Scattering Chaff: Canadian Air Power and Censorship during the Kosovo War

by Bob Bergen

Most Canadians know little, if anything at all, about the role of the Canadian Air Force in the 1999 Kosovo Air War. Yet lives were at put at stake as mission dedication and military skill were pushed to the limit.

Some of Canada's most prominent journalists attempted to report on the war, but came away virtually empty handed. Daily briefings given at the National Defence Headquarters provided so little information most Ottawa journalists simply stopped going. The decision of the military to choke Canada's news media was deliberate and based on a tactical and strategic rationale.

Scattering Chaff explores the role of the Canadian Air Force in the bombing campaigns of the Kosovo Air War while examining the military's interference with the news media attempting to report to the Canadian public. It explores the ways in which the military has come to manage the media as an element of operational security, mission focus, and of popular opinion. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the war's Canadian participants and a treasure-trove of unpublished documents and photographs, this book is an unprecedented investigation of a little-known conflict and the forces that prevented it from being better known.

327 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Elijah Reinhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covered the difficulties of the operations including the logistics of the 18 jets and the dangers with the missions. Upgrades in equipment were needed yet Canadian pilots went into combat and were responsible for 10% of NATO bombs dropped. This book also covered the struggle journalists had accessing information or sharing family stories in Alberta and Quebec

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library of Congress archives find, not as interesting as I had hoped. Once you've read the first half you've heard basically the whole thing, gets a little repetitive. Bonus points for heavy F-15 reference.