CAF personnel asked to return sleeping bags and rucksacks

Due to a shortfall in the number of sleeping bags and rucksacks, a Canadian Forces General Order (CANFORGEN) was sent out on May 28, telling soldiers to return their gear so that it may be re-distributed to those who need it most.

“We feel this is an effective and efficient approach because there are enough in the system. The challenge is really getting them to the ones that need it most. We see this as an opportunity to rebuild our inventory,” said Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) spokesperson, Lt.-Col. Robin Chenard.

Rather than purchasing more, Lt.-Col. Chenard said they feel it’s a good management of their resources to take in equipment from those who no longer need it in the future.

“Largely, there are a lot of members in the NCR (National Capital Region) who won’t deploy in the near future and wouldn’t require that kit for training. In some cases, people have two or three or more and so obviously over the years they’ve accumulated them and that’s a way to get them back to what their entitlement would be,” Lt.-Col. Chenard added.

Due to the increase of military personnel, the CAF aims to re-distribute somewhere around 10,000 rucksacks and sleeping bags within the next few years from a total of 63,000 available CAF wide.

“Over the years, people have moved into positions or been promoted into jobs or areas where they’re not going to deploy, but these folks are still going to keep their important equipment, so they can still do First-Aid, Ranges and their fitness training. We’re still maintaining a high level of readiness for everyone in the CAF, but this stuff is kind of specialized equipment that not everybody requires on an annual basis,” said Lt.-Col. Chenard.