Despite the slurs thrown their way by journalists who don’t understand what they do or how they do it – and who instinctively distrust anything that by necessity must remain mysterious – Canadian special ops forces are becoming increasingly valuable, according to Dr. Emily Spencer – although that comes with its own set of problems:
War is no longer the property of the military, but counter-insurgency is increasingly the property of special forces that, unlike the high-tech gunslingers you see in movies, are specialists living among and understanding the enemy, speaking their language and winning over their leaders in a way civilians never get to see.
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The great weakness of special forces — and Canada’s in particular — is that what they do isn’t visible to the public or the media.
Even at the sprawling Kandahar Air Field they’re invisible, shunning the rest of the troops to bunk with other special forces in the hills outside the city.
That’s in part because these guys don’t talk about anything they do — even their annual budgets are hidden from public view — and also because there is something apparently un-Canadian about being good at killing bad guys in a war.
“We are very capable, militarily, of identifying and taking out the enemy,” Spencer observes, “but we never talk about our accomplishments.”
That comes with a cost, the most obvious being that the Taliban is winning the propaganda war. Though they may claim to have destroyed more Canadian tanks than Canada even owns, for an illiterate local audience their message wins.
“The Taliban is much better at that than we are,” Spencer observes.
Spencer says what is hobbling Canada’s war in Afghanistan is political will: While the Taliban are absolutely determined to win, we aren’t. Two years ago, Canada announced it was leaving in 2011, meaning the Taliban just have to wait around to win.
That lesson illustrates how much war has changed, and while the military gets it, Spencer said, the politicians and the public don’t.
“Wars aren’t won or lost on the battlefield,” Spencer says, underlining a theme of her new book.
“They are won or lost in the political arena back home, and we never had the political will to win.”
Kudos to Ian Elliot of the Kingston Whig-Standard for resisting the obvious urge to “expose” the secretive warriors, and instead writing a story that explores the difficult balance between maintaining operations security and winning the information battle – especially for domestic political will.
Dr. Spencer isn’t the only one noticing the unheralded achievements of the special operators at the very tip of Canada’s spear:
During a ceremony held on June 4th the CDS, General Walter Natynczyk, presented a CF Unit Commendation to the members of Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2). The CDS chose to present the award with spouses present in order to acknowledge the important role played by the family members of JTF 2 personnel.
The CF Unit Commendation awarded to JTF comprises three elements: a gold-coloured medallion, a special commemorative flag and a gold-embossed scroll bearing a citation that reads:
“In recognition of its exceptional contributions to domestic and international operations since its inception in 1993. The performance of JTF 2 personnel while operating independently or as part of a coalition task force has been outstanding. JTF 2 domestic and international operations have reduced threats to Canadians, improved national security and saved Canadian lives. The members of JTF 2 have performed their duties in a manner that has earned international acclaim for its perseverance and professionalism.”
The men and women of JTF 2 don’t pursue this calling with the expectation of public acclaim. In fact, by the very nature of the organization, they shun it. Their motto, Facta Non Verba, translates to Deeds Not Words.
Unfortunately, we have no means beyond these rare blurry and vague glimpses into their world by which to know their true value to our nation. But just because they aren’t seeking our recognition doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.
Update: Somebody’s listening…it would have been really easy to post a biography of the newly-appointed CANSOFCOM Command Chief Warrant Officer that said “Chief Warrant Officer John Graham has been there and done that. Due to reasons of national security, you don’t need to know anything else about him. Trust us, he’s got his poop in a pile.” Instead, we get a really good bio.
Of particular note, similar to BGen Mike Day’s promotion, CWO Graham is the first Command Chief Warrant Officer to be promoted and appointed to this role from JTF 2. That the unit has now produced both officers and enlisted members fully qualified for such positions of higher command is yet another sign that this relatively young unit – it stood up in 1993 – has reached its full maturity. Bravo Zulu to CWO Graham, CANSOFCOM, and JTF 2 on his appointment.
