Uncharted waters

On May 4, the Canadian Navy officially celebrated its 100th year as Canada’s marine security force. The centennial provides an opportunity to reflect on the storied history of the Navy, examine its role today, and gaze into a future where the only certainty is uncertainty.

The 2010 Naval Centennial conference “The Canadian Navy Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” took place at Pier 21 in Halifax last week. It featured many engaging and thought-provoking sessions from experts throughout the Navy and academia on a variety of subjects affecting the Navy.

“These conferences provides opportunities for the academic community and other people interested in naval and maritime security issues to meet and discuss contemporary problems and concerns,” says Peter Haydon, conference chair and senior research fellow with Dalhousie’s Centre for Foreign Policy Studies (CFPS). The centre put on the conference with support from Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) and the Canadian Nautical Research Society (CNRS)

Future leaders?

Thursday afternoon’s session “Future Planning Considerations,” discussed four major issues facing the Navy in the coming years.

The millennial generation will shape the future leadership of the Canadian Forces and the Navy will need to consider their expectations as they recruit, explained Leesa Tanner of DRDC. Factors such as work-life balance, professional development and a positive work environment will play an enormous role on attracting and retaining sailors.

In areas of new technology, Ms. Tanner explained the benefit the millennials already bring. “Who better to work with it than those who already use it most?” she said.

Change needed

Change in the Navy needs to be three-dimensional – defence, diplomacy and development – according to David Mugridge of the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. The Navy’s role is to protect regulated ocean commons, promote good, prevent conflict and prevail in combat, explained Mr. Mugridge, who is also an independent maritime security consultant and served with the Royal Navy in areas such as maritime counter terrorism and amphibious warfare and peace support.

This led to the discussion of some of the constraints facing the Navy. Because the Navy is small and the Coast Guard is smaller, Canada has to be creative in how it carries out its objectives. It also has to avoid the historical precedent of fighting the next war with the wrong ships, as is the case with most Navies.

Going forward, Mr. Mugridge explained that the Canadian Navy needs to be adaptable and should expand DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) which has helped in places like Haiti and Southeast Asia. It also needs to understand that technology is not always the answer and should beware of the law of diminishing returns relating to the equipment employed by the Navy.

Capital and personnel

How will the Navy finance the future? The Navy will have to get creative and figure out ways to save money and deal within the constraints coming out of Ottawa. The federal government has determined the Canada First defence strategy will allocate 12 per cent of the federal budget for the Canadian forces for the next 20 years. Commodore (ret’d) Eric Lerhe, a doctoral fellow with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, says the capital/personnel ratio doesn’t add up and that the Navy will face some difficult decisions moving forward.

Some of the suggestions Commodore Lerhe presented were capping and selling excess infrastructure such as buildings. He also suggested limitations with regards to personnel, as the capital/personnel issue will remain problematic as maintenance and other costs rise. Additionally, he pointed to the risk in cutting expenditures to better allocate resources, and therefore decisions must not be taken lightly. “Defence has never done well when government is in serious deficit,” he said, referring to budget allocation and the current economic state.

Sailing green

One way to cut costs is going green – in particular, moving away from carbon-based fuels and reducing the Navy’s carbon footprint.

“My purpose today is to advance a cautionary tale,” said Dan Middlemiss, professor in the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie and chair of the Canadian Naval Review. “The world is running out of traditional carbon-based fuels.”

Dr. Middlemiss believes there is a decided lack of urgency in the Canadian Forces around this issue and that Canada is lagging behind the United States. “They are deadly serious about this in the United States,” said Dr. Middlemiss, who explained that energy costs and security have been treated as a recurring annual budgetary annoyance in Canada, instead of part of an overall strategic force development.

However, he pointed to the installation of single diesel engines as compliments to gas turbine engines on the Halifax class frigates and upcoming stern flaps to be installed on the frigates as green innovation. While the Navy is also investigating new propulsion and power systems and hull design, innovative options such as electric power are still a ways off.

Dr. Middlemiss explained that the U.S. are looking to nuclear, hybrid electric and biofuels to power their fleet, such as the U.S.S. Malkin Island – the “Prius” of naval ships – which features gas-turbine engines with an electric system and will save $250 million over its lifespan.

“Canada is being left behind by its major allies,” said Dr. Middlemiss, who doesn’t want to see the Navy curtail operations, exercises and training as the only option to save costs.

However, if the Canadian Navy adopts similar policies to the U.S., such as the fully burdened cost of fuel, it could lead the Canadian Forces in green energy.