Letter to the Editor

Halifax Chronicle Herald Published Tuesday the 21st of February 2006.

 

Ideal location

Congratulations to Gordon O'Connor, the Minister of National Defence for agreeing, at the request of Member of Parliament Bill Casey to review the sale of the almost 400 hectares of CFB Shearwater. MP Peter Stoffer has been urging such a review for years, as have others knowledgeable about contemporary military requirements for effective navy, army and air force operations.

 

Shearwater is an ideal location from which the Canadian Forces can launch overseas operations through its Canadian Expeditionary Forces Command or to locations in the Atlantic provinces through the Joint Task Force Atlantic (JTFA).  Also, the still-being-planned Standing Contingency Task Force will, we hope, naturally find a home in our province's largest harbour area.

 

The Halifax area has long played a major role in Canada's military operations, being the port of departure for convoys, naval task forces and army units over the past 100 years or so.  Now that General Rick Hillier has reorganized and revitalized the Canadian military, it is fitting that Halifax continue to be a major military base of operations.

 

Let us hope that Minister O'Connor, himself a retired military man, will tackle other military needs as quickly.

 

Alex Morrison, Royal United Services Institute

 

 

 

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