No more blue berets at Remembrance Day

[John Nayduk]

I hear that we are not allowed to wear our blue berets this year.   Anyone else hear that?

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

No

 

[Spr.Earl]

No

Yup I received a email stating no more U.N. Beret on Nov.11.


Remembrance Day Celebrations

9 Nov 2004

Practice at 0900hrs on the 9 Nov 04 for all AEF members with the following assigned positions:      


10 Nov 2004

Killarney Secondary School 0830hrs to 1500hrs. The following members will participate in the celebrations on the 10 Nov:
  Dress is DEU 1A with medals.


CTC Celebrations 1015 hrs at the school Gym. All AEF members not tasked elsewhere will participate. Dress will be DEU 1A with medals.


11 Nov 2004

Chilliwack celebrations   The following members will participate in the celebrations at chilliwack.



Form up with ASU Chilliwack at 1000hrs 11 Nov 04 behind the Vedder Legion. Dress is 1A with medals.

Vancouver HQ celebrations The following members will participate in the celebrations in Vancouver:



Thurs 28 October 2004 @ 1900; and
Thurs 4 November 2004 @ 1900.
Please have the volunteers report to the BD HQ bldg, room 155B on the aforementioned dates. Dress for the practices will be dress of the day with a coat. When selecting your volunteers please inform them they will be required to attend both practices, and should expect to be in position on the 11th for approx. an hour. All logistics will be handled form this location, and are booked. Please inform the volunteers that we will meet at the BD Blg room 155B at 0800 on the 11th of November. Any questions pertaining this message can be addressed to the undersigned. Thank you for your time.

Hope   The following personnel will report to Hope to participate in celebrations there.


Abbottsford Cenotaph All remainder of 192AEF personal not assigned for celebrations elsewhere will report to MWO Arsenault at the Abbottsford Cenotaph.   You will form in to a flight and participate in the Remembrance Day celebrations. Dress will be DEU 1A with medals.


Note:   -   UN Beret is no longer authorized to be worn on Remembrance Day.

-   All 192 AEF members will be wearing a Poppy.

Updated 21 Oct 04

 

[Gunner]

Considering 99.999 per cent of the 110,000 canadians killed while wearing the Maple Leaf, I think a better question is why you would want to take off your regimental beret and badge in order to wear foreign headgear.  The medals on your chest denote where, when and with who you served as a Canadian soldier.

If I recall correctly the "honour" or distininction of wearing the blue beret was a result of "Peacekeepers" winning the Nobel Prize in 1988.  We were allowed to wear the blue beret the next Remembrance Day in honour of this and the CPSM was also as an outcome of this distinction.  However, the wearing of the blue beret was only for that year but it continued on year after year but we were not authorized to do so.

 

[Spr.Earl]

In my own opinion I think it should be worn in recognition of those who were killed on U.N. Missions.

 

[Gunner]

And those Canadians killedewhile wearing the engineer cap badge?

 

[Spr.Earl]

And those Canadians killedewhile wearing the engineer cap badge?

All trades!!

 

[pbi]

I am completely with Gunner on this. Wear Canadian kit on a day to honour Canadian dead. The UN blue beret is not an item of Canadian dress. The medals tell the story: if you were there you've got one.  Most of our guys who have died overseas in the last three or four years were not wearing the blue beret anyway: they were on NATO or coalition ops.
Cheers.

 

[bossi]

In a discussion at the HQ it was mentioned there's now a "Peacekeepers' Day" in the summer, and the understanding was that would be the day for acknowledging the blue beret.

Please - let's also remember - we're dealing with a huge problem of public perception vis-a-vis the Canadian Army being combat capable warfighters first, with peacekeeping simply being one of the gazillion things we're tasked to do ... (i.e. there are also lesser lights out there who'd be in favour of transforming the Army into a "peacekeeping constabulary" ... but then, who'd defend Canada ... ?)

So, let's not allow this to deteriorate into a "blue on blue" (NO pun intended!)
We all know what Remembrance Day is for:  Fallen Comrades, who aren't there to wear their campaign stars and medals on parade - we have to ensure the rest of Canada doesn't lose sight of that.

 

[Lance Wiebe]

All those parades, I have always refused to wear the blue beret on Remembrance Day.  (Unless I was on a UN op)  I could give a rats a** about the blue beret.

Remembrance Day is held in Canada for Canadians to remember those who have served.  While many paid with their lives, many more paid with injuries.  The theatre, the war (declared or not) doesn't matter.  None of those who died joined our military to serve in the UN.  They joined to serve Canada, they wore the Canadian uniform.  And, darn it, so should we!

 

[bossi]

I could give a rats a** about the blue beret.

So, don't hold back - tell us how you really feel ... (chuckle - just kidding - you're loud and clear)

 

[pbi]

All those parades, I have always refused to wear the blue beret on Remembrance Day. (Unless I was on a UN op) I could give a rats a** about the blue beret.

Remembrance Day is held in Canada for Canadians to remember those who have served. While many paid with their lives, many more paid with injuries. The theatre, the war (declared or not) doesn't matter. None of those who died joined our military to serve in the UN. They joined to serve Canada, they wore the Canadian uniform. And, darn it, so should we!

Right on Lance Wiebe. And right on, bossi: we need to get rid of this constant reference to soldiers as "peacekeepers". It's like calling firefighters "cat rescuers". The term "peacekeeping" is fast becoming so ambiguous that it is almost meaningless. Cheers.

 

[bossi]

Cats?  Cats???  CATS BAD.  DOGS GOOD.

Who ever heard of a seeing eye cat, or a police cat, or a bomb-sniffing cat?
No!  While St. Bernards are out there with flasks of brandy rescuing people in the Alps, and those great big goofy Newfs are swimming in the coldest waters to rescue people from drowning ... where are the cats?
They're smothering babies in their cribs!
The only reason cats ever wake anybody up when the house is on fire is in order to save their selfish little hides (which are too small for any good use as a pelt ...)
Grrrr ... cats ...

(oh, sorry - did I say any of that out loud ... ?)

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

I tend to agree with everyone above regarding the blue beret.  I see red (no pun intended) whenever I see it on parade, especially if it's on a younger guy who obviously didn't participate in one of the "hairier" UN missions of days gone by.

I also agree 100% with the comments about public perception.  Unfortunately (IMHO), we still have a constituency within the military that revels in the title "peacekeeper" and will put on the blue beret at every opportunity.  This is rapidly shrinking, but it is still a reality.  God knows why...

 

[Gunner]

Unfortunately (IMHO), we still have a constituency within the military that revels in the title "peacekeeper" and will put on the blue beret at every opportunity

  A couple of links to make you see red! 

http://www.peacekeeper.ca/cavunp.html

http://www.peacekeeper.ca/

 

[axeman]

Hey Bossi eventually everything gets retired even the St. Bernard dog.  http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/10/12/666063-ap.html  as to the Blue beret i know that i wear mine with pride but now the UN day is separate from the remembrance day  ceremony.
As the world turns  ,,, i now wear my green beret thinking of the comrades i have lost , ppl I knew and did not . One of my school teachers went over the wall at Vimy , its taken a bit for what hes done to sink in now on days like Nov.11 i remember him and THOUSANDS like him . WHAT WE DO IS TO HONOR THEM  NOT US .

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

A couple of links to make you see red!

The killer is, with three tours, I don't qualify for full membership in this august organization!

Just before we left Canada, we went through a huge panic as they tried to organize a "Peacekeeper's" parade in Winnipeg...time and money well spent... :  Unfortunately, a rather powerful former General was involved, so I believe it eventually happened.

Oh well, to each their own!

 

[Gunner]

One of my school teachers went over the wall at Vimy

Good Lord man, how old are you?  It may be time to update your profile.  Assuming your teacher was born in 1900, he went over the wall in 1917 at the age of 17.  According to your profile you were born in 65.  Hence when you were born, he was 65.  By the time you were any meaningful age (10) he was 75.  Well done for him to keep teaching you young'uns the history of your nation. 

 

[pbi]

I also agree 100% with the comments about public perception.  Unfortunately (IMHO), we still have a constituency within the military that revels in the title "peacekeeper" and will put on the blue beret at every opportunity.  This is rapidly shrinking, but it is still a reality.  God knows why...

Two points:

one, because for the longest time that's all there was, and the public support for us was a fraction of what it is now, so we had to sell the "nice" stuff; but

two, let's not forget the real combat and real acts of bravery that were carried out under the blue beret: Medak comes to mind, as does Cyprus in 74/75.

Apart from those caveats, I am totally against this silly fixation with the word "peacekeeper": it is actually a handicap for us. As for the two links, I can't begrudge guys their associations. Cheers.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Right you are PBI, which is why I mentioned the "hairier" missions from days gone by.  CO of the RCR BG for ATHENA 0 had a great quote on "peacekeepers" just before he deployed.  Wish I could remember it...