![]() “Because we have tanks in Canada, and because of the way the international missions in which we participate are structured, it means we don’t have to deploy our tanks,” he observed. A case in point is the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group in Latvia. Kirstein commanded some of the initial Leopard 2s deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, and his experience there and on operations since has underscored the continuing importance of retaining tanks, even if they are not always used. “Armour lets people get places where they wouldn’t be able to get to, destroy things that other assets can’t destroy, and survive things that allow the combat team to do the things they need to do.” ![]() ![]() “We are part of the brigade groups, the battle group and the combat teams and we are a force enabler to the infantry as much as they are to us,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Kirstein, commandant of the Royal Canadian Armour Corps School in Gagetown. American combat experience in Baghdad and Canada’s experience in Afghanistan made it clear the mix of enhanced armour protection and heavy firepower only available in tracked armoured vehicles were essential to most combat operations. Some suggested that tanks would be obsolete with the end of the Cold War, but recent low intensity operations have muted those comments. With the exception of a short period in the early 2000’s, when General Rick Hillier recommended replacing them with a wheeled gun system, main battle tanks have been seen as a key part of the Army’s combat mix.
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