Now seeing as Remembrance Day has come and gone, it seems appropriate to discuss our beleaguered military and the misguided government who directs it. Now I am sure I am not the only poppy-wearing Canadian getting sick of our soldiers coming home in body bags, I’m sure our government is too – but seeing as the most significant thing they’ve done in regards to our armed forces is extend our one minute of silence to two on November 11th, I question the level of their concern. Perhaps we should be more invested in our soldiers while they are alive rather than remembering them after they are gone. Although considering the steady stream of body bags coming home, perhaps the government is on to something.

I have never been a fan of war. If I was alive during the ‘60s I would have felt right at home. But I am willing to accept that there are those in this world that just do not excel at co-existing with others. People like Hitler, Stalin, and my favourite character on Team America, Kim Jong-Il. Adding to this list, you got your crazed, blood thirsty revolutionaries which are too numerous to name but dot the international map in mass quantities and can be found in tragedies like Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. No one pretends that our world is a perfect place, in fact, it is pretty messed up. And it is for these unfortunate circumstances that we have our military, and thank goodness we do.

I have no doubts in my mind that I wouldn’t even make it through basic training. I would be in the fetal position the first time I got reamed out by my superiors, looking for the easiest way to tap out. God knows what I would do if I was sent into battle. I am just not built for it. But if I was, I would hopefully take comfort in the umbrella that is my government towering over top of me, signing my paycheques and giving me all I require to best defend myself. However, as a casual observer of our military, this umbrella set up to provide and protect looks like something Wile E. Coyote would be stuck with as he’s falling off a cliff after just losing a round to the Roadrunner. Personally, you would have to pay me a hell of a lot more money to risk life and limb for any cause; I think I’ve already illustrated what a wussy I am. So does our government just take advantage of these adrenaline junky soldier types? Or do they really think the life of a Private is worth about $40 000 a year? My husband’s life is worth more than that, and I’m pretty sure the families of the recent fallen soldiers feel the same.

Watching the History Channel this past week has made me think of Canada’s contributions to past wars. Being a history major, I love these sorta topics. I zoned in on one particular program about Vimy Ridge, the ridge that no one could take, that is until the Canadians tried. This program then turned into one about Passchendaele and again another tale of Canadian heroism; and yet, even though I am nearly a hundred years removed from these battles, I felt pride. When I stood on the shores of Juno beach, I felt indescribable pride; feeling the sand beneath my feet and the air in my lungs was my best attempt at beginning to understand what that must have been like. Scary enough on its own, with the gunfire blazing past your head, your buddy getting clipped next to you, the bombs exploding all around you, people screaming orders you can’t hear – then imagine you are in the desert wearing forest fatigues made for Canadian-type weather with all this going on. You are hot and sweaty and you stick out like a sore thumb. And then you remember that you are only making $40 000 a year to put up with all of this. Is this the same army that saw Canada come into its own in the World Wars? Either we had Supermen for soldiers, or something has gone awry. At least we got the wardrobe thing figured out.

Now I am not demeaning the efforts of our military, not at all. I have incredible respect for those men and women who find solace in duty rather than a paycheque. I am demeaning the efforts of our government for putting those men and women at risk without the best possible equipment and without the proper compensation. Spending an extra minute on Remembrance Day thinking about their sacrifice will not fund their sacrifice or protect them from roadside bombs. It’s just more dead soldiers to remember.

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Tags: Canadian Armed Forces, military, remembrance day, war

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 12:28 pm and is filed under Canadian Armed Forces. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.