[Jabberwalker]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

If I were a young Canadian and contemplating a career choice this decision would definitely weigh in my choice of a career at Canadian Tire over duty for a country that would kick me to the curb if I took a bullet for them.

Actually, Canadian Forces personnel are treated very well by the public, here. When soldiers started dying in Afghanistan, there were spontaneous acts of public support all over, like our "Highway of Heroes". That is a stretch of the 401 that runs between the Transport Command tarmac in Trenton and the Coroner in Toronto along which each and every fallen Canadian soldier took his or her second-to-last ride.

http://www.thankasoldier.net/highway.html

Canada has never had a "Vietnam" (no public scorn of our soldiers) and Canadian servicemen are well and widely thought of by the public. They just can't or don't understand the need for better defences. Our U.S. neighbours did way too good of a job defending our borders over the last half century and most taxpayers seem to have been lulled into thinking that since nothing is being done now by anyone, there for they don't need to do anything more.

[Thanos]

If I were you I'd worry more about the horror stories that come out of places like Walter Reed and other hospitals, or the runaround that American vets get from the Veterans Admin when they try to get help for PTSD or concussion syndrome. The problems for veterans in the US are about a million times worse than the ones we have up here in Canada. ALL the western countries are failing at this task. Some are just failing worse at it than others.

[Jabberwalker]

BTW, historically, Canadian Forces personnel have been better paid, better fed [often better trained ... and just plain educated!] than their U.S. counterparts ... not better equipped, I will grant you.

[Zipperfish]

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

[Jabberwalker]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

"British" "Cuisine"

There's an oxymoron for you. Too bad the Italians or the French weren't do the catering.

[Thanos]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

British food? Now that's the kind of decision that should get someone in the upper echelon in front of a tribunal and charged with human rights abuses.

[Jabberwalker]

Thanos Thanos:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

British food? Now that's the kind of decision that should get someone in the upper echelon in front of a tribunal and charged with human rights abuses.

The Geneva Convention has a whole section on "Bubble and Squeak."

[Thanos]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

Thanos Thanos:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

British food? Now that's the kind of decision that should get someone in the upper echelon in front of a tribunal and charged with human rights abuses.

The Geneva Convention has a whole section on "Bubble and Squeak."

"Bubble and Squeak"? I'm assuming that's what the "food" does when it gets squished out of the tube. Like, barf, man. Military folks all deserve a medal just for having to endure what was fed to them. Makes dealing with the psychotic sergeants that keep screaming all the time look easy in comparison.

[Zipperfish]

Thanos Thanos:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

I dunno, the American food was a big step up from the NATO food when I was there. Someone gave the frickin kitchen contract to the Brits.

British food? Now that's the kind of decision that should get someone in the upper echelon in front of a tribunal and charged with human rights abuses.

Yes the lowest of the low was the hot dog soup. pieces of malformed boiled weiner floating in a grey watery broth. It tasted worse than it sounds. Somebody should have been shot, to be honest.

Still, it did rally the multinational trroops around a common enemy--the food.

[Jabberwalker]

Bubble and Squeak ... it's a traditional British delicacy ...

... you know, like pig's trotters or tripe ...

[redhatmamma]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

It was a Liberal initiative? Oh…well then…who do these money-grubbing vets thnk they are?

The New Veterans Charter was a Conservative thing. They even have Harper's speech introducing the thing (in 2006, not 2005, incidentally).

http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2006/04/06/pri ... ns-charter

Not that the Liberals wouldn't screw the vets too if they saw a buck in it. But it's more surprising for the Conservatives. A lot of those vets probably vote COnservative on the assumption that the Conservatvies will handle the forces better.

It was a Liberal motion backed by all parties.

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/news/f ... y-veterans
Introduced by Paul Martin's Liberal government and endorsed by the NDP and Conservatives, it replaced a set of regulations called the Pension Act

[Guy_Fawkes]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

BTW, historically, Canadian Forces personnel have been better paid, better fed [often better trained ... and just plain educated!] than their U.S. counterparts ... not better equipped, I will grant you.

I'm not so sure about better equiped either. Granted the US has better toys (their Navy and Air Force are staggering), but your standard Canadian infantryman is better equiped than it American counterpart (in some respects). There was a Fox news article the other day about the infantry getting 'new' Carl Gustave recoiless rifles. The article was filled with holes and seemed to be written by someone they pulled off the street that morning but it is telling that Americans consider weapon systems Canada has been using since '91 new. Also when I was in the sandbox and we invited some Americans to check out our LAV, they were blow away by good it was.

TL:DR

Americans are better in specialized areas, but our grunts are better equipped than their grunts.

[Jabberwalker]

I know that Canadian desert camouflage actually works and the U.S. Army's grey pattern is very visible in practically every known environment.