The following Canadian Press report points to the integration of the US and Canadian military, where Canadian forces are being deployed in a training exercise inside US territorial waters in close collaboration with the US Marine Corps.
Global Research, 10 November 2006
The Canadian military is about to do something it hasn't done in a grand way since the Second World War -- storm the beaches.
In a $19-million training exercise, troops will stage an amphibious assault on a beach in North Carolina next week, with U.S. navy's help.
A military spokesperson says it's all just an experiment, but one analyst says the exercise is a response to new global threats that may require Canada to challenge a rogue state by mounting a seaborne assault.
"We are very likely going to have to land troops on foreign soil, where they're likely not going to have a welcome reception," said historian and naval expert Richard Gimblett.
The exercise is set for Nov. 16 when a company of troops from Quebec's Royal 22nd Regiment, the Van Doos, will storm ashore from the USS Gunston Hall.
Also participating will be a detachment of Canadian Sea King helicopters, converted to carry troops from ship to shore.
"It's a chance to experiment, to build and understand an amphibious capability," said Maj. Mario Couture, spokesperson for the Canadian army.
"I'm not sure whether this is a lost art for us."
The troops will land on the beach at Camp Lejeune, N.C., home of the U.S. Marine Corps on the eastern seaboard.
Unlike the United States, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands, Canada does not have an independent marine corps, that is, soldiers trained to fight from ships.
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