Whilst on BMQ (L)… I experienced the awesomeness of IMP (individual meal packs) which are issued to the Canadian Forces.  Call me ridiculous but I loved them.  That may be that I was deprived of home comforts whilst in the field… nevertheless I now fully believe all my instructors when they say that out of all the western military powers in Afghanistan, we have by far the best meals.  Apparently the Yanks and British soldiers will always try to trade meal parts.  The bread in a packet rocks!  If you’re interested… you can actually buy IMPs from a surplus store.

I’m also glad that I did not join the British Army.  Not because of any perceived lack of dashing bravery, ruthlessness or competence… but because of the mere factor that our (Brits) squaddies bomb around Afghanistan in rag top Land Rovers, and their armour plates only cover their heart and not other vital organs.

Being a Canadian soldier I now have a lot of restrictions on what I can or cannot post on my website regarding the Canadian Forces particularly… so you might see the tone of my blog posts change somewhat.

One of our boys has passed away… Pte Kyle Whitehead from 3PPCLI passed away when his vehicle rolled on the Big River First Nation. What’s really uncanny is that his best friend ‘Sgt. Darby Morin’ from the same First Nation in Saskatchewan – passed away on the same day in Afghanistan whilst serving with the U.S Army.

According to this news story… the upcoming Olympics is pushing the Canadian Forces to the edge.  This article says that 4000 Canadian soldiers will be guarding the Olympics to protect all the heads of state.  That along with the Afghanistan mission and the upcoming G8 summit in Huntsville is testing the limits of our endurance according to this story.  My answer to that would be to quote one of my instructors on basic training… ‘We’re Canadian soldiers – we win!’.  I know one thing that would solve problems like this…  boosting Canada’s defence budget from $18billion to about $36billion to increase the size of our armed forces.

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!

A while back the petrol station clerk at Shell told me that instead of using those engine additives that you can get for $6 a bottle, just get 25¢ of diesel and pour it in your gas tank.  He said he’s told many people, and only about one percent of people believe him.  I took the risk a while back and didn’t regret it at all.  Before I took that risk, I asked Chris at the Toyota garage and he instantly said that it was good – diesel burns cleaner than petroleum.  So every three or four tanks of gas I dump in 25¢ of diesel and it keeps my engine running splendidly.

I applied to join the Canadian Forces Army Reserve… but I’m quite certain I’m going to join the Regular Infantry – 2PPCLI based at CFB Shilo.  It’ll suck big time being away from my children, but it’ll be a steady paycheck, a job which I can’t get fired from… but most importantly the example I wish to set for my children is that being willing to stand up and fight for what’s right, metaphorically or literally is something to be proud of and to be strived for.  I’m excited and afraid all at the same time.

I had some great news last Monday.  I called the Canadian Forces Recruitment office in Winnipeg and was going to speak to the officer in charge of recruitment about the reasons why Permanent Residents of Canada couldn’t join the military.  In mid-sentence, Corporal Pohl sort of cut me off and said ‘that’s been changed’.

I could barely contain the excitement in my voice and told her I’d see her soon.  The next day I drove to Winnipeg to the office.  The feeling of stepping into that office finally with the right to apply for enlistment put me on top of the world.

Since I was a young boy I’ve wanted to be a soldier.  The moment that forever defined that desire was about 1993 during the Royal Tournament of which I was a member so I could get tickets.  They had the literature, brochures, pamphlets, and some examples of kit used by the British Army.  Ever since then I was hooked on the military!

In the Canadian Forces recruitment office I spent about twenty minutes talking to Captain Doggett about what’s involved in my primary area of interest – Infantry Soldier.  According to this sheet it says… Infantry Soldiers have the following primary duties:

• Engage in combat, using weapons ranging from sophisticated anti-armour missiles to hand-to-hand combat.
• Expertly operate and maintain a wide range of personal and section-level weapons.
• Use sophisticated equipment for field communications, navigation and night-vision surveillance.
• Inspect and maintain weapon systems, vehicles and equipment.
• Participate in parachute operations.
• Operate with support elements such as fighter aircraft, tactical helicopters and artillery.
• Employ fieldcraft and conduct tactical tasks including camouflage, patrols, assaults, defences, and escape-and-evasion tactics.

Now what part of that doesn’t sound like a truckload of fun?  My mate Nathaniel joined the U.S Army and saw action in Baghdad.  He said the constant danger of death or serious injury helped him prioritise things in his home life, and that all the stupid shit that there would be problems with before never bothered him after he got back.  Of course, he did mention that he has real problems sleeping and is on medication to help with that… but it’s a minor side effect.

So anyway… today I went to the local recruiting centre, and applied to join the 116th Independent Field Battery in Kenora.  It’s a Reserve Force Artillery unit.  I spoke to Bombadier Danielson.   I had problems with getting my GCSE results from Nugent House School, and had to order my birth certificate online which cost about CAD$65 and the application was submitted.

For those who don’t know what I did… when I got my Permanent Residence I applied to join the Regulars and followed the procedure writing a letter asking for citizenship waiver.  That was refused.  So I wrote to the Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the time – Paul Martin, and Gordon O’Connor asking them why they wouldn’t let Permanent Residents of Canada apply to join the military.  I received nothing from Paul Martin, and a fob-off from Gordon O’Connor with some copy and pasted information from the website.  I then approached the (former) local Member of Parliament Roger Valley who shot off a letter on my behalf.  That meeting was quite funny  because he went into a tirade about how Gordon O’Connor was a dinosaur completely out of touch with the military.  None of that worked.  I got the current local Member of Parliament Greg Rickford to write a letter to the Department of Defence, from which I received another fob-off with more copy-and-pasted information from the website.

I was actually quite unhappy at the letter I received from his office in which the lady basically said ‘the rules are made in the interests of the country and we won’t be asking the DOD to change them’.

It took twenty-three years.  I’m glad the wait is over.

Update: View the letter from Minister of Defence Peter MacKay concerning eligibility for Permanent Residents of Canada to join the Canadian Forces (please note the information in this attachment IS NO LONGER RELEVANT).