(Ottawa) The commander of the Royal Canadian Navy says that this army corps is in a “critical state”, while the strength of many trades barely reaches 80%, or even less.
In a video posted to the Royal Canadian Navy’s YouTube page, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee says the Navy may not be able to meet its readiness commitments next year and beyond.
Commander Topshee cites for example that the West Coast Fleet suffers from a lack of qualified personnel to maintain and operate the ships. He also points out that the Navy can only deploy one of its new Arctic and offshore patrol ships at a time.
The vice admiral also says that the air force and the army are in similar situations, because the Armed Forces have failed to meet their recruitment targets for more than 10 years.
As a result, the Navy may not maintain its strength this year and will not be able to maintain it steady next year, Commander Topshee warns.
Another important challenge for the Navy, he said, is extending the life of its Halifax-class ships by another 15 years until new surface combatants are ready to take over.