Does anyone out there remember Cyprus? I didn't think so.
The truth is, save for the Cdn Ab Reg't in 1974, Cyprus was a non-event as far
as mil ops are concerned. Given the times and location, if you can remember
being on the "island of love" you weren't there.
Why am I bringing this up? Bosnia has become the "Cyprus" of the new
millenium. It's Cyprus without the climate, walking out policy, booze, naked
Scandinavian goddesses and a sense of humour.
Yes it is ,in fact, Hell on earth. The following article is a guide to commanders
to help you ensure that your unit will experience a good MOPE.
AN OVERVIEW OF CANADIAN FORCES INVOLVEMENT IN SFOR.
Pre-deployment Training
The aim of pre-deployment training should be to ensure that every soldier is completely sick of the mission before they get on the plane. You will want to prepare your soldiers so that the MOPE can commence immediately on deployment. This is best accomplished in the following manner:
- Ensure to keep mentioning the upcoming mission a good year to 18 months before
pre-trg has started. Ideally, you should start the ball rolling for Roto 10
while still deployed on Roto 7. This will keep your unit in a MOPE posture.
On commencement of training, it is best to assume that your soldiers and NCOs
are completely incompetent. In fact, if you desire a MOPE posture as soon as
possible, treat them as if they have never received any military training whatsoever.
This is best achieved by completely ignoring the trg your unit has conducted
to date and starting with the most basic and mundane trg imaginable. Remember,
what was accomplished in one week in prep for Cyprus can easily be done in 3
months for OP PALLADIUM.
- Be sure to include trg that you don't even have a chance of utilizing on
a MOPE and rush through the important parts like driving courses, with a min
amount of practice, and;
Ensure that your unit conducts as much trg in theater as possible. Try to employ
the seven to one principle while conducting live fire trg (seven hours of driving
for one hour of shooting).
The Mission
To ensure all members of your unit remain focused on MOPE, consider the following:
- Treat beer as if it were heroin. Yes that popular libation that is legal and widely available in Canada should be all but outlawed on a MOPE. Just so that everyone understands their place in the order of things, have a twenty year old Bosnian girl monitor the alcohol intake of all ranks (self esteem is the antithesis of MOPE). Ensure that if any actual military mission should rear its ugly head, have it dealt with by a mysterious group of Pte basic soldiers who wear uniforms similar to our own, but distinquish themselves by their casual interpretation of CF dress policies and by their issue wpns which are way cooler than ours (who the hell are those guys anyway?). Nothing will facilitate MOPE like elitism.
- Have your soldiers work closely with those of other nations who drink and fornicate as if the world is coming to an end. better yet, have groups from your unit move to the base and secure it for them. Twelve hours of manning the PCP (Prostitute Control Point) at the BLMF will keep a troop MOPE oriented for years.
- Make sure that every small transgression is immediately reported to the highest authority possible. This will ensure that our soldiers who are living the lives of cloistered monks will be portrayed in their hometown newspaper as a mixture of outlaw bikers and Attila's Huns. The soldiers will be impressed when they see that although NDHQ will take up to 6 weeks to generate a promotion msg, they can deploy an inspection team faster than you can say "witch hunt", and;
- Ensure that no matter how hard the troops try, they will never be able to
make it through a full day without breaking at least one rule. Everything from
smoking to showering should be controlled and regulated. In this way, troops
will develop that "Spartan" mentality and will see every policy and
regulation as a dare.
This is by no means a definitive study of MOPE The Canadian Army has proved
itself to be a leader in this new and exciting new field and we continue to
break new ground in its development. In fact our progress in this area has earned
us the unofficial title of "Least Fun Army in the World"(having just
unseated the long-time titleholder, the U.S. Army).
We are looking forward to many more MOPEs in the future.