U.S. military to assist in Vancouver
VANCOUVER -- The United States military will be cooperating with its
Canadian counterparts to provide security for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Canadian Forces officials said Monday that the combined operations fall
under the provisions of joint command NORAD, said Canadian Rear Admiral
Tyrone Pile, commander of Joint Task Force Games.
"They have to be involved," Pile said. "We share a common border with them."
Pile said the U.S. will contribute Coast Guard and Navy vessels but there
will be no American troops involved on Canadian soil.
Full details of security measures are not being released for
operational security reasons.
The news of the U.S. involvement comes two weeks after Col.
Christopher Coates, said the air force, like other branches of the
military, will be forced to juggle its resources during the Olympics.
Coates, the commander of Canada's air wing in Afghanistan, said the
Canadian military does not have enough helicopters to meet its
commitments in Afghanistan and provide security for the Games.
But, said Pile, both domestic security and operations abroad will be
"appropriately resourced."
A Canadian security and terrorism expert said helicopters are
essential tools for perimeter work in the layered security employed at
large- scale events such as an Olympics.
Martin Rudner, the founding director of the Canadian Centre of
Intelligence and Security Studies, said a helicopter perimeter is the
outer layer of security, the first line of defense of many around a "point
of vulnerability" such as a Games venue.
The announcement of U.S. involvement comes as more than 1,000
soldiers, police officers and other security staff are converging in the
Vancouver area for a massive security planning exercise.
Exercise Silver is the second of three test runs being held for the Games
and will involve live what-if scenarios on weather, terrorism, earthquakes
and other possible threats to the Games.
Games security was originally estimated at $140 million to be split
between the provincial and federal governments.
The Canadian government has since acknowledged that cost could be as high
as $800,000 million -- 1 billion in Canadian funds.
However, when the latest Canadian budget was released Jan. 27, there were
no Olympic security numbers.
Up to 4,000 Canadian soldiers could be on the ground in Vancouver for the
Games.
The entire security operation for the Games is being overseen by the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police in an integrated security unit.
Altogether, about 8,000 security personnel will be involved in
policing the Games, not including staff from various government
agencies like health authorities or utilities who will have their own
security procedures.
