Sikorsky Black Hawk C-FHKS joining RCAF refueler HUSK98 on FIFA World Cup patrol duties for Metro Vancouver. @steffanwatkins.bsky.social

BTW: despite the tension between Ottawa and Washington, the CAF who are on exchange, liaison, embeds etc. with the U.S. military continue to fulfill their duties. For example, the Deputy Commanding General of Operations for the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg is 🇨🇦 Brig.-Gen. Sean French

I’m just one journalist, who put this together over a few hours while watching the World Cup. Imagine if newsrooms with lots of resources invested in OSINT and stayed on top of this story

The State of Things with Christy Somos Canada's lens on national security | extremism | mis/dis-information | global affairs | OSINT

So excited to launch the next chapter of my project - made possible by supporters like you!

It’s here! 🎙️📝 Thank you @youcaughtscott.com for having me on The North State podcast to talk all things press freedom, govt obfuscation, media accreditation + CANSEC 2026 🪖🫯 (still haven’t heard back from @cadsi.bsky.social btw)

🇬🇧 Three Royal Navy members died when their Merlin HC.4 crashed while training on June 3, 2026. Several publicly knowable details were not in the articles published by the British news media, so I wrote a backgrounder. steffanwatkins.medium.com/creating-the...

The Ontario government paid $23,730,000 USD cash money to Bombardier, and then asked for it back, but that money is nowhere in the 2025 or 2026 Ontario budget. We now know Doug Ford's black budget has at least $30M in it for discretionary spending, how much more is off the books?

Mark Carney plays the Trump MAGA card brilliantly in NYC while Doug Ford takes Toronto Island Aiport amid his growing Gravy Plane and FOI Scandals on #FightFord protest weekend! Watch @markevans.bsky.social @steffanwatkins.bsky.social on the OShow! #Cndpoli #Onpoli 🇨🇦 youtu.be/L0kww6vuAe4?si…

I dug into Doug Ford's #GravyPlane docs and went over the parts that seemed important to me. "Receipts show Doug Ford had been in the process of buying this jet since January, at least." steffanwatkins.medium.com/receipts-sho...

Not every tip off results in the story you think it will. When someone approached me to look at "how the RCMP is reliant on the U.S." for training and intel, what the story actually became was 'how has our federal police force managed whilst being too small and underfunded for the threats we face’

Good morning! Don’t forget to tune in👇🏼

Catch me on CKFR’s “The Early Edition” tomorrow morning 9:35 am est/ 6:35am pst - talking about my story in @thewalrus.ca about Canada’s involvement in the U.S. -Israeli war on Iran 🎧

I confirmed that at least one CENTCOM role is filled by an CAF intelligence liaison officer…so how is it Ottawa can claim they were caught off guard when everyone and their mother was open-source tracking the mass U.S. military mobilization on social media?

🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 18) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...

🇨🇦 LGen Steve Boivin, CJOC commander, visited IndoPac. Nobody told Canadians. ✍️ www.patreon.com/posts/lgen-s...

🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 17) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...

EXCLUSIVE: DND admits Canadians working in organization responsible for Op. Southern Spear DND acknowledged my previous reporting and admits Canadian personnel are working in SOUTHCOM and JIATF-South, but deny our involvement in Op. Southern Spear itself. My latest: substack.com/@thestateoft...

I'm very pleased to have been able to work with CBC News on this short about Doug Ford's $28.9M 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 C-FBBW #C002D5 (Serial № 6063) CBC News, “Tracking down Doug Ford’s $28.9M jet,” YouTube video, April 21, 2026, youtube.com/shorts/LVab1...

🇺🇸 #USNavy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye fleet (75); last reported locations 2026-04-12Z Prince Sultan Air Base🇸🇦 (5) ➢ 169869 ➢ 169080 #AE2FD7 ➢ 169874 ➢ 169075 #AE744D ➢ 169077 ➢ #AE5E5B NB: They are not using their normal Reg/Mode-S pairs

🇺🇸 USAF E-4B Nightwatch fleet (4); last reported 2026-04-12Z How serviceable is the fleet? ➢ 4 are in the fleet, per the #USAF. ➢ 4 (100%) identified in the past year. ➢ 2 (50%) identified in the past 4 weeks. ☢️ "THE DOOMSDAY PLANE" 😱

🇺🇸 #USAF E-3G Sentry fleet (15); last locations 2026-04-12Z Prince Sultan AB 🇸🇦 ➢ 82-0007 #AE11F0 (15d) ➢ 75-0556 #AE11D6 (14d) ➢ 78-0578 #AE11E6 (4d) ➢ 76-1604 #AE11DB (3d) ➢ 76-1605 #AE11DC (2d) ➢ 79-0001 #AE11E7 (1d) Kadena AB 🇯🇵 ➢ 75-0558 #AE11D8 (3d) Elmendorf AFB 🇺🇸 ➢ 80-0137 #AE11EA (4d)

🇺🇸 #USAF E-11A BACN fleet (6); last reported locations 2026-04-12Z 🥓 Prince Sultan Air Base 🇸🇦 (6) ➢ N770AG (11-9355 #ae4de1) #AA690E (52d) ➢ 22-9046 #ae77a3 (40d) ➢ 22-9047 #ae77a4 (20d) ➢ 12-9506 #ae54b4 (16d) ➢ 23-9048 #ae77a5 (15d) ➢ N898M (24-9049 #af83f0) #AC641F (2d)

“Are there any Canadian soldiers on exchange with U.S. military units involved in Operation Total Extermination” is a real question I’ll have to ask in 2026

CAF and RCAF often train with the 82nd down at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) and personnel exchanges happen as well. Background here: substack.com/@thestateoft...

How many CAF personnel are on this base as part of CENTCOM?

The Canadian Press. "Minister Says CAF 'Not Engaged' in Iran War as Questions Are Asked about Support Role." National Newswatch, March 17, 2026. nationalnewswatch.com/2026/03/17/c....

If you, a loved one or a friend were one of the CAF members serving and working within CENTCOM up to the and during the U.S. and Israel launching on Iran, or serving and working on on Ali Al-Salem Air Base - I want to hear your story. Your identity will be protected.

Days Go By - Dirty Vegas (2002) youtu.be/gLCduDJVksc

EXCLUSIVE: Ottawa admits to restricting intelligence with U.S. over Op. Southern Spear concerns. Read my update here: substack.com/@thestateoft...

Long history of Canadians at Fort Bragg - now Fort Liberty - and that includes the 82nd Airborne. Wonder if there are 🇨🇦 in the unit right now…

Dylan Robertson and Alessia Passafiume, “The Little We Know about Canadian Troops Stationed in the Middle East,” The Canadian Press, March 5, 2026 www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/politics/the...

🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 9) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...

"When it comes to Op. Southern Spear, the legal loopholes Ottawa hides behind may not be enough to wash the blood off our hands." My latest: a long-form context and analysis piece. substack.com/@thestateoft...

I’ve been working on a story regarding this for weeks (months?) - stay tuned. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

“It is highly likely that members of the Canadian military, on exchange with the United States, were involved in the planning and co-ordinating of airstrikes on Iran, says a former senior Canadian general.” Glad CBC is waking up to what I’ve been yelling about www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

"A look at the military hardware the US has positioned for potential war with Iran" by Avery Schmitz and Annette Choi for CNN, February 20, 2026. www.cnn.com/2026/02/20/p...

“US military builds up the largest force of warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades” by Konstantin Toropin and Ben Finley for The Associated Press, February 23, 2026. apnews.com/article/us-m...

“Satellite imagery shows rapid increase of U.S. military planes near Iran” by Meg Kelly and Imogen Piper for The Washington Post, February 24, 2026. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

The U.S. has mobilized major military assets in preparation for a possible sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran. How did we get here? I've put together a recap for you: open.substack.com/pub/thestate...

On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast. The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me. But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.

🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 6) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...

"The American media makes things that are abnormal seem normal. The European press doesn’t do that. So you’ll see when they report on Trump’s rambling Davos speech, they will say it made no sense. In the US press, you’ll just see excerpts and an attempt to sanitize it." — @anneapplebaum.bsky.social

HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) Halifax-class frigate coming into Mayport, Florida - February 5, 2026 SRC: INST- navalstationmayport

HMCS Regina (FFH 334) Halifax-class frigate off of Lantzville, British Columbia - February 3, 2026 SRC: FB- Hazer's Flightline

🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 5) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...

CLAIM: It's not a crime to party with mr. epstein FACT CHECK: True! Many people who partied with epstein have escaped justice

HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) Halifax-class frigate leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia for deployment - February 1, 2026 SRC: NovaScotiaWebcams.com

Long shot but I’m desperate (ttc lost and found office is closed now) Toronto, if you find my other mitten on Line 2 today, please reach out 🙏🏼