Hercules and the (previous) column

In relation to the question asked in the previous post, Canada has 36 Hercules transport aircraft, from which 8 are on a maintenance rotation almost at all times. That leaves 28 Hercs available for the entire country. So the likelyhood of committing 24 of the 28 planes to a single operation across to the other side of the world is non existent. We have something that we call a "rapid-response" team for disaster situations, but we do not have the capability to put them in the disaster area on our own. This is not just false advertisement. There is a lot wrong with this scheme that is begging to be asked.


The news release from DND (Department of National Defense) yesterday provides the schedule for the Antonovs to arrive in Colombo. The last one is set to arrive in the Sri Lankan capital on the 13 of January. How long will it take to deploy the equipment? They do not say. This is not at all the 48-hr response anticipated by the Department.