# Defence Analyst Sunil Ram



## HItorMiss

I was watching CTV Newsnet this afternoon and they had Defence Analysis Sunil Ram on talking about the CC177 arrival and it's sister aircraft impact the CF as well as some other Afghanistan related issues such as the promise to give weapons and equipment to the ANA and the Korean hostage issue.

My question is I believe he was wearing a Regimental blazer (I think it was RCR) so out of curiosty I did a google search for his Bio and though I found some intriguing stuff (such as UNITAR) His bio simply states that he was a soldier and an Officer in the CF from 1980 to 1999 and gave no regimental affiliations. My question is does anyone have info on who and where he served?

UNITAR website: http://www.unitarpoci.org/

Sunil Ram Bio from UNITAR website: http://www.unitarpoci.org/staff_bio.php?name=ram


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## Old Sweat

HoM,

Sorry, I was intrigued by what he was saying. 

The host started by asking him a leading question about the five soldiers being wounded in the RG31 and wouldn't the money have been better spent on protective measures? Ram shot right back that the aircraft were urgently needed and added that if we hadn't made the buy, we would have spent the money anyway chartering airlift. The host was on a roll, as she asked another leading question in the same vein, and he explained the need for strategic mobility, this time using East Timor as an example.


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## HItorMiss

Yeah I saw that he really got his point across and shut her down. It's one of the reasons I am intrugued to know more about this guy. She tried to push her agenda but he was very skilled in not letting her take the lead with misinformation and misleading questions


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## George Wallace

I am surprised that the only Bio's for him can be found on that UN look-alike site.  http://www.unitarpoci.org/staff_bio.php?name=ram   



> Professor Sunil V. Ram
> Originally from the UK, Professor Sunil V. Ram resides in Toronto, Canada. He presently teaches Military History and Land Warfare to the U.S. Armed Forces at American Military University, in West Virginia. He is also the Contributing Editor of SITREP, the private defence journal of the Royal Canadian Military Institute. He has served in the Canadian Forces (CF) as both a soldier and officer between 1980 and 1999. Prof. Ram is also one of Canada's acknowledged experts in the fields of peacekeeping, military affairs, and the Middle East. He has over a decade worth of experience as a military advisor with the Saudi Royal Family, including involvement in the 1991 Gulf War and the Yemeni conflict in the 1990s. Prof. Ram has won a number of awards over the years, including the UN Global Citizen Award, which was presented to him in 1995 by the UN, the UNAC, and the Canadian Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the UN for the furthering of world peace through public awareness of peacekeeping. He is an active member of a number of prestigious Canadian think tanks and organisations, the most important being The Royal Canadian Military Institute, where he sits on the Defence Studies Committee.
> 
> Prof. Ram has also published and presented numerous articles and books over the years and has contributed occasional columns on military affairs for Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. Prof. Ram has also dedicated his time to a number of private, non-NGO supported development projects in Africa that have directly helped local populations in numerous ways. These include work in the DRC and Somalia



When I visit a site that offers UN accreditation online, I begin to have my doubts about its authenticity.   http://www.unitarpoci.org/our_programmes.php


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## HItorMiss

Well regardless anyone find out who or where he served?


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## Edward Campbell

I believe, based on seeing him elsewhere and reading something about him, that:

1. he says he served in (a) Comm Res unit(s); but

2. he was wearing a Signal Corps tie and the old, triangular, Signal Corps badge.

IF that is the case - and I wasn't paying *that* much attention - then he is sailing under false colours.  The Signal Corps was disbanded - replaced by the C&E Branch, about the time Ram was born.  He ought not, I think, to be wearing the badge of a corps/regiment in which he never served - unless I am mistaken the C&E Branch has a nice tie and blazer badge of its own.  It may be that Signal units (other than the now defunct 1st Signal Regiment) adopted the old RC Sigs tie and badge but, unless the resume I read was in error, he did not serve in a Signal unit - he served in the Comm Res.


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## Nfld Sapper

Sunil Ram Bio at American Military University 

Biography - Sunil Ram   

Welcome to Military History/Land Warfare
My name is Prof. Sunil Ram. I am originally from the UK, I now reside in Toronto, Canada. I have served in the Canadian Forces (CF) as both a soldier and officer between 1980 and 1999 and am a specialist in communications and electronics with an extensive background in various aspects of Information Technology and intelligence analysis. 
I am one of Canada’s acknowledged experts in the field of peacekeeping and military affairs with over a decades worth of experience as a military advisor with the Saudi Royal Family, including involvement in the 1991 Gulf War and the 1993/4 Yemeni War.

I have won a number of awards over the years, the most important being the UN Global Citizen Award— presented to in 1995 by the UN, the UNAC and the Canadian Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the UN for the furthering of world peace through public awareness of peacekeeping. In 2003, my old university made me a Distinguished Alumnus for my humanitarian and public service in the field of peace activities.

I am an active member of a number of prestigious Canadian think tanks and organizations including The Canadian Institute of International Affairs, the Royal Canadian Military Institute, the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute for UN and International Affairs, the Council of Canadians for Security in the 21st Century and the Canadian Alliance for Visible Minorities.

I have published and presented numerous articles and books over the years and have had occasional columns on military affairs for Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. Some of his most recent work includes: “The Enemy of My Enemy: The odd link between Ansar al-Islam, Iraq and Iran,” Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies (CISS), 2003; “Lessons Learned: Canada’s Afghan Adventure,” SITREP, Royal Canadian Military Institute, 2003; “A Blueprint for the Canadian Forces’ Role in Peacekeeping Operations in the Twenty-First Century, in David Rudd et al (Eds), Vision Into Reality: Towards a New Canadian Defence and Security Concept, The Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, 2002; “Return to Babylon: When America will attack Iraq,” SITREP, Royal Canadian Military Institute, 2002; and “Keeping a military myth alive,” Globe & Mail, April 30, 2002.

I have also dedicated my time to a number of private non-NGO supported development projects in Africa that will directly help local populations in numerous ways. 

During the past decade, I have appeared numerous times in local and national, and international radio and television interviews and news reports relating to the Canadian Forces, military affairs, international business and international relations.


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## George Wallace

His biography is lacking.  He states "In 2003, my old university made me a Distinguished Alumnus for my humanitarian and public service in the field of peace activities." but has no mention of what University he attended, nor any Degrees that he may have attained.  I find that kind of odd.


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## George Wallace

His Bio on "FrontLine Writers" is just as sparse, but it does have a photo.  http://www.frontline-canada.com/Defence/writers/   

   SUNIL RAM: Professor

A former military advisor to the Saudi Royal Family, Sunil Ram is now a Professor of Land Warfare and Military History at American Military University. He also served as an officer and soldier with the Canadian Forces during the 1980s and 1990s and holds the UN Global Citizen Award for furthering world peace. He is also a member of the Defense Studies Committee of the Royal Canadian Military Institute.


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## the 48th regulator

George Wallace said:
			
		

> His biography is lacking.  He states "In 2003, my old university made me a Distinguished Alumnus for my humanitarian and public service in the field of peace activities." but has no mention of what University he attended, nor any Degrees that he may have attained.  I find that kind of odd.



Page 19 of his alumnus magazine



> Think community and you might think about your own
> neighbourhood, your town or city or maybe your
> province.
> For Sunil Ram, BA '87, BA '97, recipient of this year's
> Distinguished Alumnus Award for Community Service, the
> definition of community is much broader. Think North
> America, the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and beyond.
> Ram's community is international in scope.
> Ram's writing, teaching, commentary and consultative
> work focus on peace advocacy but, again, his definition
> differs from what you might imagine. Ram supports a strong
> military and says the use of force is often necessary to bring
> peace. "Sometimes you really do have to send soldiers and
> police in because the parties involved in creating the trauma
> are simply not going to give up power because you tell them
> to," he says.
> For much of his adult life, Ram has pursued academic
> and military careers simultaneously. Military service, he says,
> is a tradition in his family reaching back 1,000 years when
> his ancestors fought as soldiers for the Rajput princes in
> India. After he finished his first degree and left military
> service, he and friends formed a small high-tech company in
> Regina. One client was the Saudi Royal Family, a
> connection Ram has maintained and one he says gives him
> heightened understanding of events in the Middle East.
> Life went smoothly until 1994 when Ram was attacked in
> downtown Regina and "almost bludgeoned to death." His
> severe injuries forced him to spend more than a year in
> rehabilitation and relearn many skills. It was during this
> difficult time that Ram's commitment to peace advocacy
> took root. Because he had problems reading and writing, he
> decided to return to university as part of his recovery
> process. Later, he also returned to the military, joining a
> reserve unit in Regina.
> At the U of R, political science professor Shreesh Juyal
> introduced Ram to the United Nations (UN) and to a
> concept of peace advocacy that differed from the
> peacekeeping he had learned as a soldier. Ram got involved
> in the model UN program and together with a partner won
> several awards at a model UN conference in Los Angeles.
> He also became involved in celebrations marking the UN's
> 50th anniversary, including working with the YMCA to
> establish a working model of a UN observation post manned
> by peacekeepers in uniform. The work led to Ram being one
> of 30 Canadians to receive a UN global citizen award in
> 1995 for "furthering the world peace through peacekeeping
> awareness."
> Ram teaches peacekeeping at the American Military
> University and co-authored, with Juyal, a course on
> peacekeeping in the Balkans for the UN Institute for
> Training and Research. He also writes on peace and defence
> issues, and is a frequent commentator on these issues in the
> broadcast media. Along the way, he has earned a third
> degree - a master's in political science from the University of
> Guelph.
> He believes strongly that Canada must increase defence
> spending so it can live up to its military commitments. He's
> also an advocate of revamping Canadian foreign policy to
> reflect changes in the world and to link its foreign, defence
> and aid policies. He also believes Canadians must become
> more aware of what's going on both within Canada - "there
> isn't a softer target than this country" - and in other parts of
> the world. "If you understand the world, you have a much
> clearer understanding of how you can deal with it," he says.
> As well as speaking publicly, Ram has worked privately
> on initiatives geared to helping local people in Africa. In
> one project in the Congo, he worked with Congolese
> acquiring and selling diamonds. Proceeds went to local
> people to buy schoolbooks, medicine, food and other
> community needs. "If you can make people's lives easier at
> the most basic level, you'll find them less inclined to be in
> conflict with each other," he says. "You will also potentially
> create a stable enough environment so that civil society can
> regain control . . . And people will be willing to protect
> themselves because they have a lot to lose."



Still does not state with whom and where he served.

Mysterious...

dileas

tess


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## George Wallace

From that piece I can make out five years as a Reservist from 1994 to 1999.  Perhaps broken Service from 1984 to 1994 when he left the military to start up a High Tech company with his friends, and perhaps a few years of 'unknown' Reg or Res Service from 1980 to 1984.  Perhaps not even enough time to get a CD.  

It interesting trying to find out who this guy really is.  A great way to kill time on the Internet on a rainy afternoon.   ;D


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## Trinity

I know Sunil Ram.  He's a member of the mess of the Tor Scots. 

He's a fantastic guy.  I'm aware of the units he served in but in typical
fashion for me, I forgot.  I didn't realize I would be quizzed on years later.

I'll see what I can find.


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## the 48th regulator

There was a Comms unit at Fort York, 709.

dileas

tess


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## Trinity

IF I remember correctly, his time in the army was British.


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## George Wallace

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> There was a Comms unit at Fort York, 709.
> 
> dileas
> 
> tess



Was it in an underground bunker?  (From http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/02-05-08/people.html  )



> Regina was home turf for Ram, who had grown up in Oxford and Regina before joining the Canadian military at age 17. Initially joining in the ranks, by the time he left the service in his early 30s, he was an officer. Among his duties, he had worked on classified projects during the Cold War.
> 
> Despite its all-consuming importance then, he says all that hush-hush work seems passé now, something that was underlined for Ram a few years ago when he visited his old squadron, where his former top-secret bunker was being decommissioned. "The world has changed. A lot of what I knew is not so important."


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## Cloud Cover

Nfld Sapper said:
			
		

> Sunil Ram Bio at American Military University
> 
> and am a specialist in communications and electronics with an extensive background in various aspects of Information Technology and intelligence analysis.
> I



I can confirm that only part of this factually correct, but would also comment that the way he has linked these things together and puffed up his creds is somewhat of an embellishment, to say the least.


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## 3rd Herd

George Wallace said:
			
		

> It interesting trying to find out who this guy really is.  A great way to kill time on the Internet on a rainy afternoon.   ;D


It is finally sunny here.  ;D
My litle contribution:On a sadder note, this will be my last issue as the Editor of SITREP, as I will be moving to the International Institute for
Strategic Studies as a Research Associate in January of 2006. I would first like to thank Col MacDonald and Professor Ram for their critical"
http://www.acq.osd.mil/ncbdp/nm/docs/Featured%20Articles/sitrep_november_2005.pdf

Next the "American Military University" is the military version of  those match box covers(http://www.amu.apus.edu/Academics/Faculty/index.htm
). His bio there is at http://www.amu.apus.edu/Academics/Faculty/faculty-details.htm?facultyID=237. They also list him as having his MA from Guelph and he is an "adjunct professor" His bio also lists his published article's, very short and narrow. But he does do at excellent job at fluffing.

Edit to add:
http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/02-05-08/people.html
U of G graduate student Sunil Ram recalls the spring afternoon eight years ago when his life "flipped upside down." Living just outside Regina at the time, he'd been downtown with a business associate at the office where he and several other ex-army buddies had been running a small consulting company since the late 1980s. 

Ram and his friend emerged from the office that afternoon to confront a group of youths high on alcohol or drugs, armed with two-by-fours and, as Ram puts it, "looking for trouble." Ex-soldiers or not, he and his friend were outnumbered. After knocking out Ram's colleague, the assailants managed to break Ram's arm before he was able to lock a chokehold on one of the youths. "My soldier mode had kicked in. I wasn't even trying to be fair." Only half-lucid, having been clubbed repeatedly on the head, upper back and hands, he decided to play dead.

Ram remembers getting up and helping to revive his friend, then staggering into a nearby pub before being rushed to the hospital. "The police figured if they'd hit me one more time, I would have died." 

The lingering effects were both physical and mental. Ram couldn't use his hands, and his upper body was immobilized for a time. Even today, after the two years he spent in physical rehabilitation, he has trouble with fine motor tasks. (A collection of thousands of miniature soldiers and army equipment that he began collecting as a war games hobbyist at age 10 has been in storage ever since he was injured). 

Today, Ram draws a straight line from that fateful spring day in Regina and a classic case of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time" to his recently completed master's program in public policy and public administration - supervised by Prof. Richard Phidd.

It was the attack that led to Ram's return to university, initially in Regina, then at Guelph. "I never thought I'd be where I am," he says. "The assault changed my life completely."

Before the attack, Ram and his colleagues - all former electronics and communications specialists with the Armed Forces - provided services ranging from resolution of international border disputes to strategic and technical advice to Saudi Arabia from the 1991 Gulf War to the mid-1990s.
Regina was home turf for Ram, who had grown up in Oxford and Regina before joining the Canadian military at age 17. Initially joining in the ranks, by the time he left the service in his early 30s, he was an officer. Among his duties, he had worked on classified projects during the Cold War. 

Despite its all-consuming importance then, he says all that hush-hush work seems passé now, something that was underlined for Ram a few years ago when he visited his old squadron, where his former top-secret bunker was being decommissioned. "The world has changed. A lot of what I knew is not so important."  

If it seems archaic to him today, he can only imagine how his experiences during the past two decades must have struck some of the undergraduates encountering him as their teaching assistant during his past two years at Guelph. 

"People are surprised to learn I'm 40," says the youthful-looking, soft-spoken mature student.

He remembers the skeptical faces during a get-acquainted session for his fellow graduate students in political science when he began his master's degree in 2000. When it came to his turn during the obligatory round of introductions, he tried to skim over his career path. But how do you soft-pedal a nearly 20-year army career, award-winning work in international peacekeeping, an adjunct teaching post at the American Military University - not to mention an ongoing stint as a military adviser to the Saudi royal family? 

Right, the Saudi royal family. Even Ram and his colleagues thought they were being strung along when someone called in the late 1980s claiming to represent the Saudis. The call turned out to be a legitimate response to an advertisement the company had placed through the Department of Foreign Affairs.

"The Saudis invited us to the kingdom to discuss business," says Ram, who still serves as a consultant to the Middle Eastern nation. In fact, he had been slated to visit Saudi Arabia shortly after he was assaulted, but that visit never occurred. Instead, he received a call from a senior Saudi officer to offer him a couple of bodyguards. He laughs as he recalls trying to make his caller understand that "it would be hard to explain why two armed Bedouins were following me in downtown Regina." 

Recalling the reaction his abridged CV caused among his fellow graduate students at Guelph, Ram says: "You could just see everyone looking at me and thinking, 'What a big jerk.'" Several of his undergraduate students later checked for his name on the Internet just to verify his claims. 

One question a few fellow students might have left unasked was how this ex-army officer and international peacekeeping expert ended up studying political science at Guelph. 

Having lost his business following the assault, Ram had paid off his debts but had lost everything else. "I had gone from jetting around Saudi Arabia to not being able to afford gas for my vehicle." 

He already held a double major in history and anthropology, earned part time while in the army. And before the assault, he had been working part time on a political science degree. University of Regina political science professor Shreesh Juyal convinced him to resume his studies, initially just a course at a time and then as a full-time honours student. He completed that degree in 1997.

While at Regina, Ram took part in a model United Nations program with Juyal, which included a four-day international conference in Los Angeles. Ram's peacekeeping studies and activities saw him chosen as one of 30 Canadians, including Juyal, to receive a UN Global Citizen Award in 1995.

Ram had taken peacekeeping courses through the UN Institute for Training and Research. Dissatisfied with a particular course on the early 1990s conflict in the former Yugoslavia, he wrote his own updated version of a course, drawing on his military history background and his knowledge of the conflict from peacekeepers who had served there.  

Along with Juyal, he now teaches that undergraduate offering as one of 13 correspondence courses offered by the institute. He also teaches peacekeeping to American armed forces as an adjunct professor of military history at American Military University, a distance-education university based in Manassas Park, Virginia. 

It was his work there that prompted him to enrol in graduate school two years ago. Although he'd been earning acclaim as a peacekeeping expert, he saw little chance for promotion without a graduate degree. 

By this time living in Mississauga with his wife, Aditi, he applied to several universities within commuting distance and landed a scholarship at Guelph. "I like the campus. It reminded me very much of the smaller universities I was used to," he says.

While studying aspects of civil and military co-operation in peacekeeping operations, he has concentrated on writing, both for his course work and for newspapers and journals. That work has served a dual purpose, one going back to the 1994 assault and a lingering mental impairment. 

Explaining that his mental acuity is about 90 to 95 per cent compared with what it was, he says: "I write all the time. If I don't write, my reading and writing skills degrade." 

Besides its therapeutic benefits, writing allows him to share his ideas and knowledge on current affairs. Within hours of the terrorist attacks in the United States Sept. 11, Ram was on the phone and in television studios providing comment and analysis for the media. He's lost count of the number of commentary pieces he's written, including articles for the Globe and Mail, on various issues, including the attacks and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. His most recent Globe commentary, on the deaths of the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, appeared in the April 30 issue.

Shortly after the attacks, Ram received yet another call from his Saudi contact to ask whether he'd fly to the Middle East to help gauge the extent of Saudi involvement among Al-Qaeda forces. The notion that he would turn them down to continue his studies at Guelph prompted some incredulity on the other end of the line. But Ram stood his ground. 

"I had already made the commitment. I told the Saudis I wasn't going to be available for any real work for a couple of years." 
With the completion of his master's degree this spring, Ram now finds himself with more spare time than he'd expected. He had applied to three nearby universities for a doctorate - he was interested in studying the altered security environment since Sept. 11 - but recently learned that all three had turned him down. Instead, he may look for full-time work or at least seek out contract work while reapplying for doctoral studies.

Not being accepted for a PhD program was upsetting, he says, but "after 1994, nothing is a big issue for me." 

When Ram thinks about the assault and his road back to recovery, he acknowledges that he might have been tempted to give up. He's been asked at least once whether he resents his attackers. 

His response? "What's to resent? I could sit here and cry about what these people did to me. At the end of the day, those individuals will live and die, and history will forget them." 

By contrast, "I've made a contribution to world peace through the promotion of peacekeeping in what little way I can. Those actions have prompted the national media to get hold of me and ask what my opinion is. There's a little piece of me in the public record."


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## George Wallace

???



> He had applied to three nearby universities for a doctorate - he was interested in studying the altered security environment since Sept. 11 - but recently learned that all three had turned him down.



I would have figure that with his credentials, they would have been beating his doors down with ever increasingly promising offers to choose their institution.


Using Google, this information on him can be found, but much of it is all regurgitated.  This was different though:    Sunil Ram - Executive Security Services International in an article "Presidential Candidate Personal Protection Secret Service Style".   He also can be found commenting on The Bodyguard


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## 3rd Herd

Most likely a journalistic misquote:
"A former military advisor to the Saudi Royal Family" http://www.frontline-canada.com/Defence/writers/

Sunil Ram
Canada the peacekeeper? A myth that should die 
August 25, 2004 at 2:24 AM EDT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040825.w/BNStory/Front/
edit to add:
http://www.frontline-canada.com/FrontLineSecurity/pdfs/Manpower_5_04.pdf

Iraq 2004: Some Thoughts and Considerations
http://www.rcmi.org/archives/July04SITREP.pdf

HEZBOLLAH DID NOT LOSE AND THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS
http://www.rcmi.org/archives/SitrepSeptember06.pdf

THE DEATH AND REBIRTH OF NEW ORLEANS
http://www.rcmi.org/archives/commentary_ram2.pdf

UNITED NATIONS INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING AND RESEARCH (UNITAR)
PROGRAMME OF CORRESPONDENCE INSTRUCTION IN PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
http://www.unitarpoci.org/media/brochure.pdf


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## muskrat89

> "*My soldier mode had kicked in*. I wasn't even trying to be fair." Only half-lucid, having been clubbed repeatedly on the head, upper back and hands, he decided *to play dead*.



I guess the Comms guys got different training than I did....

Sorry, couldn't resist


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## HItorMiss

I had no idea this would turn into what it did. Mayhaps this guy is not who he is passing himself off as?


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## George Wallace

HitorMiss said:
			
		

> I had no idea this would turn into what it did. Mayhaps this guy is not who he is passing himself off as?



This may explain some other questions:  http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=1006310491   

Security Analyst
CTV Inc.
Headquarters Address:

P.O. Box 9 Station "O" 
Toronto, ON M4A 2M9
Canada
Website:  www.ctv.ca 
Phone:  (416) 332-7391 
Fax:  (416) 332-6491 


Just a little bit of "Double Speak" here:



> Asked why we don't see a lone disaffected Muslim conducting a suicide attack at rush hour in Union Station, a major Toronto transit hub, Ram said: "Partly because it's not that easy to do. For starters, you have to know how to build a bomb."
> 
> Anyone even mildly savvy with computers and the Internet can find these materials online, he said.
> ...
> However, Ram said a major factor in planning an attack is building up the motivation to go through with it.
> ...
> "There's a group dynamic in which these people feed off each other ... There's the same psychology at work" in terror cells as the army, Ram said. "The only difference is that these individuals' motivation is ideologically based in radical Islam ... and to the extent that they are willing to take their own life."
> 
> Canadians like to think we're a little different from the rest of the West, but radical Islamists don't see us that way, Ram said.
> ...
> CTV Newsnet: Security analyst Sunil Ram > CTV News: Expert analysis > CTV News: A timeline of events >



Which side of the fence is he standing on?


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## 3rd Herd

Here is the BIG UN award:
UN50 GLOBAL CITIZEN CERTIFICATES PRESENTED IN SASKATCHEWAN 
Lt.-Gov. Jack Wiebe today presented 30 Global Citizen Certificates to
Saskatchewan residents as part of the United Nations 50th Anniversary
program in Canada.

"Each of these individuals has contributed to the advancement of UN
issues and global understanding," Wiebe said.

A key initiative to assist in raising awareness during the anniversary
year involved a provincial steering committee to oversee several
initiatives including a Model UN Assembly at the University of Regina. 
In addition, schools, community organizations and numerous individuals
launched programs to help raise awareness of the role of the United
Nations.

"It is important that all governments continue to work together to
emphasize the relevance of the UN and how it relates to this country
and all citizens globally," Wiebe said.

The certificates were issued by the Canadian Committee for the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations.
-30-

Sunil Ram, facilitator at YMCA  UN 50 project and Under Secretary-
General, Model UN Assembly
http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=8d52a104-2bcc-4868-9c58-c71f2a386fe9

I had my students in Grade Nine do the same thing.


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## George Wallace

Cripes!  I have a certificate for being North of 60.  We were deployed to Pond Inlet for a few weeks in early December, a couple of years before that.  I guess I am an 'Expert' on Arctic Warfare and Northern Sovereignty.   :  I had better dig that out and hang it back up on the "I Love Me Wall" for the researchers of some Media outlet to see.  Make Up!  I'm starting to sweat here!..........and yes I have stayed at a Holiday Inn.


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## HItorMiss

Well we have established that this person is not 100% what he says he is. It's a shame that this can of worms was opened just because I thought his interview and question answering was bang on, Maybe someone should start really digging instead of just the surface stuff we are doing here.


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## Journeyman

3rd Herd said:
			
		

> * He had applied to three nearby universities for a doctorate ... but recently learned that all three had turned him down. *



Non-acceptance into a Doctoral program almost universally occurs for two reasons:

1) No one at the university is suitable to supervise the candidate's research. For this reason, the candidate researches the university and faculty prior to applying, and about 90% of the time establishes contact with an appropriate professor to determine if he/she is willing to take on another student.

2) Academic credentials are not up to standards. Credible universities are concerned about their reputation for quality research and publication -- either through normal academic channels or simply through things like the Macleans magazine annual university survey. It comes down to money; quality universities attract funding and better students.


If he was turned down on the first grounds (suitable faculty not available), it _suggests_ that he cannot do research adequately to even apply to graduate studies properly. I have doubts about this first explanation -- one, maybe two universities saying no one is interested (assuming the schools applied to have a suitable program -- one doesn't apply to the Julliard School of Fine Arts for a Strategic Studies program) -- but three schools?? 

Therefore, his being turned down by three universities _suggests_ his credentials may not be as golden as implied (as noted by various sources here).


*I do not know Ram's situation, and so, cannot judge.* 

Now, if you'll forgive me, it's movie night over here.


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## 3rd Herd

Make your own conclusions:
http://my.opera.com/executivesecurity.ca/blog/index.dml/tag/sunil%20ram


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## Cloud Cover

3rd Herd said:
			
		

> Make your own conclusions:
> http://my.opera.com/executivesecurity.ca/blog/index.dml/tag/sunil%20ram



Careful here gents:  do you know for certain this is the same guy?


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## Bruce Monkhouse

It doesn't jive with anything else he has said about himself..................I'm thinking someone else myself.


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## Roy Harding

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> It doesn't jive with anything else he has said about himself..................I'm thinking someone else myself.



I think being careful in jumping to conclusion in this regard is smart.  If you google "Sunil Ram" you come up with many references, obviously not related.  I don't know how common a name this is, but it's kind of like googling "John Smith" - you've got to be REAL careful to separate the wheat from the chaffe.


----------



## Danjanou

Same guy or not I'd be wary of someone as geographically challneged as this one is 

_"This is a great opportunity to train in a "Central American" country, where the threat from organized crime and kidnappings are extremely high."_

Mexico is part of North America.  :

It the little things like that I look for in a potential bodyguard when travelling in the developing world, which is why I usually hire myself. 8)


----------



## CADPAT SOLDIER

I think its the same guy, if you go to the site linked of the blog its from north bay Ontario and he's listed as a Media consultant as well, he's a man of many hats.


----------



## armyvern

Wow. Interesting read ...

Heck, I was elected to Model Parliament in High School; I won't tell you what Minister I was ( take a wild guess ...   ) and all I got was a great big trophy. No UN award.  :'(

I read his 'bio' and it just leaves me with one lingering question begging an answer ... "Why isn't this guy a _Doctor_??"   ???


----------



## Donut

Because you can't have career ADD and be a Doctor   >


----------



## CADPAT SOLDIER

ArmyVern said:
			
		

> Wow. Interesting read ...
> 
> Heck, I was elected to Model Parliament in High School; I won't tell you what Minister I was ( take a wild guess ...   ) and all I got was a great big trophy. No UN award.  :'(
> 
> I read his 'bio' and it just leaves me with one lingering question begging an answer ... "Why isn't this guy a _Doctor_??"   ???



well assuming you were modeling the parliament that was in power at the time I'll say... Sir John Alexander Macdonald


----------



## armyvern

ParaMedTech said:
			
		

> Because you can't have career ADD and be a Doctor   >



Uhmmm, I know someone on this site who'd beg to differ!!     >


----------



## Donut

ArmyVern said:
			
		

> Uhmmm, I know someone on this site who'd beg to differ!!     >



Well, when you put it THAT way... ;D


----------



## scoutfinch

Future Unknown said:
			
		

> well assuming you were modeling the parliament that was in power at the time I'll say... Sir John Alexander Macdonald



Careful now... I did the same model parliament the year before vern!


----------



## 3rd Herd

MADELEINE said:
			
		

> Careful now... I did the same model parliament the year before vern!



Actually,
I thought Vern more the Mackenize-King type. Given other published references from well accredited sources about her ancestral families ability to "sweep the skies" crystal balls and seances are more in line.  ;D


----------



## oldlineman

This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.

For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer. Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more.

Why you find my background so curious I have no idea... but note the BIO that was posted is dated and not written by ME! AMU (where I teach edited it and left out all the good bits). Now for those who have been junior James Bond's looking into my background if they actually knew how to use the Internet as a tool they would find numerous corrections due to errors made by the media about me... it does not help that the Huntsville Sunil Ram is constantly confused with me since I was not that willing to chat with the media for years. As an aside I have appeared hundreds of times in the national and international media because I know what I am talking about and because I am consistently correct (well except of the Taliban 2007 Spring offensive-- but hey you can't be right all the time  ). 

Note due to my international work... please never confuse me with some local Canadian analyst, I obviously have a contrarain view. The fact we can have this type of discussion is in fact healthy and shows we live in a true democractic state-one I have defended for over a quarter century. But in turn it does not give the right to individuals who clearly don't know their own Canadian military heritage, symbology, or customs to comment based on supposition, conjecture, wild guessing and worse of all uneducated opinion. 

Oh and the UNITAR-POCI site is an OFFICIAL UN AGENCY. UNITAR is the training wing of the UN and is an independent agency. If you bother to look hard enough there is ample proof of this- again it seems people only see what they want. Hell US military personnel get professional credits for UNITAR-POCI programs. Currently thousands of UN peacekeepers have taken the courses I developed for UNITAR-POCI... look at the lists provided on the website (note this does not include numbers prior to 2005 as I recall)

What I find troubling is that there are comments on this chat about my PROTECTED B file... which really makes me wonder who runs this whole show. 
Hopefully, this will make those of you having boring rainy days find something more useful to do. If not well what can I say... other than get a life! Oh and if you want to read some of my stuff there are tons and tons of articles posted on the internet including non-classified papers I wrote for the CF! 
Look at Frontline-Defense, the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, the Royal Canadian Military Institute (where I edit SITREP the private miitary magazine of the RCMI), the Globe and Mail, etc etc

Cheers
Sunil
ps for those of you in 32 Bgd who have said negative things (some who have claimed to know or even met me) you had better get your facts in order---  that is why I am the international defense and security analysts and you are NOT! I don't have any respect for those who do not have the balls to say what they need to to my face... so let me stand you a pint at the TOR Scots mess at Fort York or the RCMI and feel free to winge in person... its easy to be a know it all "hero"on the internet it is another thing to deal with someone in person.


----------



## Greymatters

oldlineman said:
			
		

> This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.
> 
> ...Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more...
> 
> Now for those who have been junior James Bond's looking into my background if they actually knew how to use the Internet as a tool they would find numerous corrections due to errors made by the media about me...
> 
> As an aside I have appeared hundreds of times in the national and international media because I know what I am talking about and because I am consistently correct ...
> 
> The fact we can have this type of discussion is in fact healthy and shows we live in a true democractic state-one I have defended for over a quarter century.
> 
> But in turn it does not give the right to individuals who clearly don't know their own Canadian military heritage, symbology, or customs to comment based on supposition, conjecture, wild guessing and worse of all uneducated opinion.
> 
> Hopefully, this will make those of you having boring rainy days find something more useful to do. If not well what can I say... other than get a life!



Instead of hitting on every comment you've made, I'll sum it up in a few sentences.  

You are an arrogant ass.  Any potential client who sought your services would do the same thing these people have done, and that is check out your credentials and past service.  As pointed out by several posters, some of your credentials appear to have been exaggerated and require clarification.  If you want to blame others for errors in your biography, so be it, but then its up to you to go back and correct these errors, the same responsibility and accountability expected of any other company or consultant out there.  You would have done far better to have corrected " supposition, conjecture, wild guessing and worse of all uneducated opinion" by supplying facts instead of baraging them with insults.  I am completely unimpressed with your lack of professionalism and academic-style snobbery.


----------



## oldlineman

Dear Grey matter
Let me make something crystal clear--- it is not my background that is in question here--- remember I'm the one on TV and radio and in print.... it is yours that is in question!

By default being in the media gets negative responses--- which is rather funny since this all started with a postive comment re a spot on CTV... 

You are correct ref errors. God knows its the Internet and if I went chasing around fixing errors all day long I would never get any work done. Clearly you all have way too much free time. If you look, there are still a few corrections posted on media sites... as to AMU, that is an Admin function that I do not control (but thanks to whoever pointed it out.... since obviously I don't read my own bio on a regular basis ---they still have not posted that update). But it will, like all things, be corrected. But that is the public record and I don't work in the public sector but the private world. This is why the Sunil Ram in Hunstville got the media attention he did. A number of major media outlets found him on the internet when they were looking forme. By the way for the record he was a Cpl in a reserve Svc Btn in Ontario-- a weapons tech I understand. This of course has created a lot of confusion since he (unless asked directly) does not explain he is not the person they are looking for. This has been confirmed to me by all the major news outlets in Canada. I can't sue him because of the name issue--- Sunil Ram is a reasonably common name. Frankly, I did not know the guy even existed until some pals in the PMC world pointed it out to me... and then there was the day I started getting contacted to send Mercs to Iraq after his big media splash a few years ago!!! Go figure. 

Given those who claim to know something about me or my work for that matter, actually know nothing... it is more opinion and contjecture. 
Note the post by glock17 
He got mad at the Tor Star about some comment I made and wrote a bunch of BS to them... they corrected his mistakes and he was so worked up he made "some calls". What is funny is he has (assuming his profile is correct) been out of the CF for 20 years and was a Cpl! Note I know who he is... HIS queries raised some problems for the twit who gave him incorrect information about me. Note this info was drawn from my Protected B file--- so I am sure someone will see something nasty in the mail sooner or later. As to his comment about the person who interviewed me it is a moot point, since this was more about this person's ego being bruised than me knowing the CDS--- rank and position pettyness in the CF has always been a problem since the days of the Canadian Militia- read my coauthored commissoned paper for the CFLI (which I might add has appeared in a number of forms and pubs-albeit is is a bit dated now) on military leadership. Oh... and this begs the point if I was not who I say I am why on earth would the CDS even talk to me and why on earth would the CF pony up money to fund an academic paper that is still posted.

Now why on earth would my private work be in the public domain... it just shows how illogical the basic criticism is, the very fact I don't need a website to advertise myself should be a very, very loud and clear message--- and if one does not get the message 

(a) it shows how little one knows of the way these things work in the real world 
(b) also just how little one knows of the international sphere, and 
(c) clearly one has little to no idea about security.... and please don't bore me with the "I had/have a security clearance in the military BS"--- we all know what a joke that is 90% of the time.

Oh and I 'm not here to educate you on any of these points either. It is curious to note that those who have got their knickers in a twist do not have the balls to say who they are and what they do... and until they give me their real names and where they are from they are just little cowards who hide behind an electronic wall throwing spit balls. Most of those who have found fault with my work tend to be people who don't like the message... though, this is a free society and we even have to tolerate this type of stupidity. There is that old adage that comes to mind about killing the messenger!

And why the insult.... rather detracts from your point re corrections (which I noted above was valid). Seems silly and petty on your part. For a guy who claims to be a SNCO with 20+ years of experience I am suprised by your rather limited vision and knowledge of the CF-- my ref to CFB Shilo and the Pine Tree Line should have also been a very loud and clear message -especially if you have been in formore than 20 years-- but then you might have been a PVT with no security clearance for all I know. And if you are on the West coast , I am sure you have heard me on the Bill Good Show! If not listen you might learn something.

BUT these points raise questions about you and people like glock17 and your motivations... I mean look at your handles 
"Grey Matter" now that is arrogance from you... "Grey Matter"-- to presume such a handle imples you think you are terribly intelligent or somehow superior to others!

Ultimatley, this is not about me but rather how you see yourself. I have nothing to prove to you, rather it is the opposite. And it is even more irrelevant that I "impress" you. Who on earth do you think you are?

Please note I would be happy to stand you a pint in Toronto where you can feel free to vent all you like  > 

Oh and impress me and tell me who you really are!

cheers
Sunil Ram


----------



## the 48th regulator

oldlineman,

Whatever, if you were the real Sunil Ram, I do not see an academic, and a supporter of the Military lowering himself to playing smash face for Cheques.

I call Bull Puckey, who are you?  Someone with an agenda against Ram?

PM me if you want to meet up, I can qualify you.

dileas

tess


----------



## Fishbone Jones

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> oldlineman,
> 
> Whatever, if you were the real Sunil Ram, I do not see an academic, and a supporter of the Military lowering himself to playing smash face for Cheques.
> 
> I call Bull Puckey, who are you?  Someone with an agenda against Ram?
> 
> PM me if you want to meet up, I can qualify you.
> 
> dileas
> 
> tess



S Ram,

Please take him up on the offer before we have to listen to anymore pompous tirades.


----------



## armyvern

I have only one thing to ask here ...

As Army.ca is a Canadian Web-site about the Canadian Forces, and as Mr. Bobbitt has been kind enough to post an "acronyms" spot listing acronyms common to the Canadian Forces, please start using the proper Canadian military terminolgy and acronyms; it makes it less confusing for the civilians (and media too  ) who visit this site.

Properly:

Bn vice "Btn"
Pte vice "PVT"
SnrNCO vice "SNCO"

Really, they are very common acronyms, basic GMK (General Military Knowledge), used daily in service ... I'm surprised at their improper usage here quite frankly.


----------



## oldlineman

No it really is me...  
I have just got a little fed-up with the sniping, and sometimes you just have to stick it to twits who simply do not know what they are talking about. There is no point being gentle or nice.
One is inclined to think that some of it is even racial in nature, but who knows the real agenda of people who hide their identities behind handles

But this stuff is very mild compared to the comments people send into the CBC or CTV or the papers... price of being in the media. And as an old friend once said to me if you walk on the sunny side of the street expect to get shot at! 

pick a night (except Tues) and will stand you a drink at the RCMI (you know the dress code I assume)
cheers
Sunil

ps not sure how to PM on this means


----------



## the 48th regulator

oldlineman said:
			
		

> No it really is me...
> I have just got a little fed-up with the sniping, and sometimes you just have to stick it to twits who simply do not know what they are talking about. There is no point being gentle or nice.



I wouldn't either, but I am sure Sunil would post with a professionalism that he uses with the press and his students.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> One is inclined to think that some of it is even racial in nature, but who knows the real agenda of people who hide their identities behind handles



Oh this one is cute.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> But this stuff is very mild compared to the comments people send into the CBC or CTV or the papers... price of being in the media. And as an old friend once said to me if you walk on the sunny side of the street expect to get shot at!



Getting shot at, wonder what that is like....



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> pick a night (except Tues) and will stand you a drink at the RCMI (you know the dress code I assume)
> cheers
> Sunil
> 
> ps not sure how to PM on this means



Uhuh.....don't know how to PM.  You did see the BS flag a waved eh troll. 

dileas

tess


----------



## the 48th regulator

BTW,

Anyone in the Premiership Football pool?

dileas

tess


----------



## Trooper Hale

This is going to be an unpopular post but...
I dont give a crap if he's exaggerated his credentials a little bit. All his done is the same as i what i used to do when telling people who didnt know anything about the military that i drove a tank instead of telling people i drove an M113. They understand the lowest common denominator and it works in getting the point across.
This bloke is coming out in the media and helping the CF by smashing some of the negative press and ignorant beliefs. And all you lot want to do is bring him down because you've nothing better to do.
I've got buckets of respect for a bloke who does what he does in having the guts to stand in front of the camera's and stand up for what he believes in. By educating those who havent a clue and just want to push agenda's.

All i can feel from a bunch of people here is jealousy. He's done good and is still doing brilliant things for the CF while the rest of you are trying to chase him down because "Its a rainy afternoon". That just seems pathetic, especially insulting him and saying he's unprofessional because he didnt post like you expected him to.
Like he said himself, its interesting that all this bastardlyness came out because, as has already been said, HitorMiss said that they really enjoyed hearing him talk on the telly.


----------



## Greymatters

oldlineman said:
			
		

> Let me make something crystal clear--- it is not my background that is in question here--- remember I'm the one on TV and radio and in print.... it is yours that is in question! ...But that is the public record and I don't work in the public sector but the private world...



On the contrary. If you are who you say you are, you have decided to place yourself in the public eye, much like a movie star or other television personality.  If you make claims you should be prepared to back them up.  If you show up on TV, radio, etc., then you should be prepared to answer questions on your credentials.  You should also note that I have not questioned your credentials, only taken you to task for unnecsary insults that should have been answered in a more civil manner.  Your actions reflect not only on yourself but everyone else in the security industry.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> This is why the Sunil Ram in Hunstville got the media attention he did. A number of major media outlets found him on the internet when they were looking forme. By the way for the record he was a Cpl in a reserve Svc Btn in Ontario-- a weapons tech I understand. This of course has created a lot of confusion since he (unless asked directly) does not explain he is not the person they are looking for. This has been confirmed to me by all the major news outlets in Canada. I can't sue him because of the name issue--- Sunil Ram is a reasonably common name. Frankly, I did not know the guy even existed until some pals in the PMC world pointed it out to me... and then there was the day I started getting contacted to send Mercs to Iraq after his big media splash a few years ago!!! Go figure.



This should have been in your original post to clarify issues. 



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Now why on earth would my private work be in the public domain... it just shows how illogical the basic criticism is, the very fact I don't need a website to advertise myself should be a very, very loud and clear message--- and if one does not get the message.



Again, you are no longer a 'private' citizen when you make yourself into a public icon, in this case a proclaimed expert.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Oh and I 'm not here to educate you on any of these points either. It is curious to note that those who have got their knickers in a twist do not have the balls to say who they are and what they do... and until they give me their real names and where they are from they are just little cowards who hide behind an electronic wall throwing spit balls.  ...Oh and impress me and tell me who you really are!...



A valid point.  My answer is that I also work in the security industry, but am here as a private person, not a company representative.  I do not wish my personal opinions to be taken as representative of the company I work for, and while I may one day go public with my name and associations, I remain anonymous at this time, but do reveal my true name and contact information to those persons who earn my respect here.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> "Grey Matter" now that is arrogance from you... "Grey Matter"-- to presume such a handle imples you think you are terribly intelligent or somehow superior to others!



Hmmm... probably guilty. It is actually a double entendre.  It can refer to 'brains', but also refers to matters which are not clear in black and white, which was the intention.  While I do consider myself intelligent, and I think its a witty handle, I do not claim to know everything, nor do I claim to be perfect, or right all the time, or superior to others.   



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Ultimatley, this is not about me but rather how you see yourself. I have nothing to prove to you, rather it is the opposite. And it is even more irrelevant that I "impress" you. Who on earth do you think you are?



If you had nothing to prove, you wouldnt have responded in the first place.  For myself, I am a person who objects to your tone and treatment when someone asks a valid question.  This forum is where people from many walks of life and varied backgrounds discuss issues.  You had a chance to clarify the confusion over your credentials in a civil manner, and you blew it, and are still blowing it.  And I would leave this to the Mods to sort out but since you have addressed questions to me directly, I feel obligated to respond. 



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Please note I would be happy to stand you a pint in Toronto where you can feel free to vent all you like  >  cheers



Possible, but as the Mods here suspect you may be trolling, this is unlikely at this time.  And to avoid being accused of feeding trolls, or other inappropriate actions, I will leave off further comments until they pass judgement.


----------



## the 48th regulator

Hale said:
			
		

> This is going to be an unpopular post but...
> I dont give a crap if he's exaggerated his credentials a little bit. All his done is the same as i what i used to do when telling people who didnt know anything about the military that i drove a tant instead of telling people i drove an M113. They understand the lowest common denominator and it works in getting the point across.
> This bloke is coming out in the media and helping the CF by smashing some of the negative press and ignorant beliefs. And all you lot want to do is bring him down because you've nothing better to do.
> I've got buckets of respect for a bloke who does what he does in having the guts to stand in front of the camera's and stand up for what he believes in. By educating those who havent a clue and just want to push agenda's.
> All i can feel from a bunch of people here is jealousy. He's done good and is still doing brilliant things for the CF while the rest of you are trying to chase him down because "Its a rainy afternoon". That just seems pathetic, especially insulting him and saying he's unprofessional because he didnt post like you expected him to.
> Like he said himself, its interesting that all this bastardlyness came out because, as has already been said, one of us said that they really enjoyed hearing him talk on the telly.



Uhm..

YAH!

I think....

come again?

dileas

tess


----------



## Trooper Hale

Is that little edit any better? I'm just saying it isn't right to rip into him like you've all been doing. The bloke has only done good things for the CF. Like he said, he didn't write his bio, yet its suddenly the worst crime in history and he needs to be outed as a poser. He's helping educate the ignorant about the military. That's a great thing and he should be respected for it. Not insulted.


----------



## the 48th regulator

Off to bed I go.

oldlineman, thanks for the PM, and can't wait to meet on Tuesday.

Hale,

Uhm, ya, you go man.....

dileas

tess


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Anyone see any reason to continue this train wreck? At least til there's a meet?


----------



## Sgt H

Good day All
This is the first time I have ever been on a forum of any kind so I hope I don't mess it up! Use the incorrect terms and all.

I am Sgt David Hensman a Recruiter for 32 CBG, before that I was the Recruiter for the Tor Scot Reg. My main office line is 416-203-4625.
I talked to Prof. Ram and was his first recruiter when I was recruiting for the TSR (the file has been handed off). I can say this I looked into this guy's past more than any other recruiter (there were 3 other Units looking at him at the time), most stopped after they did a VFS on him and it came up with only half his info. I started to dig much deeper, I contacted the 73/74 com grp HQ in Edmonton and found the rest of his file. It is PROTECTED B so I can't get into it, but all he said about his Military background checked out. I then got a hold of his CV and started looking into some of the info on that and it checked out. I did not look into all of it mind you, at the time it was 13+ pages and everything I looked into was on the up and up. 
I let him know that I looked into him and was impressed that I was not getting the run around. Prof. Ram liked my recruiting system and said he would mention it to the CDS, I was a bit sceptical myself. 
About a month later the CDS was in my office in Fort York Arm asking me what I did that was getting more people in than any other recruiter. My CO dropped in and said Hi to the CDS and the 32 CBG Commander sent me an email the next day mentioning that he spoke to him and I was mentioned. The reason I tell you that information is to say that Prof Ram was NOT BSing me,again.

Some of you are mixing him up with the other guy in Huntsville, I did the same at first (it also checked out).
For those of you who are questioning the organizations or schools/ Universities Prof Ram is associated with, let me say this, they are world class organizations. take a look at UNITAR you will find that the CDN GOV funds some of the training programs (for what that's worth). Sorry! I had to poke at the GOV.

As for AMU, this is a fully accredited Privet US Deffence University, I took a look at their Disaster responce related courses and was very impressed ( I was interested in being a firefighter and thought this would help). The majority of their students are US Military Personal and in Iraq or Afghan.

Please keep in mind that I am privy to information that most people can't get on Prof Ram. 
I also had a lot more at stake with the information given buy him, to do as detailed a check on him, than most if not all of you.

I don't think it is fair that you say all this about a person you may have Googled (you may find David Hensman is a Reverend in BC).
I gave you my information at the top of the page. You can make your own assessment about me, but I am telling you what I know.

Take Care
Dave


----------



## GAP

Now, I have to wonder how it happens that a guys' recruiter, who did an exemplary job, just happens to notice an obscure thread on a site where he has never posted, until now.


----------



## KevinB

GAP - roger that my BS meter is pegged


and as for Sgt H
:

So your trained CIC agent, as well as recruiter? Whoppy frikken do... - I write my SIN or SN on a scrap of paper and its Protected B.  I was  :boring: at the this topic intially - the entire I am so I am rant just made me realise what a paper thin veneer some people try to use for sham credibility these days.


----------



## Sgt H

I said I have never been on a forum, Sorry I meant I have never posted anything before (my bad).
I have been on this sight before, I was being talked about a few years ago, and someone told me, so I looked into it (it was all good, thanks).
Most of the time I don't care to say anything about people, and opinions are much like as... nevermind. People who know me, know I know him (wow that was a mouth full). 
Prof Ram is a big boy and can take care of himself, I just thought it was the right thing to do, to say he has never missled me on the information he gave. 
As for you saying I "did an exemplary job", Thank you!


----------



## George Wallace

oldlineman said:
			
		

> For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
> Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer. Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more.



Having actually lived on the Pine Tree Line and served during the heights of the Cold War, the above statement is a whole bunch of (as someone else put it) bull hockey.  I have also been inside the bunker in CFB Shilo, and it is nothing of serious consequence, unless you are living a terribly boring life and want to pass off a Nuclear Shelter with added communications gear to keep a bunch of Provincial Politicians in touch with the rest of the world in an emergency as a Top Secret lair to impress the extremely ill-informed.   Most here have a very good idea of what Comms Reservists did during those days as "teletype operators".  So in the end, I am not impressed.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Why you find my background so curious I have no idea... but note the BIO that was posted is dated and not written by ME! AMU (where I teach edited it and left out all the good bits).



As all of us with military service know, and have had drilled into us many times, check your docs.  I find it a rather telling fault that one who claims to be who they are, would let their Bio slip.  Not only slide on one site, but several; especially if they left out "all the good bits".



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> As an aside I have appeared hundreds of times in the national and international media because I know what I am talking about and because I am consistently correct (well except of the Taliban 2007 Spring offensive-- but hey you can't be right all the time  ).



So has Capt Kangaroo.   :



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Note due to my international work... please never confuse me with some local Canadian analyst, I obviously have a contrarain view.



I think that this is the just of this whole topic.  We are actually doubting your abilities as an "analyst".  I don't think there was any confusion on anyones part there.



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> The fact we can have this type of discussion is in fact healthy and shows we live in a true democractic state-one I have defended for over a quarter century. But in turn it does not give the right to individuals who clearly don't know their own Canadian military heritage, symbology, or customs to comment based on supposition, conjecture, wild guessing and worse of all uneducated opinion.



Sorry, but many here have a very good knowledge of Canada's military heritage, customs, symbology, etc. and do take you to task on some of the falsehoods you have put forward in presenting your credentials. You have falsely implied in your Bio and posts many things that prove to us that you really are not whom you seem to present yourself as.  Most here, with Military Service are picking up on all you little 'discrepancies'. 



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Oh and the UNITAR-POCI site is an OFFICIAL UN AGENCY. UNITAR is the training wing of the UN and is an independent agency. If you bother to look hard enough there is ample proof of this- again it seems people only see what they want. Hell US military personnel get professional credits for UNITAR-POCI programs. Currently thousands of UN peacekeepers have taken the courses I developed for UNITAR-POCI... look at the lists provided on the website (note this does not include numbers prior to 2005 as I recall)



Funny how those sites are designed to give an impression of being official, yet really give very little information, link back to each other, and even solicit funds.




			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> What I find troubling is that there are comments on this chat about my PROTECTED B file... which really makes me wonder who runs this whole show.



 :  Honestly?  Who really cares about your POTECTED B file?  We have for the most part found that you are just an arrogant, pompous little person who has created an image of himself as being legendary in his own mind as witnessed in your closing remarks:


			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> ---  that is why I am the international defense and security analysts and you are NOT! I don't have any respect for those who do not have the balls to say what they need to to my face... so let me stand you a pint at the TOR Scots mess at Fort York or the RCMI and feel free to winge in person... its easy to be a know it all "hero"on the internet it is another thing to deal with someone in person.



And seriously, if you want to comment on people and their anonymity on the internet, not having the courage to face off, can you tell us why you have hidden here behind the name oldlineman for so long and made inquiries as to 


			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> Hi all
> does anyone know him, what is he like? Is he an OK guy to work for?
> 
> any help would be appreciated
> thanks
> OL



Looks like a case of "Pot calls Kettle black" to me.  

Anyway.  I am sure that those who are interested, can read and judge on their own.  They can sift through all the Bovine Scatology and filter out their own chunks of relevant info.  It only added to everyones interest and entertainment to parachute in a young impressionable mind from the Tor Scot R and your insistence to have a face to face over pints in two "institutions" meant to impress the impressionable.   Most who really are in the know, look on many who present 'false credentials' by embellishing their real credentials with implied falsehoods as nothing more than charlatans.


----------



## HItorMiss

Well regardless of who it is posting or who we may or may not be mixing Sunil Ram with, he was again on CTV ths evening.


I will also add he was well spoken and well informed.


----------



## Cdn Blackshirt

recceguy said:
			
		

> Anyone see any reason to continue this train wreck? At least til there's a meet?


I don't....

Until his ID is confirmed, it seems somewhat trivial...

For the record:
1)  The grammar and vocabulary used by "Sunil Ram" the poster is very similar to that used by the Analyst/TV commentator.
2)  I like the TV commentator a great deal.  Regardless of what he did or did not do in his military career, the guy raises the bar of the debate in any interview I've seen.  Frankly, I wish he were on much more often, rather than the CBC/CTV hacks who currently enjoy the privilege of shaping public opinion in this country in their own slanted way.


Matthew.


----------



## Remius

I'll wait for regulator's report before I decide anything about his guy.  I'll watch CTV tonight as well.

A few things I didn't like though.  He came off as pretty arrogant.  "I'm the international analyst and you're not!" "I'm in the media and you're not!"  "My dad can beat up you're dad!" (Ok I made that one up).  He claims not to care what this forum thinks of him yet he seems to be going out of his way here.  He also tried playing the race card... :

However, if he is indeed looking out for the CF's best interest then good on him for that.  

Sunil, Professor Ram, Sir, whatever (not sure how you want to be addressed), I think that if maybe you had come here a little less aggressively and explained yourself more professionally this thread could have gone another way.  Do I think you were misrepresented here, partly.  Do I think you have an ego problem?  Yes.  Nothing personal, you just come off that way.

Also, well done on your military service.  Everyone is proud of what they do for the CF.  I am.  So is everyone else here.  Some have done greater things than others (I'm on the others side   )  You threw in security clearance stuff about what you did then a few posts later called military security a joke.  I don't doubt your service, just stick with the facts.  Or at least clarify them.


Basically I think this thread has gotten a little out of hand.  People on both sides have circled their wagons and don't want to come out.

Cheers.


----------



## McG

Crantor said:
			
		

> I think this thread has gotten a little out of hand.


With the shots being given from bot sides, it is far past "a little" and so it will now be shut down for both sides to cool-off.


----------



## RCDtpr

This is just my own curiosity here.  But it said this guy was an ex officer.  Anyone know what his rank and trade was?


----------



## larry Strong

RCDtpr said:
			
		

> This is just my own curiosity here.  But it said this guy was an ex officer.  Anyone know what his rank and trade was?



Not sure what his rank was, but his handle "oldlineman" might prove to be a good hint of his trade.


----------



## George Wallace

RCDtpr said:
			
		

> This is just my own curiosity here.  But it said this guy was an ex officer.  Anyone know what his rank and trade was?



You can Google his name or some of his 'work' like: “The Sword of the Prophet: The Strategic Implications of the IED War”, and find out who he is and come to your conclusions.  If you really start to research him, you will really discover who he is.


----------



## RCDtpr

George Wallace said:
			
		

> You can Google his name or some of his 'work' like: “The Sword of the Prophet: The Strategic Implications of the IED War”, and find out who he is and come to your conclusions.  If you really start to research him, you will really discover who he is.



Well I stopped being lazy and took a look.  After finding out who he is and what he was.....well personally I feel he is more than qualified to come lecture me about combat operations and IED's  :


----------



## George Wallace

RCDtpr said:
			
		

> Well I stopped being lazy and took a look.  After finding out who he is and what he was.....well personally I feel he is more than qualified to come lecture me about combat operations and IED's  :



Links?

You will notice quite a few lead right back to Army.ca and Navy.ca, etc.  There are also links that will tell of his 'Service'.  It is not a simple fifteen minute waltz through Google.  It does get interesting for the decerning minds.


----------



## RCDtpr

Well I just managed to find his trades.  Didn't look too deep into things.  I'm guessing there's more to him than meets the eye eh?


----------



## Sigger

Navy.ca forum topic on Mr. Ram.


----------



## RCDtpr

Well I've read that navy.ca thread.  Very interesting........


----------



## Sigger

I have also found reference to a Michael Coren show interview he did that ticked off a bunch of Tibetan people. Spouting misinformation about the whole Tibet thing.


----------



## Teeps74

Hmmm, most "civilian" military experts I am used to reading/seeing typically have _Rank (Ret'd)_ in front of their name, and CD behind it. I would hope that someone who sells himself/herself as an "expert" has at least a CD and a couple of operational tours under their belt. 

Would also shed some light on the perspective if we knew the rank of the individual and the trade... No need to get into specifics of what we did in trade, however, one's view point of the Army from the inside could very well be very different then say a sailor looking in from outside.

(If this is not the standard, can I quit now, and start selling myself off as an "expert"? I even have a CD and a couple of tours! What does an "expert" make anyways?)


----------



## Loachman

Teeps74 said:
			
		

> What does an "expert" make anyways?



Fertilizer.




















But a far superior grade than you and I.


----------



## Blindspot

RCDtpr said:
			
		

> Well I've read that navy.ca thread.  Very interesting........



Yeah, but what did happen with that RCMI invitation?

I saw Mr. Ram on a Michael Coren show a few months back and could swore he claimed to have "lost men" [paraphrase] the first Gulf War [\paraphrase]. I thought this claim was odd, in that he said it in a very nonchalant way more to sell the validity of his 'educated' opinion. There was something in the arrogant way he conducted himself during the program that didn't sit well. Maybe he just drank a bit too much pompous-assed tea before the show. I don't know.


----------



## Retired AF Guy

oldlineman said:
			
		

> This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.
> 
> For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
> Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer.* Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more. *



Sounds like a variation of the old "_If I told you what I did, I would have to kill you!_" line. Its one thing to use it as a joke, but to use it as an excuse for not providing info career is something else. In fact, I can go to the CF Director Senior Appointments webpage which lists all Senior officers Colonel/Captain(N) and look up the bios for intelligence personnel of that rank. These people also have TS security clearances and they are not afraid to post info on their careers.  For MR. Ram to use it as an excuse not to is just a cop-out

Just my opinion.


----------



## KevinB

I don't get impressed by anything under a TS SCI L4

By losing men - maybe he meant he really lost them, he was navigating and he got them all lost... Or maybe they got sick and tired of his BS and walked off - and he could no longer find them - hence he figured they where lost.


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

..or he has "lost some men" in the same sense that I have "lost some women" over the years....


----------



## George Wallace

Retired AF Guy said:
			
		

> Sounds like a variation of the old "_If I told you what I did, I would have to kill you!_" line. Its one thing to use it as a joke, but to use it as an excuse for not providing info career is something else. In fact, I can go to the CF Director Senior Appointments webpage which lists all Senior officers Colonel/Captain(N) and look up the bios for intelligence personnel of that rank. These people also have TS security clearances and they are not afraid to post info on their careers.  For MR. Ram to use it as an excuse not to is just a cop-out
> 
> Just my opinion.



Exactly.  This guy is only alluding to having done something, and leaving everything to the everyone else's imaginations.  "I was an Officer in the CF" could just as easily mean "I was an OCdt in RESO and made it to Phase III in three years."  I worked in a "Secret Bunker" could mean "I worked in a bunker that had a Restricted Access, but there was nothing in it.,"  He may have been telling tiny bits of the truth, but, by omission of the real facts, have been in essence lying.

For example: 

A person has a high Security Clearance to work in a Secure facility.  All he says is that he works in that facility and has a high Security Clearance.  He fails to mention the fact that he has a high Security Clearance because he needs one to work in there, and that his job is that of Janitor, and he empties waste baskets that may contain confidential docs for destruction.  A far cry from someone imagining that he may be some sort of super Intelligence Analyst.  By omitting to say that he was a "janitor", everyone is left with a completely different impression of what he may or may not do. in that Secure environment.


----------



## KevinB

Good Point George.

   I need a clearance of a certain level to go into a building a morning brief, and the brief is SBUC.


----------



## Greymatters

Teeps74 said:
			
		

> What does an "expert" make anyways?



If you look in the NOC codes, this specialty is not even listed.  A lot depends not on what youre willing to be paid, but how much clients are willing to pay you, and how much your company charges by the hour.  The geographical location also makes a huge difference - overseas clients and work will obviously get you more money than a domestic contract...


----------



## George Wallace

Greymatters said:
			
		

> If you look in the NOC codes, this specialty is not even listed.  A lot depends not on what youre willing to be paid, but how much clients are willing to pay you, and how much your company charges by the hour.  The geographical location also makes a huge difference - overseas clients and work will obviously get you more money than a domestic contract...



So.......Like everything else in dealing with the military, you could be looking at the "Cheapest Bidder" (Not most qualified.) as whom the Networks are likely to call in.   >


----------



## Greymatters

George Wallace said:
			
		

> So.......Like everything else in dealing with the military, you could be looking at the "Cheapest Bidder" (Not most qualified.) as whom the Networks are likely to call in.   >



If you are using an RFP process, than that would be true.  Most organizations put out their proposals looking for the cheapest bidder.  You dont get the best trained or most highly skilled, but the one that hires the cheapest workers and has the lowest profit margin. 

However, a lot of clients take on security firms based on 'word-of-mouth' and will pay the price quoted to them...


----------



## MARS

Reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s _Toronto Star_

(emphasis added)

How to crash a film festival party
All you need is an entourage, killer heels and a lot of chutzpah to crash a TIFF party

Sep 11, 2008 04:30 AM 
Diana Zlomislic 
Living Reporter

I've had braces twice in my life to fix nasty, crowding teeth. I've topped the scales at 213 pounds. I've worn polyester pants with an elastic waistband. I have never had an entourage.

For six hours on Tuesday night, five amazing strangers helped write a bizarre, new chapter in my life. Suddenly, camera-toting tourists on the streets of downtown Toronto wanted my photograph. Veuve-happy restaurant patrons in Yorkville shouted for my autograph.

For the first time, I infiltrated the "in" crowd at some of the most exclusive parties at the Toronto International Film Festival without a single invitation – and despite intense security and a wall of even scarier ladies with earphones and clipboards.

What changed? I found an entourage and they helped me carry out a little social experiment. 

What would happen if you took an average girl, gave her all the right accessories and plopped her into a celebrity setting for one night only? Could she forget her ordinariness and embrace the spotlight? Or would she have a panic attack like a high school girl at a UN Model Debate who hid in the washroom during break while the rest of the acne-ridden teens exchanged phone numbers? Is it possible to rent a new life? Yeah, babies – it is. 

Step one was finding the right people. Through word-of-mouth and Google came my reconstruction crew: hair and makeup artist, wardrobe stylist, publicist, bodyguard, limo service and driver. 

We met up at my place for "The Transformation." Jackie Shawn, an award-winning makeup artist whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan and Playboy, tackled my face and hair.

Jessica Tjeng of The Artist Group handled "the look." The wardrobe stylist pulled 15 different designer pieces for my consideration, half-a-dozen killer heels, eight kinds of clutches and an assortment of accessories and hosiery. After squeezing into a size 10 satiny black shift from Michael Kors (thank you, Spanx), publicist Tracy Nesdoly, as fierce as they come, taught me how to enter a room. Nesdoly has worked in public relations for about a decade and wrangled media for Time Warner's film fest after-parties.

Two hours later, five inches taller (thank you Miu Miu for making me 6-foot-1) *and escorted by bodyguard Sunil Ram – who was trained by former members of Britain's elite Special Air Service  *– we piled into the SUV that was waiting downstairs.

More on the link below

http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/FilmFest/article/496758
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps the article is tongue in cheek, but I don't think so - regardless, not the kind of info I would ever have allowed to be published about me - true or not.


----------



## Nfld Sapper

Supposidely he is now a body guard too..    



> Sunil Ram * Witness & Celebrity Protection * Personal Bodyguards * Toronto * India * Mexico



http://toronto.backpage.com/LegalServices/sunil_ram_witness_celebrity_protection_personal_bodyguards_toronto_india_mexico/classifieds/ViewAd?oid=528858


----------



## the 48th regulator

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> Supposidely he is now a body guard too..
> 
> http://toronto.backpage.com/LegalServices/sunil_ram_witness_celebrity_protection_personal_bodyguards_toronto_india_mexico/classifieds/ViewAd?oid=528858



There are two Sunil Rams, is there not more on this somewhere on this thread?

dileas

tess


----------



## Danjanou

I watched the video clip. The bullet catcher ain't our Sunil. Must be the other one in cottage country he's always bitching about. 8)


----------



## Greymatters

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> There are two Sunil Rams, is there not more on this somewhere on this thread?



Yes, I believe there are.


----------



## Blackadder1916

> There are two Sunil Rams, is there not more . . .



More?  That is two Sunil Rams too many, we don't need any more!


----------



## onewhoknows

Ram is full of shit as usual. Some time back there were a raft if comments asking about his supposed credentials. I can tell you they are mostly bullshit. I have lots of details if anyone is interested.

One thing though. He has opinions even if he qualifies himself as an 'expert'.


----------



## the 48th regulator

onewhoknows said:
			
		

> Ram is full of crap as usual. Some time back there were a raft if comments asking about his supposed credentials. I can tell you they are mostly bullshit. I have lots of details if anyone is interested.
> 
> One thing though. He has opinions even if he qualifies himself as an 'expert'.



Sorry,

I would have taken you seriously, but like myself, I think you are in the Merry Making Sauce, as I do not understand a lick of what you are saying....

dileas

tess


----------



## 1feral1

I knew Sunil when he was with 734 Comms Sqn at HMCS Queen, in Regina c.1985 or maybe earlier. The Sigs used to come up to the Regina Grn Jr's at the Armouries on Elphinstone Street for a few beers on the odd occasion, the odd dance etc. 

When I knew him he was either a CPL or a PTE. Always a soft spoken and pleasant bloke. Always in need of a haircut, ha!

Don't know if he would remember me. So, if this is the 'real' Sunil, ack via PM with some info, that will clear up any imposters etc. One question, who are Wally and Wanda? Both would have been in your Unit at the time, and both were well known.

Here is a recent pic of me, and a passport pic at that  ;D Hope I have not changed too much in the past quarter of a century.

OWDU

EDIT: As for 'onewhoknows', to come on here with a first post as you have done, with some apparent bad manners, along with then doing 'a runner' and having an empty profile to boot, is not a way to introduce yourself to this site. That is IMHO for whatever thats worth. 

Remember OWK, you only get one chance at a first impression.


----------



## Slim

MARS said:
			
		

> *and escorted by bodyguard Sunil Ram – who was trained by former members of Britain's elite Special Air Service  *–



Sorry all, Sunil Ram was not trained by the SAS but did a bodyguard correspondance course woth a company called Executive Outcomes in the U.S.A....In effect he learned to be a BG by mail.

He now operates a company that offers BG training in Bracebridge, Ontario as well as BG services. much of the private security industry (those who know him) considers him to be less than the best...

The other Sunil Ram is a graduate of the American Military University, was a private in the CF reserve for a time, and had recently tried to get back into the CF into the Int branch where, I believe, certain peole got hold of his antics and stopped the process cold.

He passesd himself off as a defence expert with the media (shows you how bright they are) and can often be seen on tv or quoted in the papers whenever they need an expert to comment on any given situation in the news.

My 2 pennies

Slim


----------



## leroi

Slim said:
			
		

> The other Sunil Ram is a graduate of the American Military University, was a private in the CF reserve for a time, and had recently tried to get back into the CF into the Int branch where, I believe, certain peole got hold of his antics and stopped the process cold.
> 
> He passesd himself off as a defence expert with the media (shows you how bright they are) and can often be seen on tv or quoted in the papers whenever they need an expert to comment on any given situation in the news.
> 
> My 2 pennies
> 
> Slim



Slim, this Sunil Ram is an Adjunct Faculty member of American Military University. You're right, he often comments on defence for the CBC. (I don't understand why him as opposed to say someone with a more comprehensive military background and in-theatre experience.)

He received a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of Guelph a few years back.

I've looked for his thesis in Scholars Portal and haven't been able to find it. It's possible to receive an MA these days by doing course work as opposed to writing a thesis. He also co-authored a long paper on Canadian Defence with a Professor Tim Maoau (U of G Dept. of Political Science). I'll see if I can dig it up.

Otherwise, if anyone comes across Mr. Sunil's Master's thesis, please PM-me. Thxx.

Here's the link to the American Military University's Faculty page:

http://www.amu.apus.edu/Academics/Faculty/faculty-details.htm?facultyID=237

Biography - Sunil Ram 

Welcome to Military History/Land Warfare

My name is Prof. Sunil Ram. I am originally from the UK, I now reside in Toronto, Canada. I have served in the Canadian Forces (CF) as both a soldier and officer between 1980 and 1999 and am a specialist in communications and electronics with an extensive background in various aspects of Information Technology and intelligence analysis. 

I am one of Canada’s acknowledged experts in the field of peacekeeping and military affairs with over a decades worth of experience as a military advisor with the Saudi Royal Family, including involvement in the 1991 Gulf War and the 1993/4 Yemeni War.

I have won a number of awards over the years, the most important being the UN Global Citizen Award— presented to in 1995 by the UN, the UNAC and the Canadian Committee for the 50th Anniversary of the UN for the furthering of world peace through public awareness of peacekeeping. In 2003, my old university made me a Distinguished Alumnus for my humanitarian and public service in the field of peace activities.

I am an active member of a number of prestigious Canadian think tanks and organizations including The Canadian Institute of International Affairs, the Royal Canadian Military Institute, the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute for UN and International Affairs, the Council of Canadians for Security in the 21st Century and the Canadian Alliance for Visible Minorities.

I have published and presented numerous articles and books over the years and have had occasional columns on military affairs for Canada’s national newspaper, the Globe and Mail. Some of his most recent work includes: “The Enemy of My Enemy: The odd link between Ansar al-Islam, Iraq and Iran,” Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies (CISS), 2003; “Lessons Learned: Canada’s Afghan Adventure,” SITREP, Royal Canadian Military Institute, 2003; “A Blueprint for the Canadian Forces’ Role in Peacekeeping Operations in the Twenty-First Century, in David Rudd et al (Eds), Vision Into Reality: Towards a New Canadian Defence and Security Concept, The Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, 2002; “Return to Babylon: When America will attack Iraq,” SITREP, Royal Canadian Military Institute, 2002; and “Keeping a military myth alive,” Globe & Mail, April 30, 2002.

I have also dedicated my time to a number of private non-NGO supported development projects in Africa that will directly help local populations in numerous ways. 

During the past decade, I have appeared numerous times in local and national, and international radio and television interviews and news reports relating to the Canadian Forces, military affairs, international business and international relations. 

Edit: spellin'


----------



## leroi

In addition to above post here's the link to the paper previously mentioned:

http://gir.uoguelph.ca/index.php/csl/article/viewFile/471/696

Ram, Sunil and Tim A. Mau. The Nature of the Civil-Military Relationship in Canada and Its Impact on the Leadership Role of the Officer Corps. (Kingston: Canadian Forces Leadership Institute, 2003), 46 pages. Available online at the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century and published in CSL Leadership Review. 1, 2, Fall 2006, 24-45.


----------



## leroi

Sunil Ram at _The Gladstone _ in Toronto, March 2009:

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=3382

He's on a panel to answer the question "Why Are We in Afghanistan?"

Apparently, there have been 5 of these live events. The 5th, on March 14th, here:

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=3399


----------



## Greymatters

I'm not sure what your point is ... are you trying to demonstrate he knows what he is talking about, or to start a debate about it?


----------



## Journeyman

OK, from the YouTube video above, Sunil Ram says:
...the "original [Iraq] plan was a CIA operation, and it's the first time I, personally, ever turned down a field mission; I simply refused to go."

So, now Ram's a CIA agent too? If not, who was supposedly _tasking_ him with an "Iraq field mission"?


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse

His extremely vivid imagination......


----------



## the 48th regulator

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> His extremely vivid imagination......



 :rofl:


Bruce, you may wonder where I find the time for my shennanigans, but man you are the king of the zingers, mate.

+1

dileas

tess


----------



## leroi

Greymatters,

For one thing, since he's a member here, I'm hoping he'll direct me to the location of his MA.

Secondly, he does influence public opinion on the Afghanistan mission which I would say is relevant to this forum.  Because I'm going to Afghanistan in 2011, I tend to pay close attention to individuals who speak on defence issues especially re: Afghanistan.

Thirdly, since the content of the thread deals with Sunil Ram's  identiy/legitimacy as a Defence Analyst, I thought I'd objectively submit this information for the forum's consideration.  

I have strong feelings  about this indivdual's legitimacy but prefer not to air them in public--since he's a member.

Do you find the post objectionable?

Edit: spellin' ag'in


----------



## HItorMiss

The man is viable loon... Soldier, Academic, CIA Op...next he'll be the founding member of JTF2 and have been running around on secret Canadian missions saving the world and never spilling his martini  :


----------



## Nfld Sapper

BulletMagnet said:
			
		

> The man is viable loon... Soldier, Academic, CIA Op...next he'll be the founding member of JTF2 and have been running around on secret Canadian missions saving the world and never spilling his martini  :



Thought that was James Bond


 ;D


----------



## Michael OLeary

NFLD Sapper said:
			
		

> Thought that was James Bond
> 
> ;D



They all blend together with their turtlenecks, ascots and dickies.


----------



## HItorMiss

I tried watching the video....

I couldn't get passed the point that JM mentioned. But what caught me the most is how Sunil seemingly knew the conversations and occurrence in the white house war room. He spouts them off like it was first hand info and then drops his CIA mission he turns down and says to them this is crazy..then of course he drops in how he is an advisor to the Saudi's and his view should have been all for Iraq invasion...

The man is a waste of good clean air


*The above is my personal opinion of the man and in no way does it refelect Army.ca the Mods or the owner Mike Bobbit*


----------



## leroi

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> :rofl:
> 
> 
> Bruce, you may wonder where I find the time for my shennanigans, but man you are the king of the zingers, mate.
> 
> +1
> 
> dileas
> 
> tess



48th, I think you, Bruce and I ought'a make a visit to the Gladstone-comedy hour one night!

Some good, clean heckling-fun ;D


----------



## leroi

BulletMagnet said:
			
		

> The man is viable loon... Soldier, Academic, CIA Op...next he'll be the founding member of JTF2 and have been running around on secret Canadian missions saving the world and never spilling his martini  :



 :rofl:

You forgot to mention he's also now a "Security Consultant for Alexis International."


----------



## Greymatters

leroi said:
			
		

> Do you find the post objectionable?



No, I was just wondering where you were going with the postings.  Whether you see him to be a legitmate source of authentic information, that is your decision...


----------



## Michael OLeary

leroi said:
			
		

> :rofl:
> 
> You forgot to mention he's also now a "Security Consultant for Alexis International."



You mean this Alexis International?

The one with these posted as "Mission Statements":



> "No one can draw more out of things,
> books included, than he already knows.
> A man has no ears for that to which
> experience has given him no access."
> -- Friedrich Nietzsche
> 
> Every morning in Africa,
> a lion wakes up.
> It must outrun
> the slowest gazelle or
> it will starve.
> 
> Every morning in Africa,
> a gazelle wakes up.
> It must outrun
> the fastest lion
> or it will be killed.
> 
> It doesn't matter whether
> you're a lion or a gazelle.
> 
> When the sun comes up
> you'd better be running
> Source: The Economist



I think that spinning e-mail icons were considered passé by professional web designers about a decade ago.

Who sponsors them? The Comedy Channel?


----------



## leroi

Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> You mean this Alexis International?
> 
> The one with these posted as "Mission Statements":
> 
> I think that spinning e-mail icons were considered passé by professional web designers about a decade ago.
> 
> Who sponsors them? The Comedy Channel?



He's given that credit in the Gladstone clip ... I've never heard of them  Alexis...


----------



## Teflon

> You mean this Alexis International?



Nothing says "hardcore Professional" like a big silvery spinning @ icon for e-mails!


----------



## George Wallace

If you go back to this, where Sunil Ram came on to the site you can follow his discussion and we won`t have to rehash it:




			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.
> 
> For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
> Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer. Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more.
> 
> Why you find my background so curious I have no idea... but note the BIO that was posted is dated and not written by ME! AMU (where I teach edited it and left out all the good bits). Now for those who have been junior James Bond's looking into my background if they actually knew how to use the Internet as a tool they would find numerous corrections due to errors made by the media about me... it does not help that the Huntsville Sunil Ram is constantly confused with me since I was not that willing to chat with the media for years. As an aside I have appeared hundreds of times in the national and international media because I know what I am talking about and because I am consistently correct (well except of the Taliban 2007 Spring offensive-- but hey you can't be right all the time  ).
> 
> Note due to my international work... please never confuse me with some local Canadian analyst, ..................



I will note that he claims to have joined at the age of 17 in 1980 into a Comms Regiment in Regina as a Linesman, not even as a Teletype Op as most girls were in the Comms Regiments of the Day, and well in advance of the IT Training required of LCIS Techs today.  He was in the Comms Reserve until 1986, giving him five or six years as a Reservist.  He also states that he returned to the Comms Reserve as an officer in 1997 and served until 1999, which adds up to another two to three years, and the chance to advance from OCdt to LT.  He may have a maximum total of 9 years as a Reservist which may include perhaps 3 years as an junior officer.

Having been in the Shilo bunker, in the 1970's, I call BS on any "super Secret" claims on his part in reference to it.

Reading this whole thread, we can see that there are glaring errors made by taken advantage of "ommission" on his part to beef up his credentials.  We even see him admit to his credentials having errors on some sites, and his not having corrected them.  He even goes on to advise others to research his credentials online, after admitting that some are not correct.  

If anyone really does their research, his credibility would be clearly defined as not being anywhere near what it is.


----------



## Rifleman62

"Having been in the Shilo bunker, in the 1970's, I call BS on any "super Secret" claims on his part in reference to it."

Been in the Bunker many a time while still operational, including a tour of the facility after constuction was completed in the early 60's. Not super secret.

leroi, are you Sunil Ram's sister?


----------



## leroi

Rifleman62,

No I'm not. I'm the least of his fans.

I realize I've inadvertently led people to think otherwise but only in my zeal to expose Ram's latest exploits (in a neutral way so that the forum could judge by seeing the actual stuff Ram's saying/doing).

If I made my real feelings public, I'm afraid I would get Mr. Bobbitt and this site into some trouble.

Sorry to everyone for being vague.

Rifleman62, feel free to pm me you wish me to further clarify my motives/intentions.


----------



## Snakedoc

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101112/harper-afghan-extension-vote-101112/

I just saw some commentary from Sunil Ram (third video in the above link).  I'm curious if anybody knows what jacket he is wearing?  Is it the same regimental jacket mentioned earlier in this thread?  I found his comment about the Canadian Government lying about the combat nature of the extended training mission in Afghanistan interesting.  

Frankly I've always found his commentary questionable but was surprised to find this thread shedding some light on his background.


----------



## Retired AF Guy

Snakedoc said:
			
		

> http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101112/harper-afghan-extension-vote-101112/
> 
> I just saw some commentary from Sunil Ram (third video in the above link).  I'm curious if anybody knows what jacket he is wearing?  Is it the same regimental jacket mentioned earlier in this thread?  I found his comment about the Canadian Government lying about the combat nature of the extended training mission in Afghanistan interesting.
> 
> Frankly I've always found his commentary questionable but was surprised to find this thread shedding some light on his background.



I was also wondering about his tie, looked like a kind of regimental/trade tie. Also wondering about his comment about the number of Afghan soldiers who are drug addicts.

Edit: Went back to the beginning and went through the whole thread. Took a look at the video from March 2009 where is with some panel called the "Real News" and noticed he is wearing the same tie, but a different blazer. Not sure what crest he had on the blazer because frankly after he stated that th had "fought through three wars in the Middle East" I hit the exit button.


----------



## Journeyman

The tie is from the Royal Canadian Military Institute -- a bar in Toronto. The blazer crest, I believe, is Signals corps.

Any interview that involves Sunil Ram commenting on statements made by Scott Taylor pretty much establishes the intellectual bankruptcy of the discussion.*




* Imagine how catastrophic the results had _CTV News_ allowed Steven Staples' name to be worked into that sentence  ;D


----------



## Edward Campbell

See here for my earlier comments on his blazer crest. He is, as I said, wearing the crest of a corps of the Canadian Army in which he never served. His bio says he served in the CF from 1980 to 1999. The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (the blazer crest he is wearing) was dead and buried well before 1980, replaced by the C&E Branch* which has its own crest and badge. The last person *entitled* to wear that crest on his blazer earned it when Ram was in knee pants. Thus, he is a _Walt_, a _poseur_, a fake and so on.

I 'm going to guess that he's wearing a Canadian Forces College tie.**


----------
* "1 October 1968 - integration of the Canadian Forces. RCSIGS personnel, RCEME radio and radar technicians, RCAF Technical Telecommunications personnel and RCN radiomen special were grouped together to form the new Communications and Electronics Branch. All former single element corps and branches ceased to exist."
Source:  http://www.commelec.forces.gc.ca/org/his/bh-hb/chapter-chapitre-06-eng.asp

** Edit: But I defer to JM's younger, keener eyes and agree it is probably the RCMI's tie.


----------



## The Bread Guy

Journeyman said:
			
		

> Any interview that involves Sunil Ram commenting on statements made by Scott Taylor pretty much establishes the intellectual bankruptcy of the discussion.*
> 
> * Imagine how catastrophic the results had _CTV News_ allowed Steven Staples' name to be worked into that sentence  ;D



Hey, hey, hey - those are real kittens dying here....


----------



## Edward Campbell

My favourite bit of _Waltism_ is by Ram, himself:



			
				oldlineman said:
			
		

> This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.
> 
> For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
> Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer. Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more.
> ...




The Pine Tree Line and the Comm Sqn at the _Bridge_ Site (the bunker) in Shilo were only, ever, loosely related. The Pine Tree Line was a 1950s and early '60s NORAD radar project with its own, dedicated, Royal Canadian Air Force communications network – remember SAGE/BUIC (Semi-Automated Ground Environment and Back Up Interceptor Control?) Project _Bridge_ was a Canadian Army semi-automated telecommunications system built _circa_ 1960 to handle the Army's traffic. After unification in the mid to late 1960s the various single service telecomm networks were integrated into the Canadian Forces Communications System (CFCS) later Command (CFCC). The _Bridge_ sites (bunkers at Nanaimo, Penhold, Shilo, Borden, Carp, etc) formed the main “nodes” of the network, but it was a standard, day-by-day, message handling system. SAGE, for example, continued in operation, passing radar/computer data from Pine Tree, Mid-Canada and DEW Line sites to NORAD Hqs in Canada and at Colorado Springs.

It may be that Sunil Ram need not explain himself to anyone but as a lineman at the “height of the Cold War” it is most likely that he has nothing to explain. Linemen are great folks, hard working, tough, fun to be around – and they work, at a _Bridge_ site, mainly in the “frame room” and on the outside plant. Much of that work is now done by civilian contractors who have no security clearances at all because they have no real, meaningful access to the classified “traffic' that flows through (but rarely stops at) a telecommunications nodal point.

Without I stipulate knowing (or caring) anything about Ram's service, I will agree that as a C&E Branch (Land) officer (who wore *Signals* on their shoulder flashes but were *not*, in the 1990s, an official sub-classification, as they are now) he likely had a TS clearance – most C&E officers do - to handle crypto keying material. That task (crypto keymat control and handling) is an essentially _clerical_ function. There are, as many members here know, several security clearance levels within and above TS. Security is a complex business.

I would remind you of Lao Tzu's wisdom which can be, roughly, translated as: “He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know.” (Tao Te Ching - Ch 56.) My appreciation of the situation, based on what he writes and says, is that Sunil Ram says a lot but knows much less. But that's just my opinion - and I say a lot, too.


----------



## Franko

Meh....I've placed Ram on ignore a long time ago. 

Too bad his "credentials" don't hold water to any form of scrutiny, but that doesn't stop the MSM from getting tripe...er..sound bites from him.

Fought 3 wars in the middle east....right.        :

Regards


----------



## Snakedoc

I think it's terrible nobody has 'outed' this guy and that he still remains a regular contributor on CTV.  I especially dislike his arrogant 'know-it-all' type of attitude when giving his comments especially when he doesn't have the experience to back it up.


----------



## George Wallace

Snakedoc said:
			
		

> I think it's terrible nobody has 'outed' this guy and that he still remains a regular contributor on CTV.  I especially dislike his arrogant 'know-it-all' type of attitude when giving his comments especially when he doesn't have the experience to back it up.



I think he has more or less become know by most professionals as a "Walt" and is tolerated as "comic relief", as ERC has pointed out with Lao Tzu's wisdom.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of the uninformed and unknowing, as we often see in the MSM, his vocal interjections appear legitimate, even if they carry no weight in reality.


----------



## OldSolduer

Maybe I should retire completely and become an "expert"?


----------



## Franko

Jim Seggie said:
			
		

> Maybe I should retire completely and become an "expert"?



At least you have credentials Jim.


----------



## Danjanou

Der Panzerkommandant.... said:
			
		

> Fought 3 wars in the middle east....right.        :



So were these three wars fought on Playstation or Nintendo Wii?  8)


----------



## armyvern

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I think he has more or less become know by most professionals as a "Walt" and is tolerated as "comic relief", as ERC has pointed out with Lao Tzu's wisdom.
> 
> Unfortunately, in the eyes of the uninformed and unknowing, as we often see in the MSM, his vocal interjections appear legitimate, even if they carry no weight in reality.



I agree. So, in the interest of any MSM who may actually be interested in viewing the job requirements for Lineman & CELE Officer (as given in the "Profs" own bio here on the site [by the way, can anyone confirm from what exact academic institution "Prof" Ram was granted his PhD?? - I seem to be unable to locate]) - here's the job descriptions:

Quote from: oldlineman on September 05, 2007, 16:43:17


> This is Prof. Sunil Ram speaking... the real one not the guy up in Hunstville.
> 
> For what it is worth I started at 734 Comm Sqn Regina, I have served briefly with 1CSR Kingston and 731 Com Sqn CFB Shilo and I was a lineman!
> Now if any of you know what the Pine Tree Line was and know anything about CFB Shilo at the height of the Cold War... then I don't need to explain myself anymore. For those of you who do not... read your own CF military history. Years later due to shortages of CELE officers I came back to the CF for a short stint as a SIGS officer. Now unless you happen to have a TS/level 3 SC you don't need to know any more.
> 
> Why you find my background so curious I have no idea... but note the BIO that was posted is dated and not written by ME! AMU (where I teach edited it and left out all the good bits). Now for those who have been junior James Bond's looking into my background if they actually knew how to use the Internet as a tool they would find numerous corrections due to errors made by the media about me... it does not help that the Huntsville Sunil Ram is constantly confused with me since I was not that willing to chat with the media for years. As an aside I have appeared hundreds of times in the national and international media because I know what I am talking about and because I am consistently correct (well except of the Taliban 2007 Spring offensive-- but hey you can't be right all the time  ).
> 
> Note due to my international work... please never confuse me with some local Canadian analyst, ..................



Lineman:
http://www.forces.ca/en/job/linetechnician-6#info-1

Lineman official fact sheet: 
http://cdn.forces.ca/_PDF2010/00015_linetechnician_en.pdf

And, CELE Officer:
http://www.forces.ca/en/job/communicationsandelectronicsengineeringairofficer-77#info-1

CELE Officer fact sheet:http://cdn.forces.ca/_PDF2010/00340_communicationsandelectronicsengineeringairofficer_en.pdf

Now a question for someone who could possibly answer ...

Given that the CELE video clearly states that the *basic* CELE O qualification level requires 1 full year full-time to complete, how does this qual work for a ResF CELE O who is part-time and has only served for 2 years in that ResF capacity? Is that enough time to become "fully" CELE qualified so that they could actually have a hope in heck of accomplishing the below (taken from the CELE O fact sheet)?:



> The CELE (AIR) Officer *must have in-depth knowledge of air operations concepts and doctrine* *in order to provide advice to commanders on the optimal utilization of communications and electronics assets in order to support the mission and actively participate in their operational use and management.*



Possible??


----------



## Dog Walker

ArmyVern said:
			
		

> ....as given in the "Profs" own bio here on the site [by the way, can anyone confirm from what exact academic institution "Prof" Ram was granted his PhD?? - I seem to be unable to locate]) -



My information may be out of date, but from what I remember he doesn’t have a PhD. I believe that he has an MA in history and that he applied to several schools to do a PhD but was never accepted.  Also he is a “prof” at a virtual university where you can get a degree online and never step into a classroom. 

The MSM doesn’t care about a person’s qualifications. They only want someone to contradict the government and the military, and be entertaining at the same time.


----------



## George Wallace

So in essence, the MSM really doesn't give a rats arse about credibility, theirs or their Subject Matter Expert (SME).   We get better news from Rick Mercer and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.


----------



## Kat Stevens

That half wit couldn't analyze de fence around my tomato patch.


----------



## Old and Tired

Given the time frame he is talking about he would have been, a ERC pointed out, a generic CELE O.  the Officer classifications hadn't changed and been split as they are know.  The fact sheets that Vern put up are the newer ones forthe way we work now.  You'd have to find old info from the Museum in kingston to get an idea of what a CELE Off circa hat time period was trained for.  As a side note, I've got a few spies left at CFCSE who are checking the old (Public Domain) scrap books to see whats what.

Can I be a SME Too, I was n Debert, in the Diefenbunker there, at the high of the cold war.  I worked in the GATEWAY and MOBRAD.

H


----------



## George Wallace

Why not.

You've been in more "Holes" than he has.      ;D


----------



## Journeyman

I had a mocking post typed up, but I just can't do better than the words in this article attached.   :

http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/02-05-08/people.html


----------



## the 48th regulator

http://www.facebook.com/people/Sunil-V-Ram/667316889#!/profile.php?id=667316889







About Me
Basic Info	
Interested In:	Women
Bio	just google me... its easier that way...OOOHHH but note the guy up in Huntsville ON who tries to pretend to be me
Favorite Quotations	something about badgers or cats or something ... but really

How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.
Adolf Hitler


----------



## George Wallace

Journeyman said:
			
		

> I had a mocking post typed up, but I just can't do better than the words in this article attached.   :
> 
> http://www.uoguelph.ca/atguelph/02-05-08/people.html



Interesting that he has "Close to 20 years of service in the CF" according to that puff piece.  I calculated, a few pages back, something like nine years of time as a Reservist, six as an NCM and only three being an O/Cdt to perhaps Lt.  

According to that puff piece, not only should he have the highest awards in the land, he should also have a CD.


----------



## George Wallace

the 48th regulator said:
			
		

> http://www.facebook.com/people/Sunil-V-Ram/667316889#!/profile.php?id=667316889
> 
> How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.
> Adolf Hitler



Interesting quote.   Rather arrogant of him don't you think?  He is openly slapping the Canadian Public in the face with his signature line.  He knows exactly what he is doing.


----------



## larry Strong

I read his bio but could not find reference to the 3 Middle East wars *he* fought in.


----------



## George Wallace

Larry Strong said:
			
		

> I read his bio but could not find reference to the 3 Middle East wars *he* fought in.



He has several bios out there.  In most he didn't "fight" as much as "Advise".


----------



## Edward Campbell

We are spending way too much time on this poseur.

The media are welcome to use him as they wish; all it does is confirm for us that most of the media - mainstream and _alternative_, alike - are blissfully ignorant about military matters. I suspect that even those journalists who know that Ram is a fake like to use him because he is a useful counter to smart, informed analysts.

He is what he is, and, in my personal *opinion*_, that is far removed from what he claims to be._


----------



## Scott

George Wallace said:
			
		

> He has several bios out there.  In most he didn't "fight" as much as "Advise".



I advise people all the time, doesn't make me an adviser.



			
				E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> We are spending way too much time on this poseur.
> 
> The media are welcome to use him as they wish; all it does is confirm for us that most of the media - mainstream and _alternative_, alike - are blissfully ignorant about military matters. I suspect that even those journalists who know that Ram is a fake like to use him because he is a useful counter to smart, informed analysts.
> 
> He is what he is, and, in my personal *opinion*_, that is far removed from what he claims to be.
> _


_

I don't often give out Milpoints but this one deserves 300.

Besides, just mentioning his name equals more google hits for the pompous arse._


----------



## Fishbone Jones

Isn't Putin's puppy dead yet?


----------



## KevinB

The guy is a tool, lets leave it to die, he gets press by us just talking and that is


----------



## Journeyman

KevinB said:
			
		

>


  :rofl:


Besides, I just showed up to ID his tie


----------



## Greymatters

KevinB said:
			
		

>



I think that pretty much sums it up...


----------



## SOES_vet

Very late to the party here but here goes.

I saw this man at the RCMI tonight and all my alarm bells went off. I had to do some google searches on this guy and found this thread. Long story short, this guy said a bunch of things, with full confidence, that I know are factually incorrect (I have worked in and I am finishing my PhD in subjects he was trying to lecture me in). He seemed far too slick, and used car salesman for my liking. Seems like my instincts were correct.

+1 to steer clear of this guy. Lots of smoke from him.

I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.

*edited for some grammar and context. I was still a little wobbly when I got home. And yes I took the bus.


----------



## George Wallace

SOES_v said:
			
		

> Very late to the party here but here goes.
> 
> I saw this man at the RCMI tonight and all my alarm bells went off. I had to do some google searches on this guy and found this thread. Long story short, this guy said a bunch of things, with full confidence, that I know are factually incorrect (I have worked and I am finished my PhD in subjects he was trying to lecture me in) and he seemed far too slick, and used car salesman for my liking. Seems like my instincts were correct.
> 
> +1 to steer clear of this guy. Lots of smoke from him.
> 
> I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.




Welcome to the 'club'.   This is an example of BS baffles brains.  One of the examples where we see no one cares to investigate credentials, or have no knowledge of what those credentials actually are, that allow these egotistical and pompous arses to find some sort of credibility.  Then there is the comic relief they provide when major News agencies call them in as 'experts'.  The unfortunate thing is; the majority of Canadians have no clue how much BS these clowns spew when they comment on world events.


----------



## SOES_vet

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Welcome to the 'club'.   This is an example of BS baffles brains.  One of the examples where we see no one cares to investigate credentials, or have no knowledge of what those credentials actually are, that allow these egotistical and pompous arses to find some sort of credibility.  Then there is the comic relief they provide when major News agencies call them in as 'experts'.  The unfortunate thing is; the majority of Canadians have no clue how much BS these clowns spew when they comment on world events.



I was just reflecting on what happened again, last night, and he really was a horror show. No self respecting "Professor" would have acted the way he did. The whole time, whenever I tried to raise a point or a question he would pull the age, and his so called "experience", card and cut me off and try to bully and intimidate me. I decided not to call him out and make a scene because there were others there, including his wife. 

Oh and apparently the university he is associated with "trains special forces members in culture and language before they get into theater." I really hope this isn't true.


----------



## Loachman

SOES_v said:
			
		

> I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.



I met him there several years ago, and recognized him from earlier discussions here and television. He's a regular. "All of the ladies love him" according to one of them.

I was not as impressed as they.


----------



## George Wallace

SOES_v said:
			
		

> Oh and apparently the university he is associated with "trains special forces members in culture and language before they get into theater." I really hope this isn't true.



From what I have seen when looking at American Public University System (APUS) (accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)) it is a pair of American online universities.   APUS is comprised of American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU).   Not sure to what regard their diplomas are held.


----------



## Danjanou

SOEs nest time let us know in advance. We could have all showed up and asked questions of the expert  >


----------



## Brad Sallows

This is the song that never ends...


----------



## George Wallace

Brad Sallows said:
			
		

> This is the song that never ends...



...the self-licking ice cream cone.


----------



## The_Falcon

George Wallace said:
			
		

> From what I have seen when looking at American Public University System (APUS) (accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)) it is a pair of American online universities.   APUS is comprised of American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU).   Not sure to what regard their diplomas are held.



They are accredited, and I have met quite a few American soldiers here, that have taken/are taking studies through AMU.  They are both private, so the tuition fees are astronomical. 

As far as his "expert" status, I have discovered through some of the books I have been reading that it is really quite easy to get the "expert" tag and used by the media, especially since there are sites/companies that are literally "dial-an-expert" services, that any journalist can access.  Pay a fee, get yourself listed, and you too can get called as an expert (in the media sense).


----------



## jeffb

Hatchet Man said:
			
		

> They are accredited, and I have met quite a few American soldiers here, that have taken/are taking studies through AMU.  They are both private, so the tuition fees are astronomical.



Not really by American standards. I did a MA through AMU, as have numerous other CAF members that I know, on an ILP and it was about $14,000 all in or about $1,100 per course. That is actually more expensive then a MAIS through Athabaska in Alberta. http://mais.athabascau.ca/fees/index.php

All in all, I was impressed with the quality of the education. I went to the University of Toronto for my undergrad and was underwhelmed by the low standards and sausage factory feel. Most of my classmates at AMU were senior officers/NCOs in the American military or DoD civilians. Almost all of the professors that I had were PhDs who also taught or had taught at places like US Army Command and General Staff College. It wasn't a perfect program to be sure, the marking standards are very generous to be sure, but for an online program I think it was really worthwhile. 

As for Sunil Ram teaching there, I'd suggest that is somewhat of an outlier and not consistent with the quality of staff that I experienced while there.


----------



## SOES_vet

jeffb said:
			
		

> All in all, I was impressed with the quality of the education. I went to the University of Toronto for my undergrad and was underwhelmed by the low standards and sausage factory feel. Most of my classmates at AMU were senior officers/NCOs in the American military or DND civilians. Almost all of the professors that I had were PhDs who also taught or had taught at places like US Army Command and General Staff College. It wasn't a perfect program to be sure, the marking standards are very generous to be sure, but for an online program I think it was really worthwhile.
> 
> As for Sunil Ram teaching there, I'd suggest that is somewhat of an outlier and not consistent with the quality of staff that I experienced while there.



Well I am glad that service members and other students who are attending this university are more or less getting some quality education.

As for everything else, Sunil, if you are reading this and I mis-characterized you, send me a private message and I will be more than happy to meet up with you and we can sort this out then. I know you have posted in this thread and might still be monitoring it. I don't shy away from confrontation and I am certainly not going to take your dismissive, empty arrogance as a sign of competency or expertise. Myself and the other officer you were talking to (who also holds a graduate degree) didn't appreciate your attitude. We are active in both the military and the academic community in the GTA and you may want to settle this if there was anything we should know about or got wrong about you.


----------

