Army Guy

Excited No, fearful yes, after all this is Canada we are talking about. But thanks for the stereo type. I've been doing this stuff for over 32 years now, and as much as i'd like to say it will all be sorted out in a conference room it won't,it never has..... not in the last 30 years anyways.... they have all been sorted out on the battle field, and yes by guys like you ....see not enough army guys around , so they will make up there numbers with guys like you.... My piont was they need to have this discussion before they go to the polls , they need to find a favorable split by all parties ....thinking that this will be decuided after the fact in a conference room is sticking your head up your ass, and hoping fopr the best....maybe you can find the an example of separation that has gone good in the last years, and why Canada / Quebec is going to be the first....

Very few Canadians want to separate, However may be forced to in order to maintain our current standard of living. But everything will change....And Joining the US is one option. You'll have to explain to me how you'll get Quebec to join the eastern half, as i don't think there is a way in hell to do that, making this more of a multi break thing.

Your assuming Quebec is producing exactly the same amount as it's capita, your also assuming everything is going to be the same the day after, and everyone is just going to wake up the next day hoist the new flags and carry on, but what if there is a problem, what if Canada does not want Quebec using our currency, or what if there is a problem with our new borders, nobody has even said what they are yet, everyone assumes everything is going to be OK and yet can anyone name when a separation went OK......but what about the other things such as the drop in our dollar, Quebec even talks about separation our dollar drops, one can only imigine if it did separate what effects it would have. And if the separation goes rough, meaning force is required for some reason, then would our dollar bottom out, so would our trade, not many countries interested in trading with a nation in conflict or troubles...

Wild Bill makes a some good pionts, Canada's finicial situation is going to take a major hit. Assuming that the rest of Canada stays together, and all the Quebec questions get answered by diplomatic means. ( if they don't then our money sit is going to be in the crapper) We are still not going to have the postion we once had, major changes will have to be done to accomadate what we enjoy right now. Just saying nothing will change, we will go on without Quebec like we do today is just sticking your head in the sand. I think Bill is right joining the US might not seem that bad of an idea after some time has passed.

Not much was mentioned to the general public, but it was not a bluff, f-18's did deploy to the US, along with serveral 5 Brig army units also deployed into the states , all so they would be out of the country if something did happen. lets not forget our french naval assets. that part was not a bluff....Crietien also mentions in his book that some of the english ground and air units were placed on standby with specific orders , he does not mention what those orders were but they were not to hand out blankets... Some of the questions i asked need to be solved before Quebec decides to go it's own way, such as borders, what federal instalations , lands, and equipment will be handed over, or taken back. In any case i'm pretty sure Quebec will not look like Quebec does today. Not sure how far this statement is meant to go. be it your willing to take up arms for your cause, and all that it means. But once you go down this road, it can'nt be taken back. And if your not sure what this means i think you should read about a few of the latest nations trying to break free of their govenment chains, Yugoslavia is a good one, and are you ready for all that to be brought into Canada and Quebec. Your wrong both sides have plenty that they could lose, for instance if a direct land route is not secured through Quebec, how will the maritime provinces be be re supplied. this option alone is enough to have one opened via direct force. there are plenty of others. Don't ever think that our government or industry captains are beyond spilling blood in chasing down the mighty buck...Yes we talk a good game but Canadians are no different than the rest of the outside world.

This is a scary topic, atleast for myself who has seen first hand separation of nations , and what it cost them. And while most Canadians will think that this will not happen in Canada because we are beyond that, well i hope they are right, but history shows us something very different. Benz you quote above you don't think Main line canada will not use military forces again'st Quebec your sadly mistaken, in fact during the last refurendum Creitien had planed such a use if things did not go to plan. In fact he mentions it in his book. He mentions his plan about what was being done about French Canadian military forces, how most of the important assets such as F-18's were sent south into the states, how some ground forces were also sent south into the states on a major exericise, As they're was a question to they're loyality to Canada, Quebec separatists had already asked french Canadian military members about crossing over and enough had said yes to cause concern, concern enough to move major military assets out of Quebec. Mr Crietien had also place serveral english speaking units on standby if required, for what reason he does not say, but i'm sure it was not to hand out blankets and teddy bears. So if it had been done by a French Canadian Prime minister, what exactly do you think mr harpers plans would be. What scares me the most is the thought of Canadian engaging fellow Canadians, over the years french and english soldiers have developed a close bond, many having developed life long freindships. But both sides knows what at stake here, on one side the creation of the french dream, starting a new nation under complete control of French citizens. On the other the survival of English Canada. What i mean with that is these pionts. 1. What are going to be Quebecs new borders, this question has been asked by alot of posters here.,,,and how are they going to be administered, Martimes provinces have alot of thier goods shipped through quebec. 2. How is this going to effect the rest of Canada, will it spur other separations. 3. How does this effect the rest of Canada in regards to our dollar, will it be as strong as it is now, it's already been mentioned Quebec represents 25% of our GDP, that has got to have some effect on our dollar. just the fact that talks about Quebec separation has an effect. this could mean billions upon billions of dollars to both sides. and money makes the world go round. 4. With the loss of our dollar value in the world market, who does this effect our trade, because of the uncertainity in our country it has to have an effect. and if so less money means less programs....and i'm sure at this time cutting back the military may not be an option....So what suffers and are Canadians ready to accept that. 5. Industry and the nations power people have to much to loss, those that call the shots in Canada are not just going to let this all happen with out some kind of reaction.... 6. Alot is at stake and as much as we all like to down size federal government , have the provinces have more say, it all comes at a price, and are we ready to pay that. Maybe i'm reading to much into this, but i've been in the military for over 30 years and have not seen very many separations go well, civil war is a norm... Nothing has been agreed to yet, such as borders, the use of Canadian dollar, first nations, inuit peoples, etc etc and you say they are not a federal problem, but they are.

Yes the Construction industry is a dangrous place to work no doubt there, But let me ask you this do you have the opition of not working on a site, because you think it is too dangerous ? Police and military members have signed unlimited liabilty agreements, you can never refuse a legal order, that places your life in danger....Unless you tell me competing construction companies have shoot outs and you boss orders you to finish doing the roof with bullets whizzing over head... So your comparison does not work....or does it... Let me ask you this how many of those deaths were preventable accidents ? according to stats can most of them were, in fact almost all were....as long as we are painting everyone with the same brush that could lead to the conclusion that construction workers are unsafe to work with in fact deadly....or it could be that there is more construction workers which drive up there stats....depends on how you bend the numbers... Here is another question for you how many civilians have died due to faulty construction, completed by construction trades persons across Canada. there must be a few, i google searched it and got well over 20 pages of law suits with dozens of deaths attributed to poor workmen ship, or cutting corners....once again painting every construction trade with the same brush they to are responsable for dozens of deaths across canada......one would think not only are they dangerous but they are killers as well... I'm not asking you to pat them on the back, just show them the respect they may deserve...and if they are guilty of doing illigal things i support your post and they should be held accountable.... In 2011, there were 598 homicides in Canada, 44 more than the previous year, marking a 7% increase in the homicide rate (1.7 per 100,000 population) (Table 4, Chart 10). The homicide rate has generally been decreasing since peaking in the mid-1970s. Similar to previous years, violent crimes accounted for about one-fifth of offences reported by police in 2011. Police reported more than 424,400 violent incidents, 14,800 fewer than in 2010. Never said that it does not happen just it was not being carried out by the majority.....

There is a massive cross border wpn market and guess who is buying them "Canadians"

Well there it is ....we have confirmation chucki baby is being a dick.....who is taking part in our national past time slaming Americans.... Stand up give him a hand people....

Research? Have you've read your posts, tell me they paint a postive response in ref to police officers....tell me they match the one you posted above.... "Nost of it has been good and helped me a tremendous amount" Once again have you read your posts and your responses to AM, guess talking down or insulting police officers, americans is only good when your doing it. You have not provided one shred of evidence to back youer claim, making it your opinion....and well we all ready know what opinions are based on. Nice come back, but then again you've assumed everything todate why change, cops, soldiers got anything else.

WWTT It's called research, educate yourself on the topic before you open your lips, your the one that has painted the entire group with one brush, see what you have here is an opinion, and like assholes everyone has one....and they don't count for much... And living up to our true new Canadian past time you jumped on him for expressing his (opinion) "we covered that already in the opening statement" and because his is different and you don't understand it, you had to label it. Because some do it , you automatically paint this police force member....Some whites have killed blacks, all whites are racist, Some whites own guns, ...all whites are gun freaks, Some whites drink....all whites are piss tanks....we could do this all day... Your good, i mean really good, you've read less than a paragraph of what was written by this man and you've made a judgement , you've labeld him....from that paragraph you've made assumptions into everything.... I don't think he should be worshiped , perhaps given the same amount of respect we give most people, or would expect for others to show us. You've made that perfectly clear, in all your posts, you've taken this oportunity to jump on board lets slam Americans, police officers and people who have different opinions from your self.

Describe many for me, 10%, 50%, 75% of all officers, just so we are on the same page many to me means the majority, really is that what you meant. I get it there are Some bad cops , just like there are bad professionals in any trade, or in our our neibourhoods. would you say that these cops that have killed someone , have they been charged, and had their day in court. GH i now alot of good soldiers who have been on the job to long and suffer from some form of depression or PTSD, and yes this infliction makes them assholes, but do we throw them away,i mean after all they got this way from serving us....and while treatment is getting better sometimes it's not available to everyone, or nobody forces them to get help...I'm not saying they should not be accountable for there acts it should be a consideration thats all. I Nobody does, but there are some including you that have painted the entire force with the same foul smelling brush, how about we target those that need targeting is all i'm saying. Because i'm sure for every bad cop out there there is three cops that are good with good deeds behind them.

This is well thought out response, even if Harper had all the military vote it would only be worth 100 k, that will get him a majority won't it....

No it's call being an idiot, and painting an entire group of people with one brush, that and being to frigging lazy to do any serious research. good luck with that.

Canuckistani This police officer your talking about has the same training, and has years of experience to top that off if he said they were being aggresive i believe him. and he also knows he falls under much the same laws and is responsiable for his actions... A police officer can pull his wpn if he thinks there is a danger...the key is WHEN HE THINKS there is a danger....A RCMP officer is on duty 24 and 7 and can carry a firearm the entire time.... Just one question, how does the criminal know if i have a wpn or not, you just said he is just going to pull out his wpn and shoot me....regardless if i'm armed or not....If he has already made his mind to use his wpn and kill someone, why would it be so unfounded to atleast be able to defend yourself with a gun.... your logic makes no sense to me....we should just allow the crinimals shoot us because they think we are armed... It's not an escaltion of violence it's an equalizer of violence....

cybercoma: WHy is he a coward, because he perfers to be armed, are all police officers cowards, or for that matter any one that uses a firearm as a tool....or is he a coward because you don't understand the why and anything we don't understand we label.

But they have been there have they not, was your wife or girl friend been there at the same time, because that changes everything does it not. Diploomacy and tact, yes they are key, but when that fails and alot cases if they are drunk and being beligerent they are looking for trouble, and you can't tell me thats never happened in a Canadian city.... this guy is a trained professional and can spot those situations in a few seconds, so i tend to believe him when he says they approached in agressive manner...at this piont you have to make a decision fight or flight. he chose to stand his ground inform them he was not screwing around or wanted to be screwed with...the look of biwilderment, was them shocked someone called them on their antics... Yes it is pretty low, but it is not non existent to the piont you shopuld not take any precautions or atleast be alerted that it may happen. however according to states Can, Calgary has 800 violent crimes per 100,000 making it close to 8800 violent crimes per year. and while not the worst city in Canada it's actually one of the lowest, all that being said, how many violent crimes a day, is that....and when walking in the park with your wife it's not the first thing on your mind, but when you do get confronted by some aggresive punks what does come to your mind.... And if you and your wife were attacked, what would be going through your mind then...why does something have to happen before we take precautions...and why is it so bad to want to have some additional protection....

You and the others are making way to much of this. And i can say,its embrassing, i've been to most major Canadian cities and have felt very uncomfortable in some situations were the freindly local lovable Canadain population has been aggresive, confrontational, looking for a scrap,to cut the BS....lets take the US sailor who i think last year was stabbed outside a bar in Halifax...Take a look at the murder rates in all the cities , then tell me this shit does not happen. all this guy is guilty of is trying to protect his wife, and i can tell you having a pistol gives you more options to do just that... He was out with his wife, enjoying what the city had to offer and these punks ruined that experience....someone approaches with an aggresive tone, it's time to put your game face on i don't care where your from...or what your trade is...He is a trained police officer does this for a living and would know when someone is being a dink or aggressive, and the fact his wife is with him adds to that as he snaps into protection mode...something most of us would do. or should do...you assume that his mentioning he normally has a wpn on him that he would automatically go into guns ablazing mode....RCMP have wpns,.. they break bar fights up all the time how many of those result in someone pulling out their guns and shooting first...you assume because he is American that he is not professional enough to use the right escalation of force...your the one making doing all the assuming ....and its making an ass out of you and me....

From what i read this is all about putting a few gold coins into your pocket, divided the country into haves and have nots, and it pisses you off that some off your tax dollars goes into supporting the have nots....and yet you've failed to see what these provinces provide across the country.. and yet have you looked at how this separation will change the country, you think it will add coins to your purse but those coins will be pumped into other areas to make up for those short falls... And were does it stop, does Alberta, stay whole and why, maybe the oil portion decides to drop the farmering portion , maybe the native american population decide to create their own nation within a nation, maybe mr jones who owns a few acres is tried of it all to and decides to say screw it all and create is nation as well....i know a stupid course of action but what gives Alberta cause any more wieght than mr jones....and you have this happening all across Canada....i wonder what our neibors south of the border will be thinking....what a fire sale, lets grab Alberta, offer them a deal they can not resist, give them acess to the US dollar, access to US trade....but why stop at the US , why not other countries, what if the soviet union decides to offer the north a deal, or any other other nation, for that matter....mean while your sitting back think what happened to all my gold coins....there sitting in someones elses pocket... Whats the Canadian dollar going to be worth, whats each provinces trade going to look like,and what do we do if those have nots can not make it, what then do we allow them to flander, or do we assist them. or do be become callous and say to them every man for themselfs. Have you taken a look at the most recent countries around the globe that have declared independence and tried to go it alone....how many of them have been conflict free, but hey that won't happen in Canada no sir....how is thier econemy doing, sometimes one should watch what he wishes for , because the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence... What ever happend to taking stock of what we have as a nation, and being happy with that.

Intel never has the full picture, it is what is pieced together from other pieces that have been collected and is interputed by specialist in the area, and no it is not always right, but intel has an expiration date, on top of the enemy spewing out bad intel, in an an attempt to lead you astray,not everyone interputes it the same way, so it gets many interputations on the way up the chain of command. making it hard to get the true picture. But putting someones name on a kill list takes many ,many peices of intel, and while it all may not be right, i doubt the decision to place a name of these lists is taken lightly , or without any evidence, take Osama for instance, would you say they made a huge mistake or did he deserve what he got.... DO you believe that the president of the US set out to lie to his citizens one day one, or do you believe he made that decision with the best info and intel he had at the time... Now in the future he may of been proved that he was mislead or had faulty info, but does that mean he lied or just made a bad decision. because even presidents are held accountable, even impeached. If there is enough proof then why has not someone taken them to court be it national court or inter national court...do you not think once it got out there thier own citizens would want justice....I still have faith in the system.

The same list Osama bin ladin was on is this the list your refering to, and his mery band of commanders in the field, is this the list you are having a hard time with. That has upset and disgusted you to the piont you are continuily bringing it up. These list have been existance since the begining of time, leaders of the enemy movement have often had thier names placed on arrest or kill lists, ( i added arrest, but in reliality how many would allow themselfs to be arrested) let me ask you this if Hilter could have been killed by allied military forces do you think it would have saved any lives, would it have been publically acceptable to do so. You mention these orders are based on suspicion, with no hard facts, what hard facts do "you" have that these decisions are being made based on someones whilly nilly briefing, and the President of the United States decides he'll place his office behind the decision without any "according to you" evidence at all, that he picks a name out of the Afghanistan phone book and orders this name ceases to exist by sun up....I think your pissed that this info is not being released with out all the facts being made public. Your absolutly right there is no way to know this is ALL situations, in fact i believe i said that it would not be impossiable to fool the current system. but unlikely. what i told you was my experiences, and the reason i believe it would be extremily hard to get away with anything , the same vidio footage the pilot sees is noramlly feed into the support TOC tactical operations center, it's a live feed, normally there is a large number in attendence, this feed is then feed to the guys out in the field ....if an engagements was not legal according to ROE it would be reported rather quickly, as there is to many witiness to not to say anything. that and the fact your jobs are on the line, along with legal consquences....and although i've discribed a Canadian action, the same systems are used through out the coalition, and they operate basically under the same rules as we do, the exception is a CIA feed in which i assume runs the same way, but can not confirm that.... But then again the same statement would also apply to yourself, how would you have info about any illigal killings or engagements unless you have first hand military knowledge of it happening with tape or pictures. as no one else has access. A cowards term, a term invented by our polictical masters, one used to discribe to civilians the deaths of inocent civilians on the battlefield....they are unavoidable, more civilians will die in conflicts than all the soldiers combined from both sides that is just a regrettable fact from war. I have to assume that the higher government has our intersets at the fore front, and if they do not will be held accountable, as i have to becuase it is what i believe in, in order for me to carry out my job, close with and destroy the enemy...So yes i do for the most part believe in our system and way of doing things, i did say for the most part, It's not that i don't have sympathy , to which i do and it is regretable that these deaths occur, but i've also come to the conclusion that war is one of mans most retarded endevours that only evil lives and breathes, one that very rarely good comes out of, and yet we have manged to put a man on the moon, and soon one to mars, but have yet invented a way to stop war , violence, nor do i think we will ever, i decided to do this job because it was one way to make a difference for my family....i or you will not stop innocent people from dieing in conflicts, we can only limit their numbers.... Any different from just turning our heads pretending it is not happening, hoping it would go away, Canadian watched it every morning on the news while eating our breakfast , all we did was change the channel. so we get involved and our government make the wrong choices, we accuse them of state run terrorism....but it's ok to sit back and watch as thousands are slaughtered....like we do everyday...turn the news on right now, and tell me we could not make a difference some where... I've seen both sides of the fence, and nobody does not have blood on their hands, and yet you as guilty as the rest of us, you sir have made your choice as well, you've decided it is not worth the risk of leaving , but where would you go, so you've decided that Canada may be the lesser of the evils....or you would have left long ago based on your opinions and values which you claim on line here. So while i have taken sides in the sand, put my beliefs into action, you sir live on our side and condemn us....but you are still on our side, one of us...why is that. I never did say anything or the sort, nor was i pushing my statement in that direction ...our foreign policies are dictated by the results of bad guys actions. pronounceing we are as bad as they are is retarded and while they all boil down to death and destruction, one is clearly more brutal than the other. But i was not saying you were denouncing soldiers.

I never said you should believe everything your told, but the case we are talking about is the killing of insurgents, those decisions never get to the governmental level, well they make the Rules of engagement, then the military carries them out. So in this case launching a missle off a UAV is a military one, and in the US case could be a CIA one as well. Further, I said the news media should not act as stenographers, but should view official pronouncements with suspicion. This is doubly true when people are actually getting killed. The media is an industry, it reports what will sell, they do it to make profits, not to report the news as if it was a higher calling. when people are getting killed thats what us the people want to read. How many stories did you read of Canadian soldiers building schools,fire halls, or buying Ambulances....why is that. So on this piont i agree with you 100%. Very rarely do the report news because it is in the publics interest to know... If an attack is not warrented they can or will be held accountable in a court of law, and this happens all the time, with every coalition forces. IE the last American to shoot unarmed Afghan civilains outside of KAF, or the Canadian Capt for shooting that serverly wounded insurgent , anyways i think you get the piont unlawful killing is wrong and is held accountable. In the case of a UAV the sensor package is extremily good, capale of reading the tags in your underwear at over 30 kms away,and at alt higher than 15,000 ft with sensors this strong the can quickly run down the rules of engagement, are they armed, if yes with what wpns systems, what are they doing ie burying something in the ground, taking up a postion and waiting to ambush something, shooting something....if the answer is yes to any of these questions then you have a green light, things that would stop the process, are they in a religiuos building or building deemed of culture importance, or hospital,historical building, is there to many civilians around , or do you think the insurgents will gather closer aloowing for a max kill factor, the shot will be postphoned until they are closer together. Once all thses questions are answered and the chain of command says yes the missle is launched...this can take minutes to hours... So for every attack that is carried out and authorised dozens are not....but then again the media is not reporting those are they, and you assumed that all those attacks are NOT nessicary, but which ones, what rules did they break, you just assumed we are human and like to blow shit up....but more than one person is pulling the strings it makes not being accountable very difficult. but i will add not impossiable No i'm stating that the ROE's are followed to the letter, and if they have the justification to make the launch they will, i also said that it is very unlikely that those that are are illigal. A UAV is a high value asset, and are used in many diffent missions, ie taking out high value targets like we see being reported in the media, patroling major supply routes used by coalition forces, providing Spec OPs with an airbourne platform, or confirming intel already gathered such as following a bomb planting team back to their homes, so ground teams can investagate/ attack later, track bombers on route to their targets, follow know insurgents to find out where they go, they are also used in cooperation with other assets such as arty, fast air, ground forces a UAV may spot a IED team buring something on the road, instead of using a 1/4 million dollar missle they may decide to just drop a few rounds of arty on them or call in a gun ship to clean up for them so they can continue mission. But in every case they are following that check list and ROE's to make sure the operator is covered legaly for their actions. To answer your other question were is the evidence, it's in the tape of the attacks, and the ROE's every attack is taped in serveral places as it can be broadcasted to the assisting unit via live broadcast. so there is hundreds of witinesses. And you've yet to answer my question if you entered a biker club house would you find anyone inside that was not affiliated with the gang in some way. The insurgents take this to a new level, they are being activily hunted at ever corner, and suspect everyone, very very rarely would they hang out with someone not affiliated with them...ie weddings, gatherings, etc....in these cases with large numbers in attendence if the target is of a high enough importance colatoral damage may be worth the risk. if they are a lower rank the attack will be waved until later.... I've never said that the west which does include Canada are perfect angles in everything they do. But in todays world you need to take a side, black or white....there is no grey, or as someone said if given the choose us or them i choose us every time. I've yet to see any western soldier take the day to peel the skin off an old man, using drugs and pain killers to keep him alive, then stake him out in the blazing sun, that day temps reach over 55 degrees....his crime was talking to us about getting a new well for his village, the taliban decided they would take 12 or more hours to deal his punishment for talking to the infidels....which was me...we got to him just before noon, he died of his wounds waiting for a chopper to arrive, high on morphine our medic gave him still begging us to shot him because the pain was unbarable ...I know some one is going to tell me to stop comparing our crimes with theirs....but i can't it is what drove me to do 4 tours there....we are at war,with these pricks and sometimes you have to crack a few eggs and sometimes inocent people die....but the inocent always pay a higher price... You can call them anything you want, but when they are armed with automactic wpns, RPGs, or IED's they go from suspected to confirmed, then its missles away. suspected terrorist get more assets assigned to them to confirm perhaps a armed patrol or over flight by light aircraft terrorist will normally engage....that kind of takes the guess work out of it. and thats when you read about it the next day, x amount of insurgents killed in fire fight, or engagement with western forces. and according to the ROE there is nothing suspected about it.

what is it your looking for a blow by blow play. You already answered this question, that Sigs Cpl asked, do you think the US is attacking random targets just for fun, and would they waste a 1/4 mil dollar missle if the target did not warrent an attack ? you answered NO....so what is the problem.... perhaps you should research the sensor capabilities of these drones, see what they are capable off so you know what the operator sees or could see, there is also a long checklist of items that must be meet before firing, as the operator along with any military pers who kills wrongfully is liable for those deaths.... So if you went to a bikers club house what is the odds that everyone inside is not some how attached to the biker group....insurgents don't hang around anyone that is not related to that group. Launch a missle into this group and the odds are very good that they were somehow an insurgent.

Killing anyone on the battle field has to be done as per the Genva conventions, if it is not it is murder, or terrorism. it's actually balck and white. The killing of civilians in war is colateral damage, and can be agaisn't the law if the commanders have not taken all precautions to prevent them. but it is not illigal, how many frnech men died on the beaches of normandy in the pre shore bombardments....war is hell...and when you use that much high explosive somebody going to get hurt.... Yes what they did was considered torture, just as playing music to loud is torture, or leaving the lights on 24 hours a day, or placing a insurgent in s stress postion....all torture, no more no less than making a soldier watch as they cut another prisoners head off with a dull blade, or my favorite cutting every inch of skin of somebody then staking them out in the sun....all considered torture.....but nobody is talking about those acts....

You keep saying the undeniable overt increase of militarism within our nation by the existing ruling party, but you only mentioned a few events, you make it sound like canada is trying to memick it's communists brothers Russia and china, true forms of militarism....what we have happening in Canada is a resurgence in supporting our military, nothing more. Actually i provided those numbers on page four, but i'll give them to you again to help drive home my piont. Reseve numbers have gone from 21000 in the year 2000 to now a whopping 26000 in 2011. Note these numbers are falling as cut backs are forth coming, also mentioned in the sources i posted on page 4. so over the last 10 years a increase of less than 600 pers a year.... As for the PS service they have been in decline since the 90's , and it's outlook is no better in 2011 as the shed anopther 2000 jobs. curruntly it's numbers are 19300 pers.... So with an annual increase of 1600 soldiers and civil service in decline have we even approached this so call militarism.... civil service 2011 How many years for budgets over 20 bil..... Those JSF numbers are bull crap, this has been argued already, it all well and good to use what ever numbers you want but the rest of the budget has to be brought in line as well, because they've already costed thos costs in other budgets...... and, yes, the abysmal state of certain types of equipment. However, in the face of stark ideological driven Harper Conservative spending cuts, many Canadians are beginning to question a perceived skewed imbalance between increased militarism at the expense of these ideological driven spending cuts; cuts which pale in comparison to military expenditures. That increased 'status' you speak of also brings notice on the inabilities of Canada's military to simply deal with needs relative to domestic, humanitarian and peace-keeping... let alone managing costs/requirements associated with "force projection preparedness". As for your reference to Afghanistan, (some) canadians can look at it what ever way they want it was not their mission to comment on it was our forces....sorry sore piont with me, the majority of Canadian public gave up on that mission long ago....unless they include the 20 bucks a year the contributed to the mission costs....thats not supporting anything.... Our inabilities and the finger pionting that your doing should be pionted at you and the rest of tax payers, it is exactly what you wanted no more no less....i'd go on that thank god we have not had to deal with anything serious in the last 30 years, but what ever mission we have taken on i'd changledge you to find one failure....