"Friday, February 26, 1999 Early March to New Years by STEPHANIE RUBEC, Parliamentary Bureau Canada's military is set to stage possible Y2K scenario's beginning tomorrow......"

http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaNews/OS-02-26-0017.html

-- Anon (anon@zzz.com), February 27, 1999

Answers

Oops! Blundered link I'll try again.

hopefully unblundered link will appear

Just in case it doesn't work: http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaNews/OS.OS-02-26-0017.html

-- Anon (anon@zzz.com), February 27, 1999.

---

Margin go back.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Anon.
This is quite an interesting article. Will copy text excerpts here as news URLs go kerplutz:

Early March to New Year's

[ For Educational purposes only ]

Friday, February 26, 1999

By STEPHANIE RUBEC, Parliamentary Bureau

Canada's military is set to stage possible Y2K scenarios beginning tomorrow.

About 500 soldiers from the joint taskforce headquarters will move from their Kingston base to Ottawa in trailers for a millennium training exercise called Joint Start II.

The first Y2K exercise will test whether the taskforce, which boasts deployability to anywhere in the world, can live up to its mandate.

For the next week, soldiers will test their communications systems and play out situations they might face in the millennium.

The military will iron out any kinks before launching the second phase of their training exercise in May. A third is scheduled for September when more military units will participate.

But the military hopes government and businesses will deal with their own Y2K problems before the millennium arrives, admitting it can't cover the country from coast to coast.

A preliminary report on the millennium mission, dubbed Operation Abacus, warns that the 60,000 soldiers put on alert -- 20,000 available to be dispatched to trouble spots -- and the available resources can't handle a country-wide crisis.

"Sorry, but 20,000 troops can't be everywhere and do everything," said Maj. John Blakeley.

CITIES STRANDED?

Huge chunks of the country will have to fend for themselves if too many cities try to call in the army.

Blakeley said the military's first priority will be getting their communications system running and ensuring the defence department is problem-free. Any glitches would reduce the availability of the 20,000 soldiers slated for deployment.

The hardest-hit areas would get help from the remaining soldiers.

The report has soldiers busy in January and possibly into July.

The military won't pull out of its international obligations, but will stop all military flights for an indefinite period starting Jan. 1, 2000.

That means about 4,000 Canadian soldiers serving outside the country will have to stockpile food and equipment so they don't run out, because no one can tell how long the planes will be grounded or needed in Canada.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Can my widdle brain make the leap to sub in US for Canada? Are there implications? Are there new suppositions to ponder here? Izzee news getting more & more sobering in incremental creep-crawlisms? Izzee rolling ball'o moss gathering more actual factuals on its way to zee slippery slope? Have the weeples begun to swooooon yet? The critical mass cannot be budged? Unless it wallops zee budget?

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), February 27, 1999.

---

I guess it's ok to stock up if you're overseas, just not here.

Thanks for the info, Anon.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), February 27, 1999.

Boy, am I glad I don't live in Canada.

Oops... I'm in Wisconsin. I think most of America thinks we are in Canada.

Thanks, Anon.

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), February 27, 1999.

Thanks Anon,

... "admitting it can't cover the country from coast to coast."

What's true there, is true here too.

But why do they pick on the S.F. Bay Area so much? Wonder what's here that they want to "protect" for our own good, of course.

Hummm?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 27, 1999.

Diane,

short answer: military & diplomatic power projection in the Pacific requires the facillities you have (communications, transportation, financial, hubs, the port facillity, etc).

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), February 27, 1999.

Programmers. Lots and lots of programmers.

-- Wanda (lonevoice@mailexcite.com), February 27, 1999.

Yep Arlin,

We're gonna be a popular spot!

Couldn't sleep well last night, so what the hey, listened to Art Bell. Afterwards a local talk show host came on spitting fire about the Urban Warrior exercises coming up in Oakland.

He said he had heard that "part" of the reason these military exercises are all taking place in major population centers now, is the military wants to get civillians used to their presence.

Thought that was kind'a accurate.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), February 27, 1999.

Also, don't forget those slow war boats cruisin' up and down the west coast!!

-- Ah! (so@last.com), February 28, 1999.

Why the interest in S.F.? Hmmmm....the Presidio? Gorbachev's global governance organization? Or maybe just nostalgic memories of the Haight?

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), March 01, 1999.

Forces Train for Y2K Crisis

[ For Educational Purposes Only ]

Monday, March 1, 1999

By STEVEN LADURANTAYE, Ottawa Sun The military is preparing for millennium mayhem -- and they're doing it in Ottawa.

A deployable headquarters made up of 16 connected trailers has been set up on Heron Rd. It's being used as a command base for Joint Start II, the first of three exercises to rehearse the army's Y2K contingency plan, Operation Abacus.

The centre is a small office building on wheels. It took a week to set it up. Lights, heat, and all things electrical are powered by a 30,000-volt generator.

It's the brainy, rather than the brawny, side of the military charged with making sure Canada's transition into a year with triple zeros goes smoothly. Maj. Pierre Lessard said the training will ensure the military is ready to help if required on Jan. 1, 2000.

"Nobody knows what's going to happen," he said. "The scenarios will hopefully prepare us for anything."

Many of the scenarios were inspired by last year's ice storm. The military dealt with power outages, flooding, and lack of transportation. The Y2K bug could cause the same problems.

Sgt. Kimberly Saunders said the military wants to be prepared for any problem.

"There are all kinds of things that are way out there," she said. "Plane crashes, brown-outs, floods, accidents, you name it. We have to be ready for anything. It's best we are prepared."

The deployable headquarters will act as a central hub if there's a crisis. Regional centres stationed across Canada will report in, and it will be up to the command centre to decide what resources to allot to different situations, Lessard said.

"We're here on a management level," he said. "Think of us as the national co-ordinators."

He said the key to the unit's success is that it is only part of a Y2K solution. It will be up to local crews to handle most problems.
----------------------------------------------------------
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 01, 1999.

Effective as of March 03, 1999 - subject to change...

New link to the original article. The original one expired already:

New Link

http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/11_n1.html

Dan

-- Dan (DanTCC@Yahoo.com), March 03, 1999.

*** Please disregard my previous link immediately above ***

It's got the wrong article linked. Sorry gang. Long days .. short nights...

Dan

-- Dan (DanTCC@Yahoo.com), March 03, 1999.