- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
(personally, I feel this gentleman has just distinguished himself as having more leadership in his fingernails than some people have in their entire body. BZ)
Airborne force essential: officer
Memories won't WIN WARS, he asserts. Military lives on a shoestring while terrorism remains a definite threat, soldier says
LEVON SEVUNTS
The Gazette
Sunday, November 10, 2002
JOHN KENNEY, THE GAZETTE
Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran, the former commander of the 3rd Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Battalion, was honoured in Montreal at a private dinner last week.
As plastic poppies bloom on the lapels of many Canadians in commemoration of the nation's war dead, Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran wants us to remember not only the sacrifice of four of his soldiers killed in Afghanistan but also one history lesson.
"We talk about 'lest we forget,'" said Stogran, the former commander of the 3rd Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Battalion, who was in Montreal Wednesday for a private dinner in his honour.
"We see a veteran with a row of medals and we say we won't forget. We won't forget Passchendaele and we won't forget Dieppe. What we will forget is that between Passchendaele and Dieppe we dismantled our military."
World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars and then there was another war and we had to start from scratch, Stogran said.
"Then we went through the Cold War and we cashed in the peace dividend after the Cold War, slowly chipped away at our insurance policy and - boom - we are facing another war, and that's the war on terrorism."
But just as the changing nature of the threat to our security requires armies with increased mobility, Canada is considering getting rid of its most mobile units, he said.
"In my opinion, airborne troops are an essential capability," Stogran said. "Airportability is the way of the future."
But the army is so strapped right now that nothing is sacrosanct, Stogran said.
"We have been considering getting rid of our tank capability, the airborne capability. We're living off a shoestring right now.''
But the worst toll, he said, is on the families of soldiers.
"The families are suffering because we've got soldiers who have done cumulatively three, four years away from their families in six-month bites."
Despite these financial and personnel strains, Canadian forces have been able to maintain a level of professionalism that makes them a valuable addition to our allies, Stogran said.
In fact, the preparedness of Canadian forces in Afghanistan was so high that they were more akin to the elite U.S. Ranger units, he said.
Stogran said he and his soldiers were overwhelmed by the reaction and attention they got from the Canadian public.
"I've done a lot of thinking and a lot of pontificating at the turn of events with fatalities on the 18th of April, on where did this come from," Stogran said. "I think what it is, unlike peacekeeping, when we send troops off as a world player, doing our part to settle somebody else's problems, Canadians recognized Sept. 11 was a violation of our security and recognized the threat to our way of life and to the institutions our forefathers built."
Stogran said he had no doubt that those who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks would tear down those institutions if they could.
"I would like to think that Canadians are not going to forget about the tragic events of Sept. 11. Because right now, as we speak, somewhere in the world people are sitting down and talking just like we do, planning something that will make Sept. 11 look like a cakewalk. ''
Do you think Remembrance Day should be a national statutory holiday in Canada? Our Web site wants your answer to that question. While you are there, check out our the interactive Remembrance Day Flash graphic and share your thoughts and stories with us. Log on to canada.com/montreal and scroll down the page for the Remembrance Day image.
lsevunts@ thegazette.southam.ca
Airborne force essential: officer
Memories won't WIN WARS, he asserts. Military lives on a shoestring while terrorism remains a definite threat, soldier says
LEVON SEVUNTS
The Gazette
Sunday, November 10, 2002
JOHN KENNEY, THE GAZETTE
Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran, the former commander of the 3rd Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Battalion, was honoured in Montreal at a private dinner last week.
As plastic poppies bloom on the lapels of many Canadians in commemoration of the nation's war dead, Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran wants us to remember not only the sacrifice of four of his soldiers killed in Afghanistan but also one history lesson.
"We talk about 'lest we forget,'" said Stogran, the former commander of the 3rd Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Battalion, who was in Montreal Wednesday for a private dinner in his honour.
"We see a veteran with a row of medals and we say we won't forget. We won't forget Passchendaele and we won't forget Dieppe. What we will forget is that between Passchendaele and Dieppe we dismantled our military."
World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars and then there was another war and we had to start from scratch, Stogran said.
"Then we went through the Cold War and we cashed in the peace dividend after the Cold War, slowly chipped away at our insurance policy and - boom - we are facing another war, and that's the war on terrorism."
But just as the changing nature of the threat to our security requires armies with increased mobility, Canada is considering getting rid of its most mobile units, he said.
"In my opinion, airborne troops are an essential capability," Stogran said. "Airportability is the way of the future."
But the army is so strapped right now that nothing is sacrosanct, Stogran said.
"We have been considering getting rid of our tank capability, the airborne capability. We're living off a shoestring right now.''
But the worst toll, he said, is on the families of soldiers.
"The families are suffering because we've got soldiers who have done cumulatively three, four years away from their families in six-month bites."
Despite these financial and personnel strains, Canadian forces have been able to maintain a level of professionalism that makes them a valuable addition to our allies, Stogran said.
In fact, the preparedness of Canadian forces in Afghanistan was so high that they were more akin to the elite U.S. Ranger units, he said.
Stogran said he and his soldiers were overwhelmed by the reaction and attention they got from the Canadian public.
"I've done a lot of thinking and a lot of pontificating at the turn of events with fatalities on the 18th of April, on where did this come from," Stogran said. "I think what it is, unlike peacekeeping, when we send troops off as a world player, doing our part to settle somebody else's problems, Canadians recognized Sept. 11 was a violation of our security and recognized the threat to our way of life and to the institutions our forefathers built."
Stogran said he had no doubt that those who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks would tear down those institutions if they could.
"I would like to think that Canadians are not going to forget about the tragic events of Sept. 11. Because right now, as we speak, somewhere in the world people are sitting down and talking just like we do, planning something that will make Sept. 11 look like a cakewalk. ''
Do you think Remembrance Day should be a national statutory holiday in Canada? Our Web site wants your answer to that question. While you are there, check out our the interactive Remembrance Day Flash graphic and share your thoughts and stories with us. Log on to canada.com/montreal and scroll down the page for the Remembrance Day image.
lsevunts@ thegazette.southam.ca
