Halifax Tar
Army.ca Legend
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Excellent watch! Thanks for sharing.
Canada moves to 2% GDP end of FY25/26 - PMMC
- Thread starter Maxman1
- Start date
Excellent watch! Thanks for sharing.
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Just In Time logistics works fine for routinely available materiel including parts - think stuff you can pick up at Stapes or order from Princess Auto.
Bespoke military materiel and spares, on the other hand, are not routinely kept on hand. If we want them, we have to buy and hold on to them ourselves.
That costs money up front, and operators would rather buy 15 of something than 13 with robust spares. Then complain that availability is low.
Bespoke military materiel and spares, on the other hand, are not routinely kept on hand. If we want them, we have to buy and hold on to them ourselves.
That costs money up front, and operators would rather buy 15 of something than 13 with robust spares. Then complain that availability is low.
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The real Canadian way is buy enough of a spare to manage the fleet for years, but then somehow have all the parts in 1 or 2 units and complain that there are no parts.
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Speed, people! Speed!
defence-industry.eu
And a willingness to accept risk.
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thehub.ca
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We don't need government Sherpas to guide us through reams of government created regulations. We need fewer government regulations.
Ukraine says it approved 1,526 new weapons and military systems in eight months of 2026, with nearly 91% produced domestically
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence approved 1,526 new weapons and military equipment models for supply to the Defence Forces of Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026.
defence-industry.eu
And a willingness to accept risk.
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The cracks are showing in Carney’s economic agenda
Mark Carney sold himself as the competence candidate. Months in, cracks are forming in his economic agenda—and the reasons why are telling.
thehub.ca
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We don't need government Sherpas to guide us through reams of government created regulations. We need fewer government regulations.
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- Reaction score
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Gordon Dundas/
Member
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Someone once told me that musical ride was still using cavalry saddles from an army order from the 1940s.
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Well this should not break our budget
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It's funny how being in an active war, with invading forces within your borders, focuses the mind and the bureaucracy.Speed, people! Speed!
Ukraine says it approved 1,526 new weapons and military systems in eight months of 2026, with nearly 91% produced domestically
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence approved 1,526 new weapons and military equipment models for supply to the Defence Forces of Ukraine during the first eight months of 2026.
And a willingness to accept risk.
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The cracks are showing in Carney’s economic agenda
Mark Carney sold himself as the competence candidate. Months in, cracks are forming in his economic agenda—and the reasons why are telling.
....
We don't need government Sherpas to guide us through reams of government created regulations. We need fewer government regulations.
By any of the commonly understood linguistic or international definitions, we aren't in one.
It sometimes sounds like you yearn for a Orwellian, 1984-esque state of constant conflict to rationalize extra-Constitutional state action.
How about using citizens as security guards?
You can retain the power of arrest as a police power if you wish.
Or you can do what the criminal code requires of a citizen and that is go to the aid of a police officer when aid is requested.
Section 129(b).
Soldiers do not have to act as cops, even when cops act as soldiers.
I understand that history informs the future, but we a long way from the days when King Richard emerged from a cave with the Magna Carta etched in stone tablets, saw his shadow and we had 10 more centuries of democracy. The world has changed. The rule of law is no longer enforced by citizens with pikes enforcing the Shire Reeve's will.
You want security? Hire train and pay people to do it and willing to accept the liabilities of their actions. Your reading of Section 129(b) is flawed. It might be applied to a specific individual, directly requested by a specific peace officer, in a specific instance, but even at that, the "without reasonable excuse" defence is powerful. The law can't demand people do something that they aren't qualified to do and that puts them in jeopardy.
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Most provinces have legislation that states the Ministry can press gang anyone they want to fight forest fires, hence the old stories of rangers clearing out anyone sitting in a bar at 12 pm, or hauling tourists out of their cars on the highway to fight fires. But nowadays I can guarantee this never happens anymore due to “without reasonable excuse”. If any of those press ganged got injured or worse, I guarantee a lot of lawyers would get very rich.
Most such laws are also likely pre-Charter and would fail on a challenge under section 7, not to be saved by section 1.
PrairieFella
Army.ca Veteran
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What does that even mean lol?
Gordon Dundas/
Member
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I blame the school system myself.
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You know even in those days it was actually professionally who did the heavy lifting.
Much like the Canadian Militia Myth, the citizen soldier story has always mostly been a story past ancient times.
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And those that allowed that situation to develop suffered
Praetorian Guard - Wikipedia
Dane-geld
1 IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation To call upon a neighbour and to say:– “We invaded you last night–we are quite prepared to fight, Unless you pay us cash to go away.…
www.kiplingsociety.co.uk
Hengist and Horsa - Wikipedia
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And thus the Fyrd.
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If you are not prepared to fight for yourself you are a slave.
PrairieFella
Army.ca Veteran
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I know what a praetorian is or the what the danegeld was, I moreso mean its patently absurd to operate off the assumption that not having Tom, Dick and Harry from Superstore manning the local Shilka looking for imagined drone threats means we are at the mercy of our own military. Its just silly.
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That ignires the reality that the majority of the real fighting was done by professionals, even when the fyrd was called-up.And those that allowed that situation to develop suffered
Praetorian Guard - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Dane-geld
1 IT IS always a temptation to an armed and agile nation To call upon a neighbour and to say:– “We invaded you last night–we are quite prepared to fight, Unless you pay us cash to go away.…
Hengist and Horsa - Wikipedia
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And thus the Fyrd.
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If you are not prepared to fight for yourself you are a slave.
Look up the battle of Visby if you want to see the reality of a local militia fighting professionals...
FJAG
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If there's one thing that I've learned its that generalizations don't work. When it comes to the effectiveness of armies made up of professionals or militias, time and place matters. The Roman army before the Marian reforms was a militia made up of farmers. With the exception of the battle of Cannae (where the issue was more bad leadership rather than lack of military capability) the Romans' had significant military success. The Carthaginians, who were later firmly trounced at Zama, were mostly "professional" mercenaries.
One can hop, skip and jump throughout history to find an argument for every position. When it comes to even today's wars, massed armies are not "professionals" per se. The Cold War bred the current version of the "professional" army. And yet many armies are still modern versions of the fyrd in the guise of conscription. Many professional armies can be likened to mercenaries - folks who serve for a lifetime of pay followed by a fat pension. The overwhelming number servicemen of the armies in WW 1 and 2 were ordinary citizens at the start of the wars.
What makes the difference isn't whether the bulk of the army on day 1 is professional or fyrd. What makes the difference is how well they are equipped, trained, motivated and led. Sometimes that's just a function of time.
Take as an example the Imperial German Army that stepped off to war in August of 1914. ~28,000 were professional officers; ~95,000 were professional NCOs; ~5,500 were specialists like doctors or veterinarians; ~541,000 were two year conscripts (half in their first year of service, half in their second); and 3,000,000 were mobilized reservists. By war's end ~13.5 million had served in the army. In short on Day 1 of WW1 only 3.4% of the German army were "professionals." The other 96.6% were well trained, equipped, motivated and led conscripts and reservists. By war's end, the real fighting was done by over 99% conscripts and volunteer civilians.
Like the Germans, the French had only a tiny core of professional officers and NCOs while the vast bulk of its standing army of ~883,000 was conscript (again with many newly called up). Another ~3,000,000 reservists were mobilized on August 14th. By the end of the war some ~8,400,000 had served.
The British army had a stronger regular component. There were ~247,000 regulars of all ranks (approximately half of whom garrisoned the empire overseas); They were backed up by ~135,000 National reservists (retired regular army with an obligation to return to service if called - supplementary reserve but with a small annual training obligation), ~60,000 special reserves (a short training period and then reserve service), and ~246,000 territorial army. So roughly 36% "professionals" at the start of the war albeit only half of that was available at that time. ~3,820,000 was the army's maximum size during the war. That would mean the professional core at the beginning of the war constituted just 6.4% of the army with the other 93.6% coming from the reserves, civilian volunteers or conscripts.
Similar situations occurred in WW2 and even Ukraine. One might want to argue that if a war lasts long enough, everyone becomes a "professional" but that begs the question of what ratio of professionals as to fyrd can an army afford during peace in order to be truly large enough and well enough equipped to be a deterrent and to be prepared for war at scale.
So if today's professionals in the Canadian army are having little faith in Canada's fyrd, maybe its because the Canadian fyrd is neither well trained, equipped, motivated or led. One doesn't have to think hard about where the fault for that lies.
