Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to brief you on Operation MOBILE, Canada’s military contribution to the international effort to respond to the crisis in Libya.
I am Major-General Jonathan Vance, Director of Staff of the Strategic Joint Staff at NDHQ.
With me this afternoon is Brigadier-General Mike Hood, deputy director general, international security policy at DND, as well as Brigadier-General Blaise Cathcart, the Judge Advocate General.
Before you—I hope—are four slides which outline the Canadian Forces involvement in the NATO mission in Libya. I would like to walk you through our past and present contributions to the mission after which we would be pleased to answer your questions.
Generally speaking, the first part of the information will be on slide 1.
Since Ambassador McCardell has already well summarized the broader diplomatic and political situation, I will focus my comments on the military aspects of the international effort.
In response to the emerging crisis in Libya, in February of this year the Government of Canada advised Canadian citizens to leave Libya. Soon after, the Department of Foreign Affairs began a concerted effort to evacuate all Canadians. The Canadian Forces were asked to assist, and we deployed two C-17 Globemaster transport planes and two C-130 Hercules transport planes to help evacuate Canadians and other eligible individuals.
On March 2, the ship HMCS Charlottetown with an embarked Sea King helicopter departed from Halifax for the Mediterranean. On March 14, the Charlottetown joined the NATO fleet off the coast of Libya and began enforcement of the arms embargo shortly thereafter.
In total, the Canadian Forces conducted seven flights and assisted in evacuating 153 Canadians and entitled persons from Libya. In addition, the non-combatant evacuation operation coordination centre, which is an international body, assisted with the departure of 4,431 entitled persons, including 308 Canadians, before ceasing operations on March 9.
As you know, this initial 90-day Canadian military response was supported unanimously in the House of Commons. In June, the House voted to support the extension of Canada's commitment to the NATO mission until September 27, 2011.
On slide 2 we're now looking at CF support to Operation Unified Protector. It is our Operation Mobile.
Canada has provided significant military support to the NATO mission in the form of both air and sea assets. Presently we have seven CF-18 Hornet fighters, one CC-150 Polaris air refueller or tanker, two CC-130 Hercules aircraft, and two CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft deployed in the region, as well as HMCS Charlottetown with her helicopter embarked.
Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard remains in the critical position of NATO Commander of Combined Joint Task Force for Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR.
Unified Protector, the NATO name of the operation, has three clear objectives that are known as the Berlin goals. These goals were set by NATO foreign affairs ministers last April and include an end to attacks against civilians, the verifiable withdrawal of the regime's military and paramilitary forces to bases, and full and unhindered access to humanitarian aid to all those who need it across Libya.
If you would like to turn to the map on slide 3, I will briefly discuss the current situation on the ground.
Along the coast, the lines of confrontation between pro-Gadhafi forces and anti-Gadhafi forces east of Tripoli and in the east near Brega have seen minor fluctuations as the anti-Gadhafi forces continue to work and push west.
There has been an increase in activity in the Nafusa mountains southwest of Tripoli. Anti-Gadhafi forces have made advances in the region, but the situation remains very dynamic. The significance of these advances is that the main supply routes are no longer under the control of the pro-Gadhafi forces, allowing humanitarian assistance, as was stated earlier, to move more freely from Tunisia into the region.
At present, it appears as though the pro-Gadhafi forces are maintaining a largely defensive posture. They continue to hold ground, especially in urban areas, and seem to have access to stable financial resources. While the finances of the anti-Gadhafi forces are improving, coordination of their fighting elements over the three main efforts that I've just described remains difficult, in part due to a lack of staff training and cohesive command and control. In short, the situation remains fluid and difficult to predict.
If I may, I would like to briefly outline some operational milestones, first In terms of the Berlin goals and an end to attacks against civilians. NATO allies and partners have severely reduced Gadhafi's ability to attack civilians and continue to do so. The no-fly zone and embargo have been enforced and pro-regime threats are being eliminated. Rapid enforcement of the no-fly zone assisted anti-Gadhafi forces efforts early to protect Benghazi, preventing the potential for many civilian casualties at the hands of Gadhafi.
NATO actions have increased survivability and effectiveness of anti-Gadhafi forces, pressuring Gadhafi's forces to withdraw and thus moving toward achieving the second Berlin goal.
With regard to the third Berlin goal, ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian aid, NATO's efforts have greatly reduced the effectiveness of pro-Gadhafi forces maritime capacity and helped to ensure the ongoing flow of humanitarian supplies into Misrata.
If you turn to slide 4, you will see some figures on the Canadian contribution relative to the broader coalition effort. There was a coalition total of 17,278 sorties, of which 7,258 were strikes, 137 were maritime air patrol sorties, and 3,896 were air-to-air refuelling sorties.
In terms of the Canadian contribution, all percentages here are approximate, but it's the best I can do. We have conducted 8% of all offensive counter-air sorties, which is 598; 4% of all air-to-air refuelling sorties, which is 171; and 79% of all maritime patrol aircraft sorties, which is 108. This is 6% of the overall total, and Canada has expended approximately 455 of our laser-guided bombs.
Under the maritime aspect, the coalition has conducted 203 boardings of suspicious vessels, with Canada having done five of them. HMCS Charlottetown has actively prevented pro-Gadhafi maritime forces from closing the port of Misrata. The continued presence of HMCS Charlottetown ensures the delivery of vital humanitarian aid.
As you can see, Canada is more than pulling its weight militarily. However, I would like to stress that we see our contribution as just one facet of a broader diplomatic and humanitarian effort to help the Libyan people. A sustainable peace cannot be achieved by military means alone.
Thank you for your time. We are ready to answer any questions you may have.