From July 11 to 21, Canadian soldiers from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) took over the duties of the British Household Cavalry in providing the King's mounted guard.
This ceremonial duty involves a daily ride down London's Mall and then taking up station at the entrances to St. James and Buckingham palaces. The Household Cavalry consists of two regiments, The Blues and Royals and the Life Guards which both have a military legacy dating back to 1660, making them the senior regiments in the British Army.
For their part, the Lord Strathcona's Horse are celebrating their regiment's 125th Anniversary this year and providing the King's Mounted Guard is considered a highlight of those celebrations. This 10-day detail is only the third occasion in history that this ceremonial guard has been undertaken by a non-UK regiment.
There has been a ton of coverage of the Strathcona's stint as the King's Mounted Guard on social media posts, with many Canadian tourists basking in the reflected glory of a Canadian regiment taking centre stage in London, England.
To be fair, the sight of a troop of the Strathconas in their polished brass, plumed helmets, scarlet tunics, white crossbelts, spit-polished riding boots with swords and lances, is indeed a sight to behold. Many of those Canadians fortunate to witness this spectacle have gushed at how this showcases the professionalism of the Canadian Army.
I would beg to differ. Although the participating members are regular force soldiers, their unit is actually an armoured regiment equipped with Leopard 2 Main Battle Tanks. No matter how impressive their horsemanship is, these ceremonial duties have no bearing on their actual vocation which is that of combat soldiers who wear camouflage and maneuver armoured vehicles.
The King's Mounted Guard tradition dates back some 400 years and for the first 320 of those years, the British Household Cavalry still went into battle on horses. So it made some sense that regular army troopers would have a ceremonial duty to provide the King's guard.
However, to have modern professional Canadian combat soldiers parading on horses in Napoleonic era uniforms, to provide London tourists with selfie photo props, seems like a misuse of scant resources.
No doubt countless hours of equestrian training was required for this mounted troop of the Lord Strathcona's horse to take on this role. Then there is the travel budget for the troopers themselves (the horses involved are loaners from the Household Cavalry).
I fully understand that pomp and ceremony have long been a treasured cornerstone of Canada's military tradition. However with the current state of the Canadian Armed Forces, namely understaffed and under-funded, perhaps it is time to drop the historical re-enactment duties.
We have been repeatedly warned that the world is increasingly unstable and that we are on the brink of World War 3. Canada has a forward deployed battle group in Latvia, wherein we have a few of our remaining operable main battle tanks. All combat formations across the Army are understrength and trades training cycles are dangerously backlogged.
Yet somehow ceremonial duties such as this are still being staged.
Now, before the Colonel Blimp brigade starts thumping their tubs in my general direction, I must confess that I'm a sucker for martial ceremonies, particularly those of a historical nature. One of the most impressive displays is the Changing of the Guard ceremony staged each year on Parliament Hill. It was halted during the pandemic and is currently scaled way back due to current personnel shortages.
However, the Ceremonial Guard is comprised of two Canadian militia regiments, The Governor General's Foot Guards and the Grenadier Guards. Few spectators who watch the precision drill of these guards in their black bearskin hats and scarlet tunics actually realize that all of them are actually trained combat reservists.
Which begs the question: Why do they need to be?
The Fort Henry Guard in Kingston Ontario is a civilian organization that was founded in 1938. They re-enact British Army drill, musketry and artillery firing to the delight of thousands of tourists each summer. They have zero affiliation with the CAF. Their ranks are filled with university, college and high school students. They are funded by Parks Canada, Saint Lawrence Parks Commission and the Fort Henry Guards Foundation.
In Halifax, at the Citadel there is the 78th Highlanders and Pipe Band. They too are civilian re-enactors who demonstrate historical weapon skills and tactical drill for tourists each summer. Their funding comes from sponsors and corporate clients.
I think that the Changing of the Guard in Ottawa could be staged by civilian students trained only in drill (like a marching band).
Using regular force and reserve combat soldiers to parade in period costume is no longer necessary. Let our soldiers soldier and let the re-enactors entertain.