Presidents Need to Visit the Troops

[FJAG]

He went to Latvia to visit the troops last July and I seem to remember a trip to each of Esquimalt and our training mission in the Ukraine and the reopening of the Voltigeurs de Quebec Armoury.

I don't like the guy and you may call these photo ops but he's been getting around.

:subbies:

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Don't get me wrong, my reaction to T6's comment was not that PM's haven't visited the troops before - including the current one - it was aimed at the "political need to be seen" doing it.

The Canadian population generally cares about the well being and morale of soldiers so much that, other than giving full respect to those who are killed in the line of duty, they generally couldn't care less how politicians and the military interact. Thus, wether a PM ever visits the troops or not is totally ignored by media and population and carries no political weight whatsoever when voting time or "holding politicians accountable" time comes around.

Ever watch New Year special shows on TV on New Year or New Year eve's? It's CTV that intersperses clips of CAF members serving abroad giving wishes of the season to Canadians - not CBC. That should tell you every thing you need to know right there. 

 

[Cloud Cover]

Interesting post. I never really noticed that about CBC. When they had production control over HNIC, there were often clips from overseas...has Rogers discontinued that?

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

Thanks for that. We tend to forget our own transgressions while pointing out the fault in others. Especially, when we really have nothing to crow about or anyone smart enough to compete.

I personally met our head of state, the GG, in Jerusalem and was in Amman when he was there visiting troops and remember trudeau going to Latvia.

https://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2018/07/10/prime-minister-concludes-successful-visit-latvia

 

[brihard]

He went to Latvia to visit the troops last July and I seem to remember a trip to each of Esquimalt and our training mission in the Ukraine and the reopening of the Voltigeurs de Quebec Armoury.

I don't like the guy and you may call these photo ops but he's been getting around.

:subbies:

Not long ago i was present when he visited some police officers undergoing in service training. It was on one of the “private business” days or however the PM’s public schedule terms it. There was nothing in it for him (besides a bit of fun I suppose), it wasn’t publicized or used for a photo op or anything. It wasn’t a dog and pony and didn’t really disrupt what was going on much. He simply of his own volition came out to see ‘the troops’ doing troop stuff when he didn’t have to and there was no expectation of it. I still don’t have a high opinion of the guy’s politics and at this rate he’s not getting my vote, but I do respect the act for what it was, and having been on the ground it felt genuine.

 

[tomahawk6]

Sadly due to the demise of conscription we may not see another President who has had military service.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Sadly due to the demise of conscription we may not see another President who has had military service.

Or who has dodged the draft....

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Or who has dodged the draft....

Or who has recieved a deferment.

 

[Remius]

Not so sure about that. 

Plenty of politicians have military experience.  And with things like the Gulf wars, Iraq and Afghanistan we may see more in the future.

I think it is more of a function that maybe Americans don't care anymore if their politicians have that experience like they did in the past.  Trump supporters at the very least don't seem to mind a president who does not visit troops, makes fun of Gold star parents, war heroes and distinguished military career types.

John McCain ran against Obama.  Obama had zero military experience and won.  His supporters didn't seem to care much about that sort of thing either. 

Edit: The point about conscription is actually a good one.  If your kids are going to be drafted you might want a leader who understands the military or has experienced it.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Edit: The point about conscription is actually a good one.  If your kids are going to be drafted you might want a leader who understands the military or has experienced it.

Which is why the British Royals all do some kind of military service.

 

[tomahawk6]

Trump at Army-Navy game. video at the link.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/crowd-roars-as-president-trump-is-introduced-at-annual-army-navy-game-in-philly-video/

 

[FJAG]

Governor General visits 17 Wing

. . .

Wing commander Col. Eric Charron was glad the Governor General took the time to meet with members in-person.

"Seeing the people, shaking hands, asking them what gets them excited about their job and giving them a chance to see someone of that importance really paying attention to their day-to-day jobs," he said. "We’re very happy to have her here."

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/Governor-General-visits-17-Wing-501798652.html

:subbies:

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Works for me.

After all, unlike the PM, she IS our Commander in chief, as representative of the Queen of Canada.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Works for me.

After all, unlike the PM, she IS our Commander in chief, as representative of the Queen of Canada.

Yup. Good on her!

 

[Blackadder1916]

Pressing the flesh is one thing, then there's a whole other way of interacting with the troops.

https://www.gg.ca/en/activities/2018/visit-newfoundland-and-labrador

September 21, 2018

The Governor General learned about Labrador’s rich Indigenous history through the exhibits on display at the Labrador Interpretation Centre. While visiting Canadian Armed Forces personnel at 5 Wing Goose Bay, she participated in a familiarization flight on board a CH-146 Griffon helicopter.

 

[dimsum]

Pressing the flesh is one thing, then there's a whole other way of interacting with the troops.

https://www.gg.ca/en/activities/2018/visit-newfoundland-and-labrador

Did anyone tell the FE he's not part of the RCR anymore? 

 

[brihard]

Credit where it’s due.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/trudeau-pays-surprise-pre-christmas-visit-to-troops-in-mali-1.4229028?fbclid=IwAR0X724kRjCS5lT9FcK2Wxa89JbOYUbSpf8TEhP8yO40wxwFedaXZMjdi-M

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a surprise pre-Christmas visit to Canadian troops in Mali on Saturday.

Trudeau shared a turkey dinner with the soldiers stationed at Camp Castor near Gao. He thanked them for their service and dropped off a foosball table, CTV’s Glen McGregor reports from Africa.

The delegation, which has since left Mali, also included Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan and Chief of Defence Staff Jonathan Vance. They were on the ground for about five hours, during which Trudeau met with Malian president Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga.

Canada joined the dangerous United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali in June, with a one-year commitment. Trudeau would not say Saturday whether he plans to extend the mission past July.

The Canadian Forces have six helicopters and approximately 250 military personnel in the African country, which has been destabilized by poverty, drought and Islamic extremism.

A total of 177 peacekeepers have been killed since the international peacekeeping mission began in 2013.

The main contributors to the 15,000-strong UN force are nearby African countries. Bangladesh, China and Germany also have a significant presence.

 

[FJAG]

Whereas you-know-who, before the budget/wall debacle, had planned on 16 days and nights at Mar-a-Lago.  :facepalm:

:subbies:

 

[tomahawk6]

Canadians eat turkey during the holidays ?

 

[brihard]

Canadians eat turkey during the holidays ?

There's a brief span of months from mid July to late October where they can survive up here, and we get enough of the migratory variety that Turkey for Christmas caught on fairly easily. Generally they're harvested late October before they start heading south again and are frozen for sale. That's why our grocery stores generally have quite an array of frozen turkey in the latter half of December.