The Doubling of JTF-2

An evaluation of JTF-2’s strengths and weaknesses in the early Global War on Terror

In March, I wrote a post about the origins of JTF 2. This post picks up on what is likely the next most important moment in the unit’s history: JTF 2’s rapid expansion during the Global War on Terror.

The December 2001 budget was released just months after the 9/11 attacks. It allocated 1.6 billion dollars to emergency preparedness and military deployment, including, at the very top of the listed, a plan to double the capacity of JTF-2.

This week, Library and Archives Canada released the slide deck used to brief the Minister of National Defence ahead of the Treasury Board submission: “CF Counter-Terrorism & Special Operations Enhancement Project.” See the full release at Canada Declassified, here.

These slides are from November 18, 2002 — meaning the submission was going to be made almost a full year after the budget announcement.

The deck is fascinating because it marks a tremendous moment of change. There is, of course, the change in the size of the unit, but those changes were intended to (and clearly did) transform JTF 2’s ability to operate abroad.

If I have my numbers right, the plan was to add 230 new positions in the unit. (It was ultimately decided to break the enhancement project into two phases, with the first phase expanding JTF 2 by 171 positions).

One of the first slides is a description of the “Mission of Joint Task Force 2.”

Another provides four bullet-points about the unit.

In September 2002, the unit was reorganized into three squadrons, with each squadron consisting of two “troops.”

This “Strengths” slide is interesting because it notes that international operations up to this point had been “small,” meaning small in size, perhaps below squadron-level. (Contrast this with “Weaknesses” slides that identifies “International operations at the sqn(s) [squadron(s)] level.”

Still, JTF-2 had already operated in Bosnia and Afghanistan, and could work well with allies and developed a “reputation for excellence.”

The “Weaknesses” slide focuses on numbers, although other capabilities are discussed, too. The government had already purchased more equipment to allow “2x” the amount of troops to operate “out of area,” but nonetheless, by the time of this submission, JTF 2 could not sustain a squadron on an international operation.

In the “Concept of Operation” slide we see how all this adds up:

Increasing the size of JTF 2 would allow it to respond to two simultaneous domestic incidents, and add an ability to conduct “sustained international operations.” The unit also needed more “internal support and sustainment capabilities” if it was going to expand its operations. The enhancement project would also allow for the creation of a “CTSO directorate” - I believe this came to be the J3 Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations staff.

So what? I think people will look at these records from one of two perspectives.

The first will be shock that the Government of Canada is finally willing to release more details about JTF 2. The second may be more of an exasperated sigh: These documents are over 20 years old; JTF 2 has changed significantly since 2002, and this information is out of date.

Both perspectives are correct.

I was surprised to receive these documents. In reviewing them, I think this was an appropriate release — and there should be more like it. There is nothing injurious to Canada in these records.

On the contrary, there is real benefit to this release because the documents are old.

We cannot access contemporary information about JTF 2. Frankly, I don’t think specific information about today’s personnel numbers or budgets (or “Weaknesses”!) should be available. At the same time, no one is served well by pretending JTF 2 has no history.

But these documents are history. This particular slice of the relatively recent past allows us a window into thinking about how and why Canada increased the size of an instrument of national policy.

Let’s hope this is part of a bigger trend in openness.

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Updates:

A week ago today, Robyn Doolittle and Tom Cardoso published their “FURIOUS HISTORIANS” piece in The Globe. That’s the moniker it got online, anyway. (Real title: “The Dustbin of History”)

The piece is pay-walled, but a number of us who were interviewed for the piece also chimed in on The Globe’s podcast, The Decibel.

Also: This week, Larisa Galadza returned to her alma mater, Trinity College, to speak with me and a very enthusiastic group of International Relations Program students. She spoke about her time as Canada’s Ambassador in Ukraine from 2019-2023. It was a very powerful presentation. For more about Galadza, see this profile, “War Zone Ambassador.”