Auf wiedersehen Shilo! A brief history of the German Defence Forces at CFB Shilo.
It would appear that the German military presence at Canadian Forces Base Shilo has come to an end. If we are to believe official Canadian sources, recent cuts to the German military defence budget made the German military presence in Shilo unaffordable. EdeC, however, has learned that Canada played an important role in the German decision. Given the relative dearth of information on this aspect, we've decided to shed some light on the Canadian role as well as DGPA's attempts at mitigating its impact.On September 17, 1973, after two years of discussions between the two countries, the Canadian Department of National Defence took another step towards mitigating the bitterness once felt towards the Western nations' chief enemy during two world wars. On that date, DND/CF announced that it had agreed to a 10-year contract to have West German troops come and train at Canadian Forces Base Shilo, Manitoba.
By then, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, and British troops had already used Canadian training facilities under the Visiting Forces Act and the NATO Status of Forces Agreement. The West Germans had also been in Canada before -- albeit on a temporary basis. For instance, they had conducted cold weather trials on Starfighter aircraft in Churchill Falls, Manitoba in 1961-62 and tank trials in Shilo, Manitoba in 1966. But this new agreement marked a significant departure from previous practices because of it's size and duration.
The original plan called for battalion sized groups totalling about 700 troops to deploy to a former air force base, used as a bombing range, for three-week periods between May and November each year. Or put differently, some 5,600 German troops would train at Shilo every year for the next ten years. The West German Government also agreed to bear the full cost of this training including the cost of any Canadian administrative personnel. In addition, a 36-member German permanent staff at the German Army Training Establishment Shilo (GATES), initially commanded by LCol Arnold F. Scharkowski, would remain on this 96,000-acre camp near Brandon beginning January 1974.
On March 21, 1974, 45 Leopard I's, 14 M-109 self-propelled Howitzers, as well as an assortment of wheeled and tracked vehicles were off-loaded at the port of Quebec to begin their long journey across Canada to CFB Shilo. The battalions of West German soldiers, for their part, began arriving in early May 1974.
In December 1983, an Exchange of Notes between the two governments permitted the continuation of army training for another ten years. On December 10, 1992, DND renewed its commitment to GATES by signing a formal Military Training Agreement with the German Government. Under the terms of this agreement, both parties agreed to continue the training arrangement at CFB Shilo for another ten years with an option for an additional rive years. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, however, this agreement would only last four years.
On 20 February 1996, both governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The reason for this MOU, after only four years under the Military Training Agreement, was that the Canadian government had adopted a new cost-recovery policy in April 1995. Known as the "user-pay" policy, official DND/CF documents provided to EdeC revealed that Germany had paid, in fiscal year 1995/96, some $61 million for actual goods and services rendered at CFB Shilo and CFB Goose Bay combined, representing a 25% increase in costs for both the German Air Force at CFB Goose Bay and the German Army training at CFB Shilo.
Needless to say, the first rumours of the German withdrawal from Shilo were heard soon thereafter. In September 1997, local journalists, including Mr. Burns from CJOB radio (Winnipeg), sought to confirm the rumour that the Germans would be leaving Shilo after 2003 and that the Germans did not intend to renew the accord between their country and Canada.
True to form, a senior Public Affairs officer at NDHQ, denied hearing of any such rumour, emphasising instead that there was an MOU until 2003, carefully avoiding any mention about any potential impact the new Canadian "user-pay" policy may have had on the German Government in an era of fiscal restraint.
The Assistant Deputy Minister -- Policy, and the group principally responsible for this file, for his part, not only refuted these rumours but agreed with his staffers' assertions that "(t)he Germans are satisfied with the service they receive from Canada and are attempting to increase the scope to include brigade commanders and their immediate staff."
Two years later, however, it would appear that the Germans never intended to "increase" their presence in Shilo but rather to "withdraw completely" from the base at a pace that even Mr. Bums had not anticipated when he had asked DND/CF the question two years ago.
The final irony of course is to hear that on September 4, 1999, while the CFB Shilo Base Commander, LCol Rick Wilson announced that "Germany plans to stop training soldiers at the base next fall," another Public Affairs Officer at NDHQ has informed reporters that "... no final decision on a pullout has been made yet."
Notwithstanding the ADM Policy's 1997 notes asserting that Canada and CFB Shilo will continue to benefit from the presence of the Bundeswehr, it would appear that the region is now facing the serious prospect of an estimated $100 million economic shortfall should the German defence forces actually pull out next fall.
Clearly, a 25% increase in costs, when many western countries are still clamouring for a peace dividend would have an impact and this should have been better understood and acknowledged by the senior leadership. Finally, the attempt to increase the German fees in Shilo by approximately $5 million pales in comparison to the potential annual loss of approximately $100 million direct and indirect payments that had heretofore been the German contribution to the region's economy. It also shows a lack of strategic thought regarding defence policy because this decision has not only lead to the potential loss of GATES and weakened our ties with a NATO ally, it has also jeopardised the very existence of CFB Shilo.
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| Author: | Orsyk, George |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Esprit de Corps |
| Date: | Sep 1, 1999 |
| Words: | 1016 |
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