Organizing and Training Peacekeeping Forces: The Canadian View

DOI10.1177/002070206702200203
Date01 June 1967
AuthorR. B. Tackaberry
Published date01 June 1967
Subject MatterArticle
Organizing
and
Traimng
Peace-keeping
Forces:
The
Canadian
View
R.
B.
Tackaberry*
Although
the
Canadian
Armed
Forces
had
been involved
in
peace-keeping
operations
as
early
as
1949,
it
was
not
until
1964
that
our
military
experts
were
afforded
officially
an
opportunity
of
discussing
the
technical
aspects
of
such
operations
with
their
opposite
numbers from
other
U.N.
Member
States.
The Scandina-
vians,
with
their
tradition
for
championing peace,
convened
the
first
peace-keeping
conference
providing such
an
opportunity
at
Oslo
in
February
1964.
Canada
followed
suit
and
held a
con-
ference
in
Ottawa
in
November
1964.
A
second
Oslo
Conference
took
place in
November
1965.
These
Conferences
were
agreed
that
everything
possible
must
be
done
to
facilitate
the
exchange
of
information
on peace-keeping
among
the
countries
that
had
confirmed
with
the
Secretary-General
their
willingness
to
partici-
pate
in
U.N.
military
operations.
The experience
of
the
Can-
adian
Armed
Forces
in
the
organization
and
training
of
regular
forces
for
participation
in
peace-keeping
may
be
of
particular
interest
to
these
countries.
It
is
customary
for
the
military
to organize
and
train
their
forces
with
a
view
to
meeting
a
specific
threat.
But
for
U.N.
operations
there
is
no body
or
agency
qualified
to
provide
the
intelligence
estimate
of
the
threat,
i.e.,
where
the
next
U.N.
peace-keeping
operation
is
likely to
take
place.
Similarly
the
nature
of
the
threat
is
never
established
too clearly
for
such
operations.
National
planners
are
therefore
left
with
no
other
recourse
but
to
organize
and
train
their
peace-keeping
forces
based
on
the
experience gained
on
previous
operations
of
this
type.
The
material
included
in
this article
is
based
on
just
such
experience gained over
the
past
seventeen
years.
It
is
my
view
that
any
success
that
the
Canadian
Armed
Forces
have
enjoyed
in
peace-keeping
operations
is
attributable
*Formerly
Canadian Forces
Headquarters,
Ottawa.
The
views
expressed
in
this
article
are
those
of
the author.

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