Conservative Government Won’t Give the Canadian Forces Permission to Talk About Their Involvement in RIMPAC 2012 But Here Are the Details

It’s even difficult for the Canadian Forces to get permission these days from the Conservative government to talk about what they consider “good news” stories. It’s almost a total clampdown on information.

Take for instance, the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. It’s held every two years by Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLT).

The U.S. Navy announced two days ago that Canadian officers would be playing key roles in the exercise. But the Canadian Forces is silent on the subject since it still hasn’t got approval from Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s office and the Privy Council Office to send out a press release.

But why wait for that release? Here are the details as gathered so far by Defence Watch courtesy of the U.S. Navy:

This year’s RIMPAC exercise is scheduled from June 27 to August 7. Twenty-two nations, 42 surface ships, 6 submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel will participate.