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Absolutely, and that is the crux of the problem when it comes to how squeamish many Canadians are when it comes to defence spending. They haven't yet wrapped their heads around the concept that just because you have a truly combat-capable military, it does NOT mean you automatically must...

One of my uncles did 23 years in the CF. He bought and sold several houses while he served and did OK. After doing his recruit training his first posting was to Sarcee Barracks in Calgary, then to the supply depot at Longue Pointe Barracks in Montreal. After that, all of his postings (with the...

For what it's worth - and I know I'm going off on a tangent here, but I recently saw a Youtube video about the new Australian frigates that are expected to come online in the next five years or so. They're based on a Spanish frigate design. But what I found really interesting is that these...

Maybe I haven't been here long enough to develop that 'deep-seated sense of cynicism', but as a reasonably well educated layman (with a small amount of experience as a reservist) who has a half-baked idea of how military procurement works, I definitely understand where the cynicism comes from...

I never thought that the G-Wagen made a very good light recce vehicle. The G-Wagen was never really designed to function as such anyway - MB originally designed it to function as a general utility and liaison vehicle. Sure, you could go for the Rheinmetall LIV Wolf tactical vehicles that are...

Do you think the US military-industrial complex is any different? If the Americans didn't have a need to maintain a lock on Middle Eastern oil, they could easily get by with a military that's half as big as the one they have now and keep their nukes in reserve as the big stick they can pull out...

True, although I've often wondered if buying American kit, beyond the convenience factor is the form of tribute we have to render unto them for defending us. If small countries like Sweden with one third or less of our GDP can design and build their own tanks and fighter jets, there seems to be...

I find it disturbing that a sovereign country like Canada has to get permission from the United States before it can dispose of its own military hardware. I'm also surprised to see so many LAVIII's have come back from Afghanistan and are so worn out they can't even be refurbished and...

Yes, they did have a robust form of military discipline. Commanders were authorized to shoot any backsliders, and any that survived such an encounter or didn't get shot ended up in the punishment battalions like the ones that were seen in the battle for Stalingrad in the Second World War...

You could check out the Crumlin Sportsmen's Club on Gore Road in London, or, since you're in the St. Thomas area, you might want to take a look at the East Elgin Sportsmen's Association in nearby Aylmer. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll go look it up and get a copy. My own take on how the Warsaw Pact forces would have viewed a campaign from their perspective, is that they would have had significant difficulties along the way. I'm not referring to the opposition they would have experienced...

I've not read Red Army, but I have read a similar book by former British Army officer Kenneth Macksey called First Clash, which details the likely actions 4 CMBG would have to take in the first 48 hours of a Warsaw Pact advance on western Europe. Macksey concluded that in a best-case scenario, 4...

Oops. Missed that one, didn't realize I was looking at the nine year-old part of the thread when answering the question.  ::)  :facepalm:

Just wanted to point out the picture shows a Saxon APC, not a Spartan. Nevertheless, it looks like the Saxon acquitted itself rather nicely. The Saxons weren't designed for front-line service, they were mainly employed to ferry infantry to rear-echelon areas in Germany, and from there the...

Then again, you could look at it this way. Given the Leopard 2's better armour, bigger gun, better fire control system, higher speed and greater maneuverability compared to the Centurion, you could argue that one Leopard 2 in the field is worth about two or three Centurions. Buying the MGS...

Let me take a stab at these... 1. VAB APC (Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé) 2. Czech OT-64 APC 3. Russian BMP-3 IFV 4. Fennek Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle (Bundeswehr version, the Dutch version mounts a .50 cal HMG)

If something like the Supacat Jackal had been available when I was serving with 'C' Squadron 1st Hussars in 1980, it would have been just too cool seeing the unit get a few of them. Greater cross-country mobility and speed, plus the ability to mount two GPMG's and/or a grenade launcher, plus...

Given the history of Canada's ill-fated attempt to acquire the Scorpion, it's a wonder we even managed to get the Scorpion turrets for the Cougar WFSV programme. It was also interesting to learn that General JA Dextraze ultimately put the kibosh on the Scorpion project so the army could keep its...

I don't know if TOW systems were ever mounted on the Iltis, even experimentally, but I have seen photos of TOW being mounted on M151 jeeps and on the 1/2-ton jeep-like trucks the army had up until the very early 1970s.

What many people don't realize is that this is a form of what's called 'CPP integration'. That is, your retirement benefits are reduced by the amount of your monthly CPP cheque. So instead of getting your CFSA payment in full, with your CPP cheque on top of that, you get a portion of your CFSA...