From the CEO:

This week, the Parliamentary Budget Office released its analysis on the costing for the planned acquisition of the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) as the next generation of vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy.  It was a sobering assessment outlining the dramatically reduced number of ships that can be acquired if the current budget is maintained, or the equally dramatic additional investment that must be made to secure a number of ships that is more attuned to the requirements of our country.  They echo most strongly the Minister’s statements yesterday at the CANSEC and earlier in May that successive governments have under-invested in defence capabilities, leaving Canada with a widening gap between expectations and reality.  With the upcoming statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on peacekeeping followed by the Defence Policy announcement on 7 June, Canadians have every reason to expect significant developments to address this increasingly public and risky situation for Canada.

Le rapport du Directeur du bureau parlementaire du Budget ainsi que d’autres analyses sur les acquisitions des vaisseaux navales sont disponibles aux liens suivants:

http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/blog/news/CSC_costing

http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/fr/blog/news/CSC_costing

From the Research Manager and Senior Editor:

En plus de nous préparer à commenter sur la politique de défense une fois qu’elle est annoncée la semaine prochaine, l’Institut de la CAD organise également deux tables rondes. Le matin du 8 juin, le Brigadier général Funke discutera avec nous la politique de la sécurité et de la défense de la République fédérale d’Allemagne, puis le 9 juin, nous sommes heureux d’organiser une discussion avec le chef d’état-major de la Défense, le Général Jonathan Vance au sujet de la nouvelle politique de la défense. Pour vous inscrire à l’événement avec le Bgén Funke, veuillez vous incrire à http://cdainstitute.ca/events/roundtables-and-special-events/general-gerald-funke/ et pour l’événement avec le Gén Vance, utilisez le lien à http://cdainstitute.ca/events/roundtables-and-special-events/general-jonathan-vance/.

In addition preparing to comment on the Defence Policy once announced next week, The CDA Institute is also hosting two roundtable events.  On the morning of 8 June, Brigadier General Funke will discuss with us the Security and Defence Policy of the Federal Republic of Germany and then on 9 June, we are very pleased to be hosting a discussion with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Vance on the new Defence Policy.  To register for the BGen Funke event, please register at http://cdainstitute.ca/events/roundtables-and-special-events/general-gerald-funke/ and for the Gen Vance event, please use the link at http://cdainstitute.ca/events/roundtables-and-special-events/general-jonathan-vance/.

A reminder that the call for papers for the 20^th Annual Graduate Student Symposium has been issued.  Presentation abstracts must be submitted by 6 Sep. Nous recherchons des soumissions de partout au Canada, que ce soit en français ou en anglais. Further details on the symposium may be found at http://cdainstitute.ca/events/graduate-student-symposium/

Recent CDA Institute Web Updates/Dernières mises à jour Web de l’Institute de la CAD:

http://cdainstitute.ca/davies-on-the-new-fighter-acquisition-oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave/

http://cdainstitute.ca/qaiser-on-afghanistan-a-graveyard-of-empires-or-an-afghan-cemetery/

From our Associations:

CIDP:  Final note! Details on the upcoming CIDP 12^th Annual Kingston Conference on International Security “Developing the Super Soldier: Enhancing Military Performance”, 12-14 June, may be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/kcis/home . Coming quickly after the public announcement of the new Defence Policy, this is an excellent opportunity to not only discuss a challenging topic in building military capability, but also share thoughts on how the new Defence Policy will affect Canadian security and defence into the future.

CDA Institute Aerograms – From our Research Fellow Howard Coombs

Linked below and available at (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/for-army-infantrys-1st-women-heavy-packs-and-the-weight-of-history.html?emc=edit_th_20170527) is The New York Times article “For Army Infantry’s 1st Women, Heavy Packs and the Weight of History”:  “The Army has sought to play down the significance of the mixed-gender milestone. But female grunts see it as monumental and revolutionary.”

It’s an interesting piece on the first female graduates of US Army basic infantry training.  VR Howard

170527 NYT For Army Infantry’s 1st Women, Heavy Packs and the Weight of History – The New York Times

News around the World:

“Ninety-five million, thirty-two thousand, five hundred & ninety-one dollars & seventy-eight cents per day”. The Cost of Defence: ASPI Defence Budget Brief 2017-2018 (Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 25 May)

https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/the-cost-of-defence-aspi-defence-budget-brief-2017-2018

de Kerckhove: ‘Le Canada, qui aurait dû saluer la réélection du président iranien Rohani, est resté étonnamment silencieux. (La Presse, 26 mai)

http://plus.lapresse.ca/screens/a24ee39b-296c-48e1-a912-5e5a4032541c%7C_0.html

How Islamic State clings on in Libya: The jihadists have retreated to the desert, where they are a potent threat (The Economist, 27 May)

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21722630-jihadists-have-retreated-desert-where-they-are-potent-threat-how

Australia to send 30 additional advisors to Afghanistan (Associated Press, 28 May)

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AUSTRALIA_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=CARIE

Merkel finds perfect tag team partner in Macron to defend Europe’s future: German chancellor drops verbal piledriver on relations with Trump, Putin (CBC News, 31 May)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/merkel-macron-tag-team-1.4138098

L’étau se resserre sur Raqqa, le bastion syrien des jihadistes de l’EI. Les Forces démocratiques syriennes (FDS), une alliance de combattants arabo-kurdes, sont sur le point d’encercler la ville.  (France 24, 1 juin)

http://www.france24.com/fr/20170601-syrie-raqqa-jihadistes-ei-encercles-forces-arabo-kurdes-ypg-etats-unis

Commentary: In standing up to Trump, Europe gets its mojo back (Reuters, 1 Jun)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-europe-commentary-idUSKBN18Q23B

A second Japanese satellite was launched in their programme to realize a global positioning system.  The Japanese government plans two more launches within this year.  (The Japan News, 1 Jun)

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003734817