Phillips, Barry J.: my armed forces recollections (November 19, 2009)

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Rank: Lieutenant-Colonel.

Interviewee: Phillips, Barry J., b. 1942

ABSTRACT: Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Phillips Begins with a brief summary of his military career, starting with time in the Cadets, stating that his family has a tradition of military service. He joined the RCASC, because he wanted to fly helicopters. He was selected for the training, but failed the seeing test, and decided to join the Airborne Regiment instead. He remembers that the best leadership training he received was on the job from those he led and from senior NCOs. He worked briefly in NDHQ, though he strongly disliked deskwork. He went to the Golan Heights after promotion to Major, which he enjoyed, saying that it was “professionally demanding” since peacekeeping was at that time new to the Canadian Forces. He recalls that the hardest he ever worked was during two years as CO of a reserve unit. He was involved in the deployment of the second battalion group into Croatia on UNPROFOR, and was deployed there to take command of the Logistics support group there. In Croatia/Bosnia, he recalls how disorganised the deployment was in that there was little pre-deployment planning and the unit was constituted in-theatre, its equipment arriving later. He also remembers that the line units whose logistics he was responsible for were widely separated. He recalls the offer he was given shortly thereafter for separation from the Forces, and that it was an extremely good offer, which is why he took it. When asked, he does not recall any training on rules for firing or engagement during his officer training. When deployed to the Golan Heights, he remembers getting the rules for his deployment when he arrived in-theatre, called a “pinky briefing”, a reference to the sunburns of new arrivals, and says what rules existed by the end of his deployment were rules his unit developed. He discusses how he developed training drills for what would happen if his unit needed to abandon their base and run. He recalls that one of these drills caused a brief international incident. He also recalls the diplomatic difficulties he encountered when catering a large reception in Damascus. He remembers that UNPROFOR was an entirely new form of peacekeeping to the previous operations in the Golan Heights or Cyprus. His opinion is that the chain of command didn’t realise it in time, and made many significant mistakes in organisation when deploying the CanBats into UNPROFOR. In particular, his opinion is that the organisational issues should have been sorted out before they arrived in-theatre. He discusses how the Rules of Engagement travel down the chain of command from Ottawa to each individual unit, with each CO re-interpreting as necessary to their specific mission. He recalls that Ottawa was interfering with operations in theatre, and the confusion of having the French, who were unfamiliar with UN operating procedures, in charge of logistics. Once again, he remembers having to formulate and interpret the rules himself, and talks about making sure every soldier was adequately briefed and trained in their ROE by drilling individually. Briefly mentions hearing about the Medak Pocket incident second-hand, and opines that the Canadians involved reacted appropriately within their ROE. His opinion is that most frustration with the ROE was directed towards Ottawa’s interference with the operational units. His opinion is that so long as the troops are trained and prepared for the mission and well-briefed on the rules, then ROE are useful. He is confident in the current training and preparation of the forces, and considers the ROEs to be the underpinning of all operations.

Interviewer: Williams, Elizabeth

An interview/narrative of Barry Phillips's experiences during the United Nations operations in the Golan Heights, Cyprus and Croatia/Bosnia. Interview took place on November 19, 2009.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 35, 33
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (MP3) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • PB_613
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • November 20, 2009
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 48 kbps and 22 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2009. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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