Canada's military, how impressive it really is.

[Dougie93]

AFIAK, the troops in Latvia are not accompanied in residence like 4CMBG was

I was under the impression that it is a six month rotation, like a tour

so Canada cannot sustain that at Brigade level

you can't rotate an entire Brigade every six months, that's one third of the army

for six month rotations, they can't sustain more than one battle group with some extras for administration

[Army Guy]

22 hours ago, Dougie93 said:

AFIAK, the troops in Latvia are not accompanied in residence like 4CMBG was

I was under the impression that it is a six month rotation, like a tour

so Canada cannot sustain that at Brigade level

you can't rotate an entire Brigade every six months, that's one third of the army

for six month rotations, they can't sustain more than one battle group with some extras for administration

I agree as well, that being said those countries with troops within the Canadian battle group are also being asked to up their game, as NATO pushes this 300,000 troop level force. I get that this 300 k are not all going into Latvia, but they have a quick means to get their troops into position, Canada and the US do not. so whatever level they boost our support to will have to be on the ground. The minister was talking about topics such as infrastructure, force makeup, and what equipment will be provided is still being worked out. And like Germany, these things don't happen overnight but over the course of years. (When we first got into Afghanistan we lived in trenches and recce tents) until the camp was built.

[Dougie93]

3 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

. And like Germany, these things don't happen overnight but over the course of years.

Canada would have to build a fourth Brigade

4 CMBG is the NATO Brigade

I don't think Canada can do it anymore

[Army Guy]

I know we have the people and know how to do it, we just don't have the will. The advantages of having a 4 th brigade overseas would be tremendous. a forward operating base that could serve so many other purposes when the world's conflicts change. Not to mention the training opportunities, and the quality of training, the best part of my career was in Germany it was invaluable in teaching me new skills. 

It would also set off a wave of modernization, new equipment, and more personnel, Modern equipment and training mean saving more soldiers' lives. It's a win-win for everyone. 

[Dougie93]

2 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

I know we have the people and know how to do it, we just don't have the will.

it's just logistics at this point

they just don't have the troops to rotate a Brigade Group in Europe

[Army Guy]

Yes logistics is a problem that has to or could be overcome, and this will not happen overnight, shit it would take years just to get the equipment, then trained up on it, The military has not been doing much recruit training to date, a lot of dead zones in the promotion world not many privates out there today, ...this would open that right up. 

The troops is going to be a problem, but with some help from other countries that could be a Temporary fix...besides the troops are ready for tours, they need tours...volunteers would not be an issue. and has infrastructure improves those tours could be extended to 8 or 10 months like the training mission in Afghanistan.

[Dougie93]

7 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

Yes logistics is a problem that has to or could be overcome, and this will not happen overnight, shit it would take years just to get the equipment, then trained up on it, The military has not been doing much recruit training to date, a lot of dead zones in the promotion world not many privates out there today, ...this would open that right up.

nothing is going to open up

Canada itself is in a state of systemic collapse

the CAF is just a proxy for total collapse of government capacity on all fronts, never mind DND

[Army Guy]

The media is just now bringing in the news that our military is making changes to be more inclusive.

The appearance of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has not kept pace with the Canadian society which it serves."

Hair colouring, face tattoos permitted under new military dress rules (msn.com)

Quote

 

He acknowledged the changes could be divisive within the military.

"Some will consider this progress, while others may see this as unwarranted," Eyre said.

"We must be wary of the false dichotomy that we must choose between changing our dress and appearance, or be strong."

 

Not sure how this makes our military stronger, by any means, and do we really think this was the break these young kids were looking for, these changes are going to make them say, Fack ya, I want to join the military...Does this group of kids make up the majority or is this an attempt to bring in the outer fringe that will probably not join any way.

[Dougie93]

13 hours ago, Army Guy said:

Not sure how this makes our military stronger, by any means, and do we really think this was the break these young kids were looking for, these changes are going to make them say, Fack ya, I want to join the military...Does this group of kids make up the majority or is this an attempt to bring in the outer fringe that will probably not join any way.

the unmartial Canadian political class is want to turn the military into the armed civil service

so the military is being civilianized

but of course these politicians fail to understand that people join the military to get away from that

the whole point is to undergo a crucible, be challenged, and suffer hardship gladly

the mechanism is to give up your individual identity to the regiment 

so making the military more civilian backfires in terms of recruiting

[Army Guy]

More of the same, DND says there is a problem, and the government changes the subject. This time the message the CDS is pushing is not that there is no new equipment, or enough of it, he is stating that DND might not be able to respond to disasters at home and foreign policy abroad at the same time. DND recruitment problems are adding up to serious problem for the forces, with many units down 20 to 30 % effectiveness.

Many will not even read this post; the others gloss over it but at what time are we going to ask ourselves, should we kill our military with a slow and painful death, or are we going to fund it, as it should be.

 Canada’s top soldier raises concerns about military readiness | Watch (msn.com)

[ExFlyer]

6 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

More of the same, DND says there is a problem, and the government changes the subject. This time the message the CDS is pushing is not that there is no new equipment, or enough of it, he is stating that DND might not be able to respond to disasters at home and foreign policy abroad at the same time. DND recruitment problems are adding up to serious problem for the forces, with many units down 20 to 30 % effectiveness.

Many will not even read this post; the others gloss over it but at what time are we going to ask ourselves, should we kill our military with a slow and painful death, or are we going to fund it, as it should be.

 Canada’s top soldier raises concerns about military readiness | Watch (msn.com)

I joined in 19xx and they were desperate for personnel then as well. A few years later, they got so many that they called "golden handshake" (I cannot remember the acronym and real name) to get rid of a lot of personnel, primarily older members. A bunch of my mentors and trainers took the offer.

We have been complaining about being short of personnel for decades.

Lack of current equipment has also been a plague on the military for as long as I can remember.

What I can say proudly is that regardless of shortages and old equipment, the Canadian Military has always done an exemplary job at whatever it has been told to do.

We done a lot of good shit with a few good people and a lot of bad stuff.

[Army Guy]

48 minutes ago, ExFlyer said:

I joined in 19xx and they were desperate for personnel then as well. A few years later, they got so many that they called "golden handshake" (I cannot remember the acronym and real name) to get rid of a lot of personnel, primarily older members. A bunch of my mentors and trainers took the offer.

We have been complaining about being short of personnel for decades.

Lack of current equipment has also been a plague on the military for as long as I can remember.

What I can say proudly is that regardless of shortages and old equipment, the Canadian Military has always done an exemplary job at whatever it has been told to do.

We done a lot of good shit with a few good people and a lot of bad stuff.

I think that had a lot to due with the closure of 4 Brigade, and not having any where to put all those troops in Canada, so they got rid of a bunch. Lots of good people took that, but it became a problem when they got rid of too many and rehired some of those back again...  

Yes, the military has been short for decades, but not this short, and the numbers they are reporting does not make sense with the numbers on the ground. and it is just getting worse, as a lot of members are not liking these new rules on dress and deportment and pulling the plug early.

Yes, we have accomplished everything with nothing. Which when you look at it, has not done us any favors, the more we did the more they cut back, and don't get me wrong it is a massive accomplishment for all DND, to do all that we did, but it is also a huge blight on Canadians for not caring enough to do anything about it.  But that is how we roll, Hockey, beer and poggy checks and the hell with everything else. 

[ExFlyer]

47 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

I think that had a lot to due with the closure of 4 Brigade, and not having any where to put all those troops in Canada, so they got rid of a bunch. Lots of good people took that, but it became a problem when they got rid of too many and rehired some of those back again...  

Yes, the military has been short for decades, but not this short, and the numbers they are reporting does not make sense with the numbers on the ground. and it is just getting worse, as a lot of members are not liking these new rules on dress and deportment and pulling the plug early.

Yes, we have accomplished everything with nothing. Which when you look at it, has not done us any favors, the more we did the more they cut back, and don't get me wrong it is a massive accomplishment for all DND, to do all that we did, but it is also a huge blight on Canadians for not caring enough to do anything about it.  But that is how we roll, Hockey, beer and poggy checks and the hell with everything else. 

We did what we were told to do, always.

They also disbanded the Airborne and cut people.

I was speaking primarily of Air Force personnel but the Military in its entirety was way down on people in the 90's.

I know what you mean but, as I explained a while ago, the DND and Military are quite separate. The DND provides advice and support to the Minister of national Defence bu the Military, under separate command structure and management does the implementation of the DND tasking.  I know it sounds like the same but it really is different and you had to have worked in the NDHQ environment to get the picture. The DND people and Military people do not always play well together LOL

[Army Guy]

11 years to purchase a simple pistol, we may be known around the world as a friendly country, but we are definitely not the smartest in fact not even close. Our procurement system which is not run by DND is a train wreck, loaded with corruption, political interference, and governmental red tape. Another liberal promise that has fallen to the wayside, yes, they promised to fix all of that, instead they have only added to the mess with new policies. 

I get it the military is not in the top priority list to fix, becasue everything is broken and needs fixing, when are voters going to see that and make it their priority and make it someone's priority, to fix health care, our decrepit infra structure, you name it, and it is broken...and somehow liberals will stand up and tell us all everything is all good...BS

Canada inks deal to replace army's Second World War-era sidearms (msn.com)

 

[Aristides]

58 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

11 years to purchase a simple pistol, we may be known around the world as a friendly country, but we are definitely not the smartest in fact not even close. Our procurement system which is not run by DND is a train wreck, loaded with corruption, political interference, and governmental red tape. Another liberal promise that has fallen to the wayside, yes, they promised to fix all of that, instead they have only added to the mess with new policies. 

I get it the military is not in the top priority list to fix, becasue everything is broken and needs fixing, when are voters going to see that and make it their priority and make it someone's priority, to fix health care, our decrepit infra structure, you name it, and it is broken...and somehow liberals will stand up and tell us all everything is all good...BS

Canada inks deal to replace army's Second World War-era sidearms (msn.com)

 

I don't know much about hand guns and I guess the Sig Sauer is popular with several militaries but Glock seems to be the favourite sidearm among most police departments in North America. 

[Dougie93]

12 minutes ago, Aristides said:

I don't know much about hand guns and I guess the Sig Sauer is popular with several militaries but Glock seems to be the favourite sidearm among most police departments in North America. 

the Glock is a single action sidearm, so arguably simpler & easier to use

the Sig Sauer is double action, so slightly more complex

but the Sig Sauer has been adopted en masse by the US Army

the economies of scale for the military are not the same as the police

standardizing with the US Army is the Canadian Army priority

Rangers, lead the way

[Army Guy]

2 minutes ago, Aristides said:

I don't know much about hand guns and I guess the Sig Sauer is popular with several militaries but Glock seems to be the favourite sidearm among most police departments in North America. 

It is very popular with the spec ops community, but then again, each operator can choose whatever pistol they want to carry at their own expense, so there are many different types in use., but it has its share of problems, like with our special ops JTF2, who had a misfire without the trigger being pulled and wounding him in the leg , US military had issues with the gun going off when dropped. nothing is perfect, US military has worked out it's problems and Canada blamed it on the wrong holster being used.

It is only in the last 15 years or so that the pistol became a secondary weapon for each soldier, use to be for officers and very Senior NCOs only. Now on deployments everyone carries one as a backup, for very close combat, like hand to hand, or clearing a small room where a rifle is hard to maneuver. 

Caliber has a large role to play as well stopping power verses how many rounds can be carried, when choosing a pistol some like more rounds, some like stopping power like a 45 cal has, it takes less rounds to put someone down, verses multiple from say 9 mm.

That being said one would think after 11 years of research whatever weapon was chosen would be perfect. But it seems a little corruption was involved.

It also highlights the Equipment problem in the CF, this pistol we have now we purchase just after WWII, and was worn out decades ago, one would have better luck hitting something by throwing it, instead of firing it. OK i exaggerated a little but it was not very accurate at all. 

[Aristides]

3 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

the Glock is a single action sidearm, so arguably simpler & easier to use

the Sig Sauer is double action, so slightly more complex

but the Sig Sauer has been adopted en masse by the US Army

the economies of scale for the military are not the same as the police

standardizing with the US Army is the Canadian Army priority

Rangers, lead the way

Glock is the predominant sidearm in the NYPD. It alone has 35,000 uniformed officers.

I do see the sense in commonality with the US.

[Dougie93]

6 minutes ago, Aristides said:

Glock is the predominant sidearm in the NYPD. It alone has 35,000 uniformed officers.

I do see the sense in commonality with the US.

the Canadian Forces operates almost exclusively with the US Army

the Canadian Forces never operates with the NYPD