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Absolutely. It is a benefit to society. The cost should be borne by society. There will be a cost to the Forces but it should be financed appropriately.
Canada moves to 2% GDP end of FY25/26 - PMMC
- Thread starter Maxman1
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Absolutely. It is a benefit to society. The cost should be borne by society. There will be a cost to the Forces but it should be financed appropriately.
rmc_wannabe
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Pretty much was my exact trajectory.
The only difference I see in my own kids is that there is a general nihilism in Gen A after the last decade of turmoil, both internationally and domestically.
I grew up in the 90s. There was still a lot of hope towards the future. There was a country and a world worth being a good citizen for.
Most folks between the ages of 18 and 25 have grown up with the Afghan > Iraq > Syrian> Ukrainian > Iran world conflict raging. Most Canadian kids that age were school age for the "post-national" non-sense, the "Every Child Matters" Orange Shirt Days, and seeing how horribly we throw others to the wolves during the COVID19 pandemic.
Kids leaving high-school thisnyear face a potential World War, a shrinking job market due to AI, some of the highest CoL in history, in a system they have been taught isn't worth putting faith into.
If we want to raise a civic-minded youth into a civic-minded adult (or wince "citizen soldier"), we need to be a nation worth giving a shit about.
I like to think that for all its faults, "Canada Strong" and "Elbows Up" have done something to change this narrative (even if its mostly bluster).
I think we Canadians have supercharged our ability, no National sport, of chopping the Tall Poppy by absolutely not giving two FUCKS about Trump or the MAGA twits that elected him. It has confirmed in many Canadians minds the worst of what many Canadians think of Americans. Boomers leading the way. The younger Generations will hopefully put down their phones and re connect . To something.
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We have had discussions about where this IAMD and GBAD stuff goes, the relative roles and importance of fighters, missiles, army GBAD and CUAS, about threats from missiles and threats from drones, about what is needed to defend civil infrastrure like ports and airports.
The subject, like the engineers and arty, is ubiquitous. It touches everything.
The Ukrainians are adding another couple of dimensions to the debate.
The Russians have demonstrated that the target set to be defended includes power plants and comms centres but it also includes factories, specifically ammunition and weapons factories. The Ukrainian military is already stretched.
In WW2 the solution was to issue 40mm Bofors and Searchlights to the factories and enlist that factory's workers into the Home Guard to man them. They also got steel helmets. In event of an attack they downed tools, grabbed their hats and ran for the guns.
The Ukrainians are going one step further and inviting the factories to, effectively, buy their own guns and integrate them into their security plan at their own expense.
Are we ready to add $1000 interceptor systems to the sprinkler systems and other systems used to protect facilities against threats and damage and reduce their insurance premiums?
Ukraine lets firms deploy air defences against Russian attacks
Facing daily barrages of Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine has invited private companies to get their own air-defence systems in a bid to ease the burden on its military.
www.france24.com
PrairieFella
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Its always fascinating to see where your thinking goes next haha, I gotta say adding hard kill interceptors to reduce insurance premiums is...unique.We have had discussions about where this IAMD and GBAD stuff goes, the relative roles and importance of fighters, missiles, army GBAD and CUAS, about threats from missiles and threats from drones, about what is needed to defend civil infrastrure like ports and airports.
The subject, like the engineers and arty, is ubiquitous. It touches everything.
The Ukrainians are adding another couple of dimensions to the debate.
The Russians have demonstrated that the target set to be defended includes power plants and comms centres but it also includes factories, specifically ammunition and weapons factories. The Ukrainian military is already stretched.
In WW2 the solution was to issue 40mm Bofors and Searchlights to the factories and enlist that factory's workers into the Home Guard to man them. They also got steel helmets. In event of an attack they downed tools, grabbed their hats and ran for the guns.
The Ukrainians are going one step further and inviting the factories to, effectively, buy their own guns and integrate them into their security plan at their own expense.
Are we ready to add $1000 interceptor systems to the sprinkler systems and other systems used to protect facilities against threats and damage and reduce their insurance premiums?
Ukraine lets firms deploy air defences against Russian attacks
Facing daily barrages of Russian drones and missiles, Ukraine has invited private companies to get their own air-defence systems in a bid to ease the burden on its military.
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And the knees. Don’t forget the knees.
Were you part of the NSE doing resupply?
Halifax Tar
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I was. Did CLPs for about 2 months and then got pushed out to the PDC for the rest of that tour.
Right in. I was part of the force protection element on 3-08. Always had lots of respect for the log trades rolling out on the convoys we covered. And the one time I got to right sear an AHSVS instead of GIBing an RG-31 was a treat.
Halifax Tar
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Right in. I was part of the force protection element on 3-08. Always had lots of respect for the log trades rolling out on the convoys we covered. And the one time I got to right sear an AHSVS instead of GIBing an RG-31 was a treat.
Nice, we've definitely chewed the same dirt; as Gunny Highway would say lol.
Those were a Gucci truck. Do we still have them ?
It's not even just kids today. We didn't magically and suddenly arrive here. For most of my life, governments have operated under austerity. I had month long teachers strikes in high school in Ontario in the 90s.
We're now at the point where youth poverty exceeds seniors poverty. And yet we start phasing out Child Benefits when a family makes $38k. But we don't touch OAS till and an individual makes $90k and don't fully phase out OAS till over $140k. OAS is $80B. Growing to $100B. OAS is greater than Defence Spending and Child Benefits COMBINED.
The government's own housing advocate says the government should target successfully ending the middle class housing crisis.....by 2060:
A Gen Alpha kid in Grade 10 today will be 50 years old when they finally have a housing market that meets their need. This is the recommended target. Which the government has yet to accept. And which in all likelihood, they will not meet. That's not partisan by the way. That's based on "don't touch existing asset values".
I don't blame the nihilism of young people. I'm sorely tempted to share it. This country is a gerontocracy that basically exists to exploit their labour and convert it into higher asset valuations for their grandparents. Grandparents get million dollar home valuations. The kids get deteriorating services and infrastructure, higher student loans, high childcare costs, high housing costs, etc. And now lectures from old farts (mostly Boomers and Gen X) about how they are the slackers.
Honestly, I love young people today. And I actually admire the optimism they have left in the face of the incredible challenges they face. We owe them better.
Couldn’t tell you, I’m a dirty civvie now.
They were a great piece of kit. One of ours ate an IED outside FOB Ramrod in late 2008. Took the crew a few moments to realize they’d a) been hit and b) were down two front wheels.
Naturally it took US EOD an hour and a half to journey the 500m from the FOB to us.
PrairieFella
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We do. My subunit had one in Latvia. The boys eould fight over eho got to drive it for energy drink fridge lol
Oh man I forgot the energy drink fridge!
Halifax Tar
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Wasn't involved in any IEDs but we go ambushed in the Arghandab river valley on the road that linked Masum Ghar and Wilson. And took lots of small arms moving the guns from Wilson to Soja (Sp?). I always felt safe in them.
I was told that outside of the Leos the AHSVS was the most armored vehicle in the theatre. I remember the doors were opened and closed via a motor as they weighed something like 600lbs.
Its also where my addiction to cold Nestle 3n1s came from lol
Wow, we never had a lick of trouble between MSG and Wilson. Though it might have been because we almost invariably had Kiowa or Apache overhead, and MSG always had a tank up at the top of the hill.
Though by late in my tour the surge had started and the Americans were moving in heavy- they put a battalion at Wilson before I left. Were MSG/Wilson/PBSG mostly all American by the time you were there? If so I wonder if that made a difference?
Maxman1
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I've seen a few in Latvia.
Halifax Tar
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I never made it to PBSG, but I don't think so. I think the roto after ours started to shut things down and move up to Kabul.
MSG was Canadian and when we moved the guns from Wilson to Soja Wilson was turned over to the yanks.
In 2006 I did a one vehicle convoy from Kabul to Bagram to count medicine balls...
The trucker who drove me was wound tight. As I walked out to the G Wagon he was loading M72s and grenades in the back of the GW. I asked why so much, he told me if we become a mobility kill we have to blow up the GW lol He was obviously very nervous about this, I was too young and stupid to notice our lives was being risked to count medicine balls lol
