I'd rather live in Canada than this flubbed-up place we call the U.S.
Tomorrow morning, at dawn, put the sun on your right, and start walking. I am sure they will welcome you, and everyone will be a lot happier.
I think that particular show is stupid. I also think they made valid points, that no one will admit to seeing because of the offensive manner in which they were presented. Also, everyone always confuses soldiers with governments. Thats BS, and is mostly a discredit to the soldiers, regardless of which country you are talking about.
Canadian forces have a very distinguished record for service around the world. They lost 67,000 KIA in WWI, and 45,000 KIA in WWII. Almost 27,000 Canucks served in Korea with 526 KIA. I couldn't find reliable numbers for the Vietnam war with my quick search, but it is estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 crossed the border into the US, and joined the US armed services.
The Canadian soldiers I have trained with were top notch. Thier equipment was not. The biggest thing that I learned from training with foreign services, is that they are all just soldiers. Different flag, different form of government, different religion/culture. On the other side of the coin, they have the same motivations; loyalty to thier country, a sense of duty, a sense of honor, and the willingness to sacrifice. We all had the same b!tches, too. Poor leadership in government, and top level Brass. Crappy equipment. Sh!tty weather in the field. Not enough training budget. Not enough libo. Not enough beer. Not enough pu$$y.
That said, the Canadian government is not any better than the US, when it comes to the equipment they furnish to thier combat units, and from my experience, a good bit worse. They are much less prepared for live combat operations, and they don't have enough personnel to rotate units and still meet deployment demands. Same situation with spares and replacements for equipment. The reality is, that among UN and NATO nations, the military weight is born for the most part by a small number of nations. The smaller countrys routinely contribute quite often to humanitarian and peace keeping roles under the UN's blue banner. These are not the same as the demands found in extended combat operations.
So, if you will ignore the idiot commentators, there are some valid points. Insulting the soldiers is wrong, but letting the government off the hook is just as bad.
Dan
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