator M. Granowskij, visited CFB Halifax as part of the confidence-building aspect of the agreement. The commander also noted that there has fortunately never been a major incident or reported near-miss between the Soviet and Canadian navies.
The system received an initial testing in Vladivostok in June when four Canadian warships on a goodwill visit tested the new communications while leaving harbour. HMCS Annapolis, Huron, Kootenay and Provider reportedly cleared the test smoothly.

CANADAIR PROPOSAL FOR CF FLYING TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Canadair’s Military Aircraft Division of Mirabel, Quebec will bid for the Canadian Forces flying training project, together with subcontractors Field Aviation Company Inc., Atlantis Aerospace Inc., and Dynamair Inc.
If the bid is successful, Canadair as prime contractor would manage the contract and would be responsible for all flying training under the project as well as the supply of resources, facilities, and infrastructure. As principal subcontractor, Field Aviation would provide maintenance and logistic support for training aircraft. Atlantis Aerospace would participate by providing part task and procedure trainers for PFT (primary flying training) and MET (multi-engine training). And continuation flying training (CFT) would be made available to students at Collège Militaire Royale de Saint-Jean by the consortium’s fourth partner, Dynamair.
Along with PFT, MET, and CFT programmes, the Canadian Forces training project also includes basic helicopter training (BHT) for which Atlantis Aerospace previously supplied the procedure trainer now used by the Canadian Forces. DND will issue a Request for Proposal in November and expects to award the contract in mid-1991.

DND TO MOVE CLOSER TO CANADIAN SOCIETY WITH NEW COMMITTEE
The Minister and the CDS want to improve communication and understanding between members of the Canadian Forces and Canadians. To help achieve that, the National Defence Consultative Committee on Social Change has been created. It will be comprised of individuals from large corporations in the industrial and service sectors; university representatives; persons from recognized social agencies; and members of the Canadian Forces. From this group the Minister can seek advice on matters of mutual concern to DND and Canadian society.

BRISTOL BAGS $827,000 WSPS CONTRACT
Bristol Aerospace Limited of Winnipeg, Manitoba has received a contract worth $827,000 (U.S.) from Agusta Aerospace Corporation in Philadelphia, PA. The contract calls for the design adaptation and production of Bristol’s ubiquitous Wire Strike Protection System (WSPS) for the Agusta A109 military helicopter. The Belgian Army is the first customer for this reconfiguration having placed an order for 46 aircraft. Deliveries will begin following design adaptation scheduled for spring 1991. Agusta and Bristol have also signed an agreement in principle for WSPS design adaptation for the A129 helicopter currently in production for the Italian Army.

IRAQ’s ADVANCED 155mm GUN HAS MAIN ORIGINS IN CANADA
As reported over past months in The Wednesday Report, Canadian born Dr. Gerry Bull and his Canadian-based Space Research Corporation (SRC) were directly responsible in the late 1970s for the development of advanced guns as well as full-bore and base-bleed ammunition technologies within South Africa. Later, from the early 1980s until recently, he brought more advanced expertise to Iraq. A key product of Bull’s endeavours, the G-5 155mm self-propelled howitzer has surfaced in original form or in variants within Chile, Austria, Germany, Belgium and perhaps most significantly, Iraq.
In 1980 on June 16, Bull was convicted on criminal charges in a Rutland, Vermont court for smuggling gun barrels and ammunition to South Africa. He later pleaded guilty in Montreal, on August 14 of the same year, to violating U.N. arms sanctions also against South Africa. The Quebec court fined SRC $55,000. The Canadian convictions involved "shipments of howitzer parts" both directly and indirectly to South Africa. On the U.S. charges, Bull eventually served a short prison sentence in the United States and paid several thousands of dollars in fines.
On March 22 of this year, Gerry Bull was murdered in his Brussels apartment. Shortly afterwards, a series of revelations tied him and SRC to voluminous arms dealings with Iraq, including development of the fabled Iraqi 600 kilometer-range, forty-meter-barrel "Supergun". Evidence of the monstrous gun surfaced when British officials on April 11 intercepted shipments of barrel parts destined for Iraq. The sections were made by Sheffield Engineering, a subsidiary of Sheffield Forgemasters. SRC had arranged for their purchase.
SRC’s technology development ties with the Iraqis included the Scud B, extensive 155mm gun and ammunition development, as well as 210mm self-propelled howitzers currently manufactured in facilities north of Baghdad, and the overall 155mm GC-45 artillery system. Other developments Bull is believed to have been helping Iraq with included the amazing 1000/405mm (1000mm smooth bore saboted down to 405mm) Ultra Long Range (ULR) gun with a 2.32 meter long shell having a mass of around 1,800 kilograms. (See The Wednesday Report, April 18 and August 15.)
Iraq first acquired the G-5 155mm artillery piece in the early 1980s from South Africa. Later in 1986-87, a time when Bull’s influence increased in Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, who was at the time angry with South Africa, switched to Austria as a principal supplier. The first of Iraq’s G-5s were built by South African firm Lyttelton Engineering Works of Verwoerdberg and sold through Pretoria’s roguish export firm, Armscor. The original gun barrels were built by Krykor while Summerset Chemicals (both of South Africa) built the explosive charges for the gun. With technology transfers from South Africa and later Austria, coupled with Gerry Bull’s direct assistance, the Iraqis now have the complete manufacturing capacity for powder, shells and barrels. It is estimated that Iraq can manufacture 1,000 replacement barrels per year.
Today more than two hundred G-5 155mm howitzers exist within the arsenals of Iraq. The gun is capable of firing a shell some 40 kilometers, greater than any modern artillery of its type. The G-5 and its ammunition employ one of Bull’s favourite techniques. The accuracy of the gun is greatly enhanced by firing base-bleed ammunition. Extra powder is burned at the base of the projectile as it exits the barrel, thus stabilizing the shell. The technology of the gun is brilliant.
Once asked why he did not pursue sales of such products to Canada, Bull told The Wednesday Report, "Anything with my name on it you can forget for the Canadian government."

NIGHTINGALE LEAVES SAINT JOHN SHIPBUILDING LIMITED
Arthur Nightingale, the man who guided the initial $3 billion Canadian Patrol Frigate programme through rough, troubled waters is stepping down as president of Saint John Shipbuilding Limited (SJSL) on November 1 to take over as president of a new Irving company. Nightingale’s replacement is Larry Armstrong, a vice-president of J.D. Irving Ltd. Armstrong, 52, is an engineer, a former New Brunswick deputy minister of transportation, and served SJSL previously in 1989 for six months as vice-president of administration.
Under Nightingale’s tenure, SJSL underwent a $150 million modernization. Improvement in modularization construction of the Canadian Patrol Frigates is credited with winning the yard the contract to build all six ships in the second batch. But, Nightingale leaves under a grey cloud. The firm is involved in a $1.7 billion lawsuit with MIL Davie, the Quebec yard subcontracted to build three frigates from the first batch. The programme has been plagued with numerous delays.

GENERAL PAUL MANSON TO BE PARAMAX PRESIDENT IN '91
General (retired) Paul D. Manson has now joined Paramax Electronics Inc. in Montreal, Quebec as Senior Vice President. He is expected to replace Dr. W. Lee Shevel as president of Paramax in the coming year. Meanwhile, Manson will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Paramax. He was previously Director of Strategic Planning for Unisys Defence Systems located in McLean, Virginia where for the past year he was involved with the business operations of the company in the area of strategic and operational planning.
Prior to joining Unisys Corporation, General Manson served for 37 years in the CF. During his distinguished military career he held various senior positions culminating in his appointment in 1986 as Chief of the Defence Staff. He retired from military service in mid-1989. The General is a graduate of the Royal Military College and Queen's University. Earlier this year he received an honourary doctorate of military science from Royal Roads. He is a registered professional engineer.
Paramax is a major supplier of complex integrated electronic systems and a centre of advanced technology for naval combat systems. It is a major participant in the Canadian Patrol Frigate programme, responsible for managing and integrating the combat system which includes more than 20 subsystems, as well as providing the integrated machinery control system for all twelve of Canada's new Canadian Patrol Frigates. The first ship of the class, HMCS Halifax, is currently undergoing sea trials and last week her crew took Prime Minister Brian Mulroney for a brief tour around Halifax harbour.

TCCCS/IRIS BID EVALUATION PASSES HALFWAY MARKER
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Sheremeta, Deputy Programme Manager of the TCCCS/IRIS programme is happy -- his project’s sophisticated evaluation processes are halfway complete. The PMO (Project Management Office) seeks to acquire Mobile Command’s Tactical Command, Control and Communications System/Integrated Radio and Intercommunications System. Two bids are being evaluated. The two industrial team leaders are Computing Devices Company and Microtel SI, a subsidiary of the Lavalin Group. A contract award could come early next year.

BOEING GROWS IN WINNIPEG
The employees and management of the Winnipeg Division of Boeing Canada officially expanded into a $31.3 million addition on October 5. The new facility adds 31,679 square meters of fabrication and office space to the 11,891 square meters that was already situated on the 51.8 hectare site adjacent to the Winnipeg Airport. The new wing will allow the division to centralize operations under one roof and accommodate new manufacturing work created by record sales.

U.S. FORCES MAY UTILIZE ISRAELI TECHNOLOGY IN IRAQI CONFLICT
The Wednesday Report's Moshe Karem, in a report filed Sunday from Jerusalem, says that if the U.S. ultimately goes to war with Saddam Hussein, it will take advantage of two Israeli-made weapons systems with which U.S. forces have become familiar.
Although the AGM-142 (Have Nap) air-launched missile has been in service with the Israeli Air Force since 1983, only a small number of missiles were available to the U.S. for operational testing at the time of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. The U.S.A.F. hastily obtained 24 additional missiles from Israel’s inventory for possible use in the Gulf. U.S. Strategic Air Command could ultimately procure hundreds of AGM-142s which are jointly produced by the Israeli company Rafael and Martin Marietta Corporation of the U.S. The air-launched missile, says Karem, is now being used on U.S. B-52 bombers based around the Middle East. Originally known as the "Popeye", this standoff weapon can hit sites such as command bunkers and ballistic missile launchers with pinpoint accuracy from a distance of more than 80 kilometers.
The U.S. Navy is once again using Israeli "Pioneer" Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the Gulf. Their seven-hour endurance provides for extensive reconnaissance and minimizes the need for exposing pilots to possible enemy fire. First deployed during the 1987-88 Kuwaiti tanker reflagging operation, 12 Pioneer systems with three drones each are currently in service in the region.

CANADA’s SECOND CITY HUMOUR GANG SENDS GREETINGS
Throughout their thirty-one years the hilariously humorous gang from The Second City have spawned hundreds of great Canadian comedians like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and John Candy. The producer, cast and crews all send you their warmest of greetings and thank you for the work you are doing. The Wednesday Report spoke to Sally Cochrane, Producer of The Second City in Toronto. She said, "We had several possibilities for our Review opening November 1 -- Reviews titled ‘What’Suddam Funny’ and ‘Between Iraq and A Hard Place’ were just a couple. But we so very much hoped that the Gulf crisis would be resolved peacefully in a very short time and would be old news long before the end of our show."
"New Democrats On The Block" is The Second City’s new show running in Toronto for about seven months." ("Drop in and see it.") Sally says, "We figured that ‘Premier Bob’ [Rae] would at least be around til the end of our Review." -- a lot longer than that rat Saddam Hussein.

FOR OUR READERS IN THE GULF -- The Wednesday Report
Because of the specialized nature of the publication, few Canadians more than vaguely know of us. Apart from the occasional quote or reference in the general press, many Canadians have never even heard of The Wednesday Report.
Our readership is primarily, but not exclusively confined to senior government; aerospace and defence industry executives and employees; men and women of the armed services; students; concerned citizens; veterans; and defence academic levels. A blend of business and defence journalism caters to the broadest possible range of interests.
The Wednesday Report was born as a weekly defence publication, the first of its kind in Canada, written for the length and breadth of the defence community. It is a subscriber-based weekly carrying no advertising. The publication’s aim is to provide the Canadian defence and defence-industrial community, including government, military and industrial leaders, with timely and accurate information and commentary on all matters pertaining to Canadian defence policy, Canadian defence procurement and the Canadian defence industry. Created within the business publication environment of Maclean Hunter Limited, the publication reaches between the industrial and military reader carrying a broad mix of news and features, policy and analysis. When the staff acquired The Wednesday Report from Maclean Hunter early in 1989, the publication expanded its industrial coverage for the benefit of those readers who’s endeavours cycle between commercial and defence markets.
A blend of military, academic, business and strategic studies backgrounds
coupled to the common denominator of journalistic talent makes our writers a unique editorial team. Some of our ‘old-timers’ have seen the hot spots, unfurled sleeping bags in strange places, clicked camera shutters with white-knuckled fingers, seen the muzzle blasts and watched the shells fly. Thus, our keen understanding of life within the Canadian Forces and the armed services of other nations brings us an empathy that reaches deep.

DROP US A LINE
If in any way our staff can be of service, don’t hesitate to let us know. If you want a letter forwarded and don’t know the full address, if you need an errand run in Toronto or at any of our bureaus listed on the masthead (page 1), or if you have any kind of hunch that we just might be able to help, just ask. But drop us a line anyway. Your letters will be answered and unless you specify otherwise, published in future issues. -- Editor

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