Army Guy

SRV: I think your reservist hit out of the park, the bond between soldiers who fight together becomes as strong or stronger than siblings, I mean the you share everything, food, water, news form home,even bed spaces....everyone depends on each other to survive, that includes physical health as well as mental health,so everyone is looking out for each other... there is no one else to share your highs or lows with except your section members....you know them as well or better than there spouses.....plus you share all those experiences you go through the good , bad and ugly.......like I said there is no bond that is stronger....even after retirement I still keep in close contact with those brother in arms.... there are a lot of things that happened over there that some of those also had a profound impact on my motivation on my service in country, things like seeing the terrorist crimes up close and personal, such as finding an old man skinned alive staked him out in the hot sun to cook for talking to us.......or having to take part in shooting a 4 year old boy on a bike that had a suicide vest strapped to his little body, and catching the man who forced him to peddle his bike towards.our Veh check point....that and the death of my closest friend, had driven into some dark times....bluring the lines between what I thought were strong moral values ...I did not do anything illegal, just did not have any compassion for our enemies....Things that i'm sure I will have to atone for in front of our maker...and it took a while for me to come back from....it was my section mates that put me on the road back to some normalcy like I said there is no stronger bond than brothers in arms.... The pipe line myth, my entire time in Afghanistan I did not see any pipe lines, I had mentioned it to my chain of command, all they said was it would to hard to protect, and would be a prime target for every group in the area....and would never get off the ground...infact there was talk about routing it through another route for these very reasons, the resources it would have generated for Afghanistan would not pay for the resources required to protect it.... I have never thought the mission was completed, it required more time, not just militarily but also on the other governmental depts... but remember the west was under tremendous pressure to close it all out...it's citizens are not a patient lot, regardless of what was truly at stake...

well eyeball if it was your life in the balance you to may share the same opinion.....but it does not...

Big guy: What did you think was going to happen after we decided to drop all our promised commitments....and pulled out.....another example of just how much regular Canadian citizens can influence our governments decisions on the global stage...This is what you wanted was it not, and yet the only people getting hurt with that decision is the Afghan people.... Your source contradicts your main talking points about getting involved and making things worse....but the article says very clearly without NATO and the coalition assisting in security operations and nation building projects things are declining rapidly.....

Eyeball.... I have resisted all attempts, Canadians do not have the interest to keep up to date any all the topics needed to make informed decisions of this magnitude. So yes I would rather it be done by the government....

I think Big guy you have this perception that you and I as the general public has a direct say in whether our nation goes to war....your as much as a pawn in that process as you say I am, or was just along for the ride.....while the general public may influence the direction of the war, it certainly does not have a say the actual decision.... You also have this opinion that once war is decided it is a military run matter, not true, the government has final say on every aspect of the conduct of said war.....the military may come up with the plan, and may have some influence in how it is conducted, but it is the government that says yes or no....so saying that the military is facilitating these wars is false.... One more thing while we are playing the finger pointing game, the general public has to own it's share for these failures as well, as it influences the direction , of any conflict.....just try that on for size see if it fits....

eyeball.... yes Eyeball your in harms way...because every terrorist wants to travel to BC take a ride on a fishing boat, they been looking for you since you started posting here........all because we as a nation wanted to help some people, you still don't get it....your from a western country, does not matter what our actions are or were....we are all the same to them....one big target.....so you better hide...

Big guy: Your right I dont care what your expert have to say, I also pointed out to you there are plenty of experts on both side of the fence that have long and winded stories to tell, and did not want to get into a he said she said debate.... Big guy I have always valued your opinion, but you were resorting to nothing more than name calling and judging me for my opinions....and your right I am not interested in that .....

SRV... I want to thank you, for your posts, and apologize for my tone, and perhaps some of my comments, as I do not know you, or know of the experiences you have had. I have spent most of my time here on this forum defending the actions of our nations military, and my comrads actions and have grown a little short tempered with the topic for that I am sorry. This X-mas I spent some time with my best friends family as I do every year as part of a promise I made to him before he passed. this year was tough, a lot of old war memories were brought back up, ones I thought were buried deep, I had to explain to his son how his father died, and why I made it out alive to come home to my family.... His son is now 18 years old and wanted to know the answers to some very tough questions, ones I thought I would not have to answer for a long time....it's not an excuse but rather an explanation of sorts to my responses. I don't think you will find a bigger pacifist than a soldier who has been to combat, there is nothing glorifying about war, it is filled with hatred, and brings out the worse of people on both sides, so much that it changes everything it touches, I mean everything, men, women, children....landscapes, it changes morals, and values, changing everything we value as core beliefs...nothing goes untouched, one of the first things my wife noticed upon my return from my first tour, I was not the man I once was....I despise war and everything it brings to the table... but I also know that sometimes war is inevitable, and sometimes we need to use force to stop evil things from happening.... to protect not only our nation but everything we value as our core beliefs.... I get the fact that most of the conflicts in the middle east are over resources, resources that most of the world depends on it is a sort of life force that drives our way of life..And a lot of people have issues with that, even I have struggled with that dilemma...these resources drive our economy and our way of life....on the other hand we are not ready to give all that up, and live in a third world stage that would follow.... Afghanistan was different because there was no resources to fight over....I also get the fact that originally it was about destroying an evil dictatorship, and several groups of terrorists, holding them responsible for their actions on 9/11...it quickly turned into a nation building exercise that the free world had not done since world war II....it was during this portion that as a soldier I thought I would finally get to ply my craft for good....to be able to use my skills to bring change , not for resources or anything like that but to better the lives of a people who had been beaten to a pulp after 30 years of Constance conflict....it was about enforcing peace, ensuring the Afghan people had a taste of freedom, to enjoy some of those human rights we all talk about and take advantage of here in the west....I know the coalition took advantage of that, making the war about sending little girls to school, etc etc...and yes we did that to a certain extent....education is a key element to renewal....so is building huge infra structure projects , such as paved hyways, linking the trade routes, massive dam projects for hydro power, and watching their economy grow....that is what I believed in, that is one of the reasons I put my hand up and volunteered 3 times....We as a nation , have so much to offer, we are one of the few countries that have excesses in everything....and while the nation did not buy into the PM Harpers intentions, accusing him of being a US puppet....I thought here is a chance to show case what our nation could really do....not just militarily but everything else....and at really little cost, the entire conflict might of cost each tax payer 100 dollars a year....the other cost was to our soldiers....who were asked to put their lives in danger, for me, and many others it was a no brainer.....for most Canadians the price was to high...and yet their portion was only a 100 dollars a year, our soldiers were willing to pay the rest....it was to much for most Canadians....a sad day in our history.... Most will say that the plan is not working....and yet they have no solution to offer...most want to pull out do nothing , let them who can't fight back solve the problem....but this is not a solution I can live with, I did to much of that on UN peace keeping missions, watch, report , and do nothing....but what do I know, I am just a soldier, a governmental puppet.... and then we have the nerve to talk about human rights and everyone should have them....it is our basic rights....and yet we don't want to do anything to ensure that they are enforced...all talk...no action.... In the course of some of our duties we would regularly partrol the townships in our AO, talking with village elders, sharing a meal, planning out community projects we could assist in, such as building wells, a fire engine, or ambulance etc....so like you I got to spend some time with the locals, talk to them about their lifes and what it was like to live under 30 plus years of conflict....it was during on of these patrols that for me everything would become a little less dark.....I had the honor of sharing my lunch with a little girl of 8 years of age....You see when we stopped kids would gather in hopes of getting some sweets....she was a hungry thing and I used that to get her to talk to me, through a interrupter who was sitting next to, ( one of many who had decided to help the coalition as the terrorists had killed his family) I noticed she had no hands, but she did not let this handicap slow her from eating....I learned that the Taliban had cut her hands off for going to school, and if that was not enough they had killed her father in front of her for allowing her to go to school....if that was not enough they had raped her mother as well.....see in Afghan not having a male parent to earn a wage things get real tough....I had asked if she still goes to school, and she looked at me in surprise "of course to honor my father" was her reply.....now this little girl was only 8 years old, and she had already mapped out a huge portion of her life.....she was going to school regardless of the cost , as she had already paid that bill in full....when she left all I could think off was why am I here in afghan ? and I would dedicate my service in her country to ensuring she would have that chance.....as I was in a position that would allow changing of the patrol routes we would always when possible patrol the school district on a regular basis.... I only seen her a couple of times after that day, just a wave here, or to give her some candies with the other kids....but that little girl would become one of the reasons I would stick my hands up to volunteer to come back for each tour.... I know I sounds hard to believe, because of the media hype about our nation fighting so little girls could go to school....but for me it was true....I'm not sure what ever happened to her, or how things would change once we withdrew from Afghanistan.....but for me that experience was worth all my time and effort in that country....regardless of what everyone else thinks about the mission....So I did not keep coming back to seek glory or to die for my nation.....I kept coming back because they needed someone like me and the countless other Canadian soldiers who would give so much to those that needed it...for me it was well worth the 100 dollars in tax I paid , plus all the blood, sweat and tears that most Canadians thought was a waste of our time....

I must have struck a cord with you Big guy, for you to use so many personal insults, I can remember when you used to refrain from those practices, I guess time changes everything doesn't it. but it did not end there did it Big guy no, from your lofty throne you have judged me as just a killer for the state , disregarding all my beliefs and statements as governmental propaganda. no more than what was it you called me, oh ya a government hand puppet.... Hard to take anything you say serious as you don't want to debate, but rather call people names and judge them as you see fit......Which is one of your basic rights....Freedom of speech .....But if you think i'm impressed with a few media so called experts on Iraq , your wrong....the media is full of so called experts on both sides of the fence....all you have to do is look.....but hey.... hard to do when you have to come down from the mountain to use the intra net....I get that.... See for me big guy Afghanistan is personal, I spent almost 24 months over there, most of it was outside the wire, I have seen terrorist at their worst....I have fired my weapon in anger...I have watch those young men and women you make fun of die, including my best friend who died as I frantically tried to save his life....., I have never glorified war or this conflict, war sucks I've seen it , smelled it, heard it, tasted it, even felt it....but to say it was all a waste of time , blood and treasure is to say they died for nothing....and I don't believe that, not for one second....I don't care what the experts say.....nor do I care about a few opinions... For those that say that the Canadian military did not make a difference for the better in the daily lives of the Afghan people I say your full of shit....lairs... perhaps those of you that believe that horse crap should do some research on there own countries military contribution to Afghanistan....I am proud of my service to my country, and I was honored to serve with some of the finest Canadians soldiers there ever was... And big guy...I wear that Canadian flag with pride....still do....and I wave it when ever I get a chance....PS, big guy I left a lot of good friends on the battle field over there and there are days I wish I had died with them....not for my country or my unit, or anything else...but for my comrads...but you would know nothing about that, you sit to high up the mountain to see that, or to understand why we all stuck our hands up and volunteered to go back over and over again....

SRV.... I see you and big guy have been reading the same media.....and have determined the same outcome, that we should all sit down in front of the camp fire and sing kumba yah.....hold hands, drink some beer, smoke some weed and all will be good.....and while it is good to dream, of a place that everyone gets along, respects the basics such as human rights, peaceful co existence with all races, religions, creeds etc etc....but welcome to the real world....it will never happen....how's that for being cynical.... your premise of your main argument is we are creating more terrorist than we are destroying.....what a load of horse shit.....your equations you base this on only take into account our actions, and totally dismiss the actions of the terrorist.....ya that's right the terrorist side, always two sides to the coin isn't there.... Take a look at the figures for Afghanistan.....all of them....80 to 85% of all of them that have been killed or wounded are by the terrorist themselves....but hey that can't be right....the bad guys are killing more innocents than the coalition forces.... that are fighting them.....and yet, according to your whole premise of your argument those numbers count for nothing it does not create citizens willing to fight on the coalition side.....that can't be right....can it.......just the 15 to 20 percent that have been killed or wounded by coalition forces....those numbers are responsible for all those new terrorist....we can't win.... it is one big circle.....shit time to sit back down by the fire come up with another idea, this one is not working.....pass that joint down will ya.... .....you Fail to account for any other reason why young Muslim men flock to these scumbags and their cause....If we bury our heads up our asses the bad men will go away.....Sorry the REAL world does not work that way.....you can't sit on top of your throne and preach about human rights and expect everyone to stop and listen.....These guys ( THE terrorist) don't give a rats ass about your human rights theories and they are not interested, they want the ability to have total control over millions, to force upon them their will, their opinions, their form of rights, and none of it has any resemblance of your belief of human rights.....SO by us and the rest of the coalition sitting on our hands doing nothing and letting millions of human soles be treated like mere animals....well sir your human rights means what.....it is what we aspire to be ....but human rights is just for us right.....not the millions of oppressed.....It means nothing if there is no way to grant these basic rights to everyone....every where....and to do that you can't sit on your hands bury your head in your ass....some times you need to stand tall, pick up a big stick and beat some one with it.....and if your not willing to do that sit back down on your throne, and STFU, your basic human rights for everyone is just a dream unless you are willing to stand up for those that can not defend themselves...... We can count ourselves extremely lucky in this country we live in a country with huge excess of everything....we sit here and judge so many, it's our basic right as Canadians... we are good at judging like it is in our DNA or something....but lucky for us there are Canadians among us, that are willing to take those core values and take some actions.....taking the fight to terrorists....standing up for the little guy....That part of our DNA is a lot older than the part of us being so judgmental , our history is full of examples.....

Here is an example of a EX muslim women, speaking out again'st Islam....Her name is Wafa Sultan, she is a Psychiatrist and ex Syrian....and the Author of a God that hates... If you look there are many of other ex muslims speaking out on the topic of Islam....none of them white guys, all have studied Islam for many years....Is she preaching hate or discourse, not in my opinion , but then again i'm white....and a non muslim... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XUHXu0gC4s

That trip he took down the high way....was arranged by the Canadian heroes foundation, the same organization that arranges the same route for fallen Canadian armed forces members, if you watch the footage you'll see he is being escorted by Canadian military vets on Moto bikes and a Van that is also apart of that groupthe same people were also Pall bearers......Just a point of order there was thousands that turned out, including police officers, fire fighters, serving members of the Armed forces, and you guess it Canadians citizens ....all happen to share that minority opinion.... Not sure how many you rub elbows with down at the local legion.....but i can ensure you thousands of Canadians don't share your view..... You can call him anything you want, that's within your freedoms, the very same freedoms that John Gallagher once defended....and for that he has my respect.. From the legion no less...... Even more people that do not mind sharing the highway for someone who truey believe he could help someone else in the fight again'st a common enemy.....Hardly the actions of a rogue ex military member.... No mention of rogue here..... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3327834/Hundreds-come-pay-condolences-John-Gallger-s-body-returned-home.html http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/happening-now-john-gallagher-receives-hero-welcome-on-hwy-401 http://www.torontosun.com/2015/11/18/highway-of-heroes-style-tribute-sought-for-volunteer-soldier-killed-in-syria

Would you consider Israel part of western culture ? While they may have more western values than other middle eastern countries i don't think Jews themselves consider themselves to be part of that western community.... Your confusing "feeling Superior" with concern may be even fear.......it is not the muslim people i have a problem with....it is their religion.....which is based on that very same principle you accuse me off, feeling Superior, preaching hate, violence, I as a christian am expected to do what exactly , turn the other cheek, hope one day that Islam is modernized.... May i ask this question, why is it i am not allow to judge Islam, but you can judge me as smug or feeling Superior...if i'm wrong about anything i've said then prove i am....

Take the blinders off Michael, go back as far as you want, yesterday, 200 years ago does it really matter.....and with an open mind and compare western culture with middle eastern culture.....line by line.....ask your self which one is more tolerant....which one is constantly changing, which one is moving forward.....ask your self where you would prefer to live and why? ....I'd would go even further and say it is less about culture, and more about religion.....Islam controls almost every aspect of a muslim's life....it forms the building blocks for everything they do....and it has not changed or been updated , or modernized since it's inception.....Because it is forbidden to do so....it will never grow, it will never be modernized... So how do we expect to have them grow, when it is forbidden to. It's not me how is looking down my nose at them....it's me looking at the rpoblem and saying there it is.....how do you fix it..... Some my ask why do they need to fix it....just because i don't like it.....because they are no longer just in another country doing this to each other ....they are in my neighborhood and it concerns me....and many more Canadians....

Your both missing the point....Canadian citizens join the forces for many different reasons, some are patriotic, some looking for adventure, some looking to be part of something bigger, some are looking to make a difference.....But once in those reasons change....for me it was the adventure, i grew up in the maritimes and jobs were scarce....that and i wanted to be part of something with a proud traditions behind it..... But once your part of it, your surrounded by tradition, patriotism, your part of a team that can make a difference not only in Canadian lives, but in lives around the world.....Not much for a soldier to do in Canada....except train....but once your exposed to the world....armed with our values, our morals....it is hard not to want to do some good for those in need......These are just some of Canada's soldiers traits......Like i said before many famous and not so famous people have been involved in conflicts around the globe....They may of not been wearing the Canadian uniform, but they did identify with Canada . .I'm not say we go out and build some huge monument to honor them.....we are talking about sharing a roadway....so friends and family could pay their final respects.....even if he did not wear the uniform upon his death, he was still one of us...he once served for us.....

Christianity has evolved.....while Islam is making up for lost time....

OK eyeball, your right , and i'm wrong.....that is what you want to hear is it not.....These scumbags are cutting off heads because of the US and it's aggressive policies in the middle east......they are killing anyone who is not of the same color , race, or religious beliefs because of the US...if it can be boiled down to these simple facts then the sky is rosey in your world.... In my world regardless of who created them, they are here and the only way to make them stop, is with force.....

I get all that, 700 years ago that it may of been acceptable......But today, in our culture this practice is not acceptable.....our current laws reflect this....But we are not discussing our culture, we are discussing Muslim culture, and how many Islamic nations base most things, on the Quran....Including how they conduct their very lives, thier laws, their government, it is not just a religion.....it controls everything.....

That is a very powerful statement, one that brings up the question, do you think we as Canadians are ready to sacrifice all of that. We have already given up many of our traditions all in the name of political correctness, i agree that sometimes change is necessary to move forward, but in the process we lose, some of WHO we were...sometimes this is a good thing sometimes not.... Sacrificing our livelihoods is going to be a hard pill to swallow, frankly i don't see a need to make this drastic change in order to accommodate new comers, maybe i am not as progressive as i thought....Not sure of the reason behind it, other to make employment for the new comers. while i'm all for equal opportunity, or being replaced by someone who is more qualified than i am,i might be able to swallow that pill,..... but if my employer came up to me and said hey.....i need your job so i can put this new comer to work.....well you know the answer..... i'm sure that many other Canadians will feel the same way.... As for changing the laws, that would depend on what the changes where i guess, if you are saying we have to change our current law system to say SHIRA law then there is a problem.....I think our laws pretty much cover everything we face in our day to day lives, i would not expect to many changes necessary....As for changing our moral values, another hard pill to swallow.......and when we are talking about lets just say Islam.....we are talking about oil and water....Sorry i draw the line.... Am i alone in these thoughts or are you willing to make these hard choices to have immigrants/ Refugees fit in.

If the liberals have they're way and drop the F-35, what are the options ? I've been sold on the F-35 since i heard about it, And have now been forced to keep up with the other types available..... While the Liberals are going to learn very quickly that cheaper does not equate into great savings.....For instance Brazil has just purchased 36 grippen E models for 5.4 bil or about 150 mil per, along with some off sets....The research into the gripen is kind of impressive, but the further i research the more confused i get....as they're are shit loads of web sites and they are all clouded with a lot of lets say uneducated people... But here are what they are referencing as replacements... F-15SU or SA not sure (Saudis new aircraft) new builds. (100 Mil a copy) F-18E Grippen E model (150 mil a copy) Rafale Euro fighter ( not sure but this one has been a favorite of many, but is alot more expensive than most of them) 143 mil a copy but very high op costs. I've tried to find anything about how they compared in the original competition but found nothing....derek can you whittle down the list for me, to give me a place to start ....

Well that depends on what scripture or date of scripture you read some have said that Muhamed took a 6 year old as a wife....now some claim the marriage was not consummated until she was 11 or 12....i could not find the verse, or a source, but they have studied it longer than i so i take their word for it...

You seem to have an opinion , what do you base it on, what are your choices for Canada's new fighter replacement program....

That's all you got out of my reply is Russian war porn.....you don't want to discuss anything , what you want is for me to tell you what you want to here.....which is IT IS ALL THE USA FAULT.....and the ISLAMIC part of the problem, well they get a free pass... And yet is was OK for Sadam to invade Kuwait......it was OK for Sadam to ignore UN sanctions, It was OK for islamic extremism to rear it's ugly head, it is OK for a group of terrorist to decide they are going to take a region by force, and to kill all those that do not have the same extremist beliefs....why is it OK.....because we don't want to create any more Islamic extremists......which does not take much, burn a koran, draw a picture, or just admit your from the west, and poof another extremists....... In the end of this conflict you can study it all you want....blame the US for taking action.....they have big shoulders......but wait in the end the problems solution is going to surprise you......it was them damn islamic extremist that made all this happen....and all we did was react to the mess they created.....

thanks guys, i had no idea....

Wilber: Can you give us a source, i mean this would mean a major shift in UK Naval and air policies.