LeEnfield said:It looks like Canada has more problems closer to home, with every one wanting a bit of their territory
DefiantCdr said:The Inuit are a part of Canada... they dont want a part of Canada... they ARE a part of Canada. (Same with the French, the aboriginals, ets.)
CanadianCombat said:The new Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper might send Canadian troops to Iraq. Do you think this is a good idea?
Pete031 said:I think that it is pretty funny that some people here think that Canada doesn't do much for the world. Did you now that ratio wise, prior to 9/11 Canada had more of its military overseas on deployment then the US did. We were also in Command of ISAF and now we have taken over comand of the most dangerous part of Afghanistan. Now you guys might think that it has nothing on Iraq,but ask your GunDevil how it is over here. I admit I was all ready to go on the invasion, we were supposed to be attached to the 20th UK armored division or something like that to take Basra, and I was dissapointed because I am a soldier being left out of a war. But there would be no sense to go there now, even though the situation there is kind of our specialty. We commited to not going and I think we should stick to our guns. But I will not tolerate kids on this website saying "uh, yeah I think that Canada should play a larger role in international matters" Ask the former Yugoslavia, ask Haiti, ask Sinai, ask Golan, ask Sierra Leone,ask East Timor, ask Afghanistan to mention a few. That is all
Pete031 said:There are all sorts of opinions... I have just shared mine. I have been on 3 operational delpoyments in the past 3 years. If we did nothing in the international community maybe I would have spent more time at home with loved ones instead of wading through garbage on some patrol in soe third world hole.
I think that people are to easy to lay blame on Canada. Just because we didn't support the US on this doesn't make us any different then what we were 10 years ago.
jackehammond said:Dear Member,
Why is that almost all retired Canadian generals are stating what I have stated. And if it is insulting then you are using the same tactic that those that keep defending Rumsfeld for not sending enough troops to Iraq in the first place -- ie any critisism is insulting the troops on the ground and helping the enemy. And if I am insulting the Canadian military what about al those columnists and anyalists in Canada who have stated the same.
When everyone was sending troops to Somalia Canada had to send them in stages (ie with one rest stop in Egypt because they were worn out from the flight) because of the C-130 was being used as a strategic instead of a tactical transport.
The Sea Knights are so worn out they are killing pilots. And we all know abou the replacement program for it is way behind schedule and for what ever reason the best medium helicopter that was picked for the rescue role was not picked to replace the Sea Knight.
jackehammond said:Yes, Canada has a lot of modern weapon systems. But they are way to few in number. Way to few. The C-130s I mentioned are almost worn out.
jackehammond said:And for armored forces, yes Canada has some great wheeled vehicles but they are almost totally lacking in heavy armor (ie in an urban warfare envoriment light armor would get chewed to pieces).
Just compare Canada military with what it was. At one time it had the 3rd largest navy in the world. Now there are some Latin American nations that have bigger and better navies - ie Brazil, Peru and maybe Ecader (sp?) and Argentina (ie don't let the Falklands fool you, the Argies learned from that war).
jackehammond said:And its Canadian Sabre force in Germany in the 1950s under NATO was considered the one that the Warsaw Pact feared the most. Now Canada has put I believe over half of its CF-18 in mothballs.
jackehammond said:But today if a truely hard war (ie all war is hard to the one who is getting shot at but there is wars and wars) for example if the balloon goes up in Korea it would be sucide to send Canadian ground forces in without massive logistic, heavy artillery and armor support from South Korea and the US.
jackehammond said:And, unlike most Americans I know what Canada is doing in Afghanistan. And I know that unlike France and Germany and a few other NATO nations Canada is willing to patrol outside the base area and seek out AQ and the Taliban. But be honest. How many heavy lift helicopters does Canada have in Afghanistan that can move Canadian ground units in that high altitude?
jackehammond said:How many of those helicopters in an emergency when a Canadian patrol gets in trouble can be refueled in flight to go to the rescue? How many armored and heavily armed Canadian attack helicopters will cover those helicopters coming to the rescue?
jackehammond said:How many super long range 155mm artillery pieces will bring down supression fire in case of bad weather?
jackehammond said:As the Arabs say "Having a sword and knowing to use it are not the same." Having some excellent ground regimetns (ie and two are of the highest caliber) and being able to support them if push comes to shove are not the same.
Finally, and before you think my only goal is Canada bashing, when that blue on blue disaster happened and those Canadian soldiers got bombed by two USAF F-16 pilots I was one of the very few on the Military Forums in the US calling for them to be severly punished instead of being given a slap on the wrist. Especially when they refused to take responsiblity for their actions.
jackehammond said:But in warfare to ignore reality is one of the worst things that can be done. And while all the emotional arguements can be given, today's Canadian military is a hollow force or at the best a token force.
About the same as you do. Both Canada and the US use the Boeing Chinook as their premier heavy lift helicopter. Given the high altitudes of the mountains in Afghanistan, there are very few, if any helicopters that can effectively operate there.
Pete031 said:You are right about the Chinooks, we sold ours to the Dutch, who matter of fact, will be supporting us in the months to come.
I said that we have no heavy lift capability in an earlier reply. Yes it is tragic how this man got hit with the axe, and thankfully the rest of his section hammered him. No there is a certain tone that I picked up on in your last post regarding that man that makes me want to say, especially from us serving in Afghanistan at the moment, if you are going to comment, why not grab a rifle, your ruck and come out and make some changes... You can right all the papers you want Buds, I wrote my fair share in university aswell. But you are not on the ground here, so watch what you say about our wounded and KIA troops.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.