Life’s Latest Developments

Very shortly I’m off for a month to CFB Shilo to complete my Artillery Gunner’s course.  It’s going to be hell, sitting in a classroom all day falling asleep and getting crunked on caffeine pills to try and counteract that.  There’s plenty of thing’s I’m going to learn, such as the definition of Fire Discipline which is:

Fire Discipline is the language of Fire Control.  It consists of words, phrases, rules and conventions which have specific meaning and which result in some definite action at the guns.

Then there’s things like the GPO Sequence of Orders, Must Orders, Types of Engagement, Types of Rounds and even more good stuff.

I’m a little bit nervous about going on course again, but I’m also pumped because I bought myself a pair of SWAT boots which are going to make things a whole lot more comfortable, as well as our annual 13km rucksack march.  I also bought some boot bands, a boonie hat, a waterproof pen and paper pad and a water bladder with my last name and last three digits sewn onto it.  The water bladder and holder are going to awesome for on and off duty.

Just found out my children’s mother is now engaged.  I’ve got a few opinions on how I think that will go but I’ll keep that to myself.  Time will tell I guess.  Her happiness is all I care about.  If she is happy then my babies are happy.

I’ve been hanging out with someone lately quite a lot that quite a few people have a negative opinion about.  It bothers me the way some people won’t even be around this mate of mine.  Far too many people are judgmental.  What right does any mere imperfect mortal have to cast moral judgments upon any other human being who isn’t hurting anybody?  I’m very particular and picky about who I hang out with.  The first and foremost criteria I look for is whether or not they get along with my children.  I’ve faltered on that thing one time and that person hasn’t been a friend for a long time.  Then I look to see whether they are open minded.  If they’re not then I usually can’t be friends with them.  Lastly I look to see if they’re truthful.  If they lie then they’re gone!

There was an incident that made me realise again the joys of having children. I had a cup of coffee which I was drinking at home and had nearly finished.  There was a bit left in the mug when my daughter Alex asked for a sip so I gave her the rest.  After the cup was empty I pretended to cry that she had drunk it all.

So in perfect innocence Alex spat the coffee back into the mug and offered it to me with a beautiful smile and said “Here you go, daddy!”

It was heart warming.  It is situations like that which make me realise that no matter how much they stress me out, and no matter how much sometimes I wish I was back in London as a 21 year old – having children is a gift and parenthood is the greatest privilege a person can have.

Obviously that is followed by being a member of the Canadian Forces hahaha.

Why the Army Reserve has it’s advantages

Everyone who isn’t a self-centred twit knows by now who Major Nidal Hasan is. If you don’t know (which means you’re a self-centred twit) he’s a Major in the United States Army who went on a killing spree in Fort Hood, Texas and killed thirteen soldiers. Whilst I suspect that he’s definitely going to be charged under military law and given the death sentence, I simply do not believe this attack was connected in any way to Islamic extremism.

I think that he was a man pushed over the edge by being forced into something he objected to. The death penalty is the only just punishment for that murdering bastard, but it’s clear a lot of people won’t even understand or care why he did what he did.

According to this story on CNN, Major Nidal Hasan wanted the military to allow Muslims to refrain from participation in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq on the grounds of conscientious objection. This is by far the best suggestion I’ve ever heard and I simply cannot believe that someone with the rank of Major wasn’t listened to.

All of this could have been prevented if Major Hasan had been in the Army Reserve… because as I understand it Major Hasan then could have simply refused to go and nothing would have happened. As is demonstrated by the book ‘Fifteen Days’ by Christie Blatchford, at least in the Canadian Forces, it’s usually Reservists who are eager and willing to be deployed and so the Reservists who wanted to do a tour wouldn’t be deprived of the opportunity.

Yellowknife gets a new Canadian Forces Reserve unit

Amidst all the international nonsense going on with many nations  falsely claiming sovereignty over Canadian waters and undersea mineral/oil rights…  I’m quite pleased to find out the Canadian Forces have announced the creation of a new military unit in Yellowknife.

According to this story from CBC…

The unit is part of the federal government’s initiative “to increase the defence presence in the North, as part of the government’s strategy for Arctic defence,” said Lt.-Col. Lyle Herod, who hosted an open house in the city on Tuesday night.

For anyone who reads international news and concentrated in Geography in school, they’ll know there’s a region called the ‘Northwest Passage’ which is basically all the water ways between the islands that are in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Not surprisingly the Americans (along with the European Union) think it’s an international route giving them the right to invade Canada’s territory.

So basically this Reserve Unit is to enforce Canada’s territorial assertions.  The phrase ‘use it or lose it’ is pretty relevant.  The Canadian Rangers will probably end up being paired with the Unit whenever they are out on patrol but obviously won’t partake in combat if that need ever arises.

Yayyyy for military expansion!