'Will I get a chance to go to Afghanistan?'

it was an all volunteer army that defeated the soviet union(i had conversations with east german soldiers who were terrified of NATO troops), and at the end of the day, it will be the volunteer with free will who will defeat this wicked enemy

We should be very proud of our young Prairie boys. When duty calls, they step up. They have courage: they can control their fear. Generally speaking, kids from the West will not run and hide, will not watch "neutrally" when they see armed madmen hurting innocent people.

If the DND would promise to serve latte (with a Sunday New York Times plus a copy of Noam Chomsky’s latest lies) to the army tents; then maybe the Toronto Annex crowd would sign up for the Kumbaya -Taliban negotiating team.

This is inspiring, and reassuring to people who still want to think Canada means what it says and will still stand for the values of past generations. How will this square with the recent disgusting rhetoric of Taliban Jack Layton? Badly, I would think.

slow down laddybux...i grew up in the GTA, and between my 2 brothers and I we did near 50 years service, including missions in somalia, iraq, golan, north atlantic navy, alert(3 tours), fighting terror with the brits, etc. etc. etc...we r not all lefty moonbats

Kingstonlad, I doubt you are in the Annex, with a Volvo parked on your front postage size lawn, a short walk to your CBC job ... :>)

God bless you and your family for serving. There aren't enough of us conservatives in this excessively urbane postmodern city.

lived right off spadina, near dundas.....but u r right...my bro's and i were treated like we had the plague...btw...cpac just ran a phone in program regarding caf recruiting difficulties...not one person mentioned the obvious...it is the damn media protrayal of the military that causes low recruitment...hardly ever positive...almost always negative

This is the usual lazy reporting of the MSM. So, recruiting is up 250%, but what are the numbers? A percentage increase signifies nothing, if the original numbers were insignificant.

Let's say the headline read,"Jack Layton's Support Increase by 1000% In Military", would the fact that JL now has eleven supporters instead of one, be newsworthy?

Give us the numbers, lads, not hype.

Montana leads nation in military recruits
The Associated Press

A higher percentage of young adults joined the military in Montana in 2005 than in any other state, a study by the Massachusetts-based National Priorities Project found.
...
Nationally, Montana had the highest number of active duty military recruits per 1,000 youths at 5.7 percent, followed by Texas at 5.2 percent and Oklahoma at 5.1 percent.

Montana also had the highest number of active-duty Army recruits in the country per 1,000 youths at 2.5 percent, followed again by Oklahoma at 2.4 percent and Texas at 2.3 percent.

Connecticut, Rhode Island and the District of Colombia rounded out the bottom in both categories, the study found.

The study also found that low- to middle-income households and those in rural areas, like Montana, were over-represented in the U.S. Army when compared to wealthier households and those who live in urban centers.

“We’re not commenting on the quality or worthiness of our nation’s recruits,” said Anita Dancs, research director with NPP. “But if part of the population is disproportionately bearing the cost of this current conflict, we ought to note that.”
www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060916/NEWS01/60916003

My Great Uncle Murray was a rough and ready Nova Scotian who voluntarily joined the Canadian Army during WWII and saw vicious action in the Italian theatre. We were often reminded "Your Great Uncle did a lot of killing over there". Murray used to wholeheartedly discount the notion of going overseas as having anything whatsoever to do with love of God, King or country. It was all about employment. Period. Killing in the name of a pay cheque.

Don't mean to trash the military (I spent 6 years in it)or to question the bravery of all you prairie folks, but has anyone considered that the increase in enrolment may be due to the lack of other employment opportunities there? You people keep electing NDP governments and you may all be in the military.

For numbers - Montreal is up 15% from 399 recruits in 2004 to 458 in 2005.
Toronto brought in 517 recruits in 2005.

Country-wide, in the first quarter of this year, 760 people joined the regular forces - 6,400 are needed this year.

I blame these low numbers on the Canadian Forces bureaucracy.

They don't seem to be putting much of an effort into recruiting in the cities. They spend millions on promoting the service but cheap out on the recruiting officers.

They claim that they will process 30% of people in a week, 50% in a month, but I've been dealing with them since July and have yet to even receive a form to fill out.

If you have nerve enough to cross the ocassional protest lines to go into the recruiting office (open 4 days a week. they close at 4pm), they immediately dispatch you to one of the local reserve bases.

I was/am interested in joining a purple-beret unit (their term). I have a degree in political science, experience as an instructor with the paramilitaries in Italy and some Arabic from my time living in Heliopolis in Egypt. So of course I'm the last person they'd want.

First the base recruiter is away for all of August, and then when they are back, all you get is their answering machine which you need to get through in order to get an appointment to get a form which, after several months of processing will then lead to an offer.

Soldiers with guns, in our cities, in Canada - my ass.

Go Kate go I look forward to you bloggin from the opium fields

Recruits, when in Afghanistan, remember to regard the Pakistani military with caution.

Pakistan…[ copy from Bushmeister ]

The central government of Pakistan has made a good show of trying to do something about the massive problem they have in the Warziristans.

Unfortunately, there are elements within the military and the secret ISI that have been doing business with the Taliban and al-Qaeda for decades. They can't really go after them at this point; they're joined at the hip. It's just a practical matter; they have to keep their home-grown fanatics focused on Kashmir and Afghanistan. Otherwise these lunatics might turn on them. (I'm assuming, of course, that the lunatics within the Pakistani military haven't got the upper hand yet.)

Maybe they have.
Asia Times Online reports that beyond the shock of the truce, "a more significant development is an underhand deal between pro-al-Qaeda elements and Pakistan in which key al-Qaeda figures will either not be arrested or those already in custody will be set free. This has the potential to sour Islamabad's relations with Washington beyond the point of no return.

It has now been agreed between militants and Islamabad that Pakistan will not arrest two high-profile men on the "most wanted" list that includes Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Taliban leader Mullah Omar."

Well, isn't that special? You could perhaps understand why Mussharrif wants to get al-Qaeda off his back, when you consider the problems he's having in Baluchitan and with the Baluchistan Liberation Army (Which Pakistan claims is supported by, you quessed it: India) .

All Waziristan offers is lots of rocks and headaches, Baluchistan on the other hand provides lots of oil and gas. There has been a nascent insurgency going on there for quite a while and it's really coming to a head right now.

The killing by Pakistani forces of the revered leader Nawab Akbar Bugti two weeks ago has really roiled the whole already bad situation in Baluchistan and there have been violent protests in the capital city Quetta, which also happens to be the main staging area for the Taliban insurgency in southern Afghanistan.

The government claims it's got everything under control, but when you're claiming that you've made 600 arrests in what is supposedly a civil disturbance; inquiring minds start to wonder what's really going on. Police actions don't usually require the use of Apache helicopters.

ht tp ://bushmeister0.tripod.com/bushmeister0/

My personal evaluation of Mussharrif has always been that he seemed less than honest . His facial expressions and manner suggested deception and stealth. Now with this agreement with the Taliban, it seems that my unspoken doubts were well founded after all.

This adds to my impression that any nuclear equipment Pakistan has, Iran also has. There is a huge gas pipeline being built to Supply Iran from Pakistan. With a surplus of natural gas to last the next 300 years, there is plenty for electric power generation with no need of nuclear powered energy at all. = TG

Thanks for the input, Robert. You seem to have good qualifications, but your language, Arabic, Mon Dieu, it's French we need in the Canadian Forces.

For 21 years under Mulroney, Chretien, and Martin, the ads for the Canadian Forces continued on TV and in the press, yet I spoke to many young people who said there were no openings. University grads with engineering degrees weren't good enough.

Robert,

My stepson (one of those prairie boys) signed up in April and was in Basic Training by mid-May.

Be persisitent Robert. Your qualifications make you an excellent candidate. The recruiters also perform fitness tests. Hopefully, you are jogging at least 5km per day and stair-climbing, or once you get in you will be physically behind and it is brutal catching up.

If all else fails, call the Dept of Defense, your MP or even General O'Connor's office.

"Don't mean to trash the military (I spent 6 years in it)or to question the bravery of all you prairie folks, but has anyone considered that the increase in enrolment may be due to the lack of other employment opportunities there? You people keep electing NDP governments and you may all be in the military..."

Low employment prospects in the prairies? You're joking, right? We're leading the nation in unemployment rates. Its extremely easy for someone from Sask to drive a couple hours into Oilberta and land a (far less dangerous) job almost right away.

And just so everyone's aware, in the CF, 'Prairie Region' is AB, SK, and MB... used to inclued NW Ontario, but I don't think it does anymore.

... lived right off spadina, near dundas ...

Neighbourhood's changed just a little bit over the years, eh Kingstonlad?

Spot the Canadian Press Howler: What is the howler? Hint: "...Afghanistan...the Mideast mission..."

Where is Afghanistan? CP says it's a part of Gaza,Lebanon,(not Israel), the Med Sea; a few hundred miles from Cyprus,Egypt,Suez Canal, Italy, etc.

Such colossal ignorance/stupidity from the left liberal socialist moonbats ...-

Jean defends Afghanistan mission, expresses hope to visit the country soon
OTTAWA (CP) - Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean is defending Canada's role in Afghanistan as support for the Mideast mission wanes in some sectors of the public...
canoe news

What about bumper stickers out there advertising SUPPORT OUR CANADIAN TROOPS -- JOIN THEM.

What about PR/recruitment officers setting up in downtown corps.

Toronto Star reporting it's now 50/50 support for Canada's Afghan mission. It's bound to climb as public is informed that nuclear proliferation in ME is a given with now non-alliance countries throwing support behind Iran's nuclear ambitions and Muslim leadership today announcing to the effect Jerusalem will soon be theirs.

Operation Medusa, now concluded, achieved taking out approaching 1,000 Taliban. If initial estimate of 15,000 Taliban militants was correct, that means only 14,000 remaining for eradication. That's doable.

And allies' political pressure should keep heat on NATO to follow Poland's lead with confirmed reinforcements.

Canadian Forces PR/recruiters out there in numbers visible to general public -- with realtime threats that are emerging as Tehran's position on nuclear armament is not budging, with Sunni militants beheading 12 year old Shia girl and sewing dog's head on her body (reported in Iraq). Every available, able-bodied young Canadian might want to respond to this call.

Speeding up time/logistics, training is paramount.

Overwhelming force required to accomplish soonest so a return to domestic agenda can follow.

Recruiting is a joke. CF isn't a serious option for youth: we have 60K spots across the branches. What are the opportunities to do interesting things? What are the chances of serving on a real ship? Flying a real plane?

Our kit is crap. Our missions have been non-existent BS for far too long. I'm sorry but my idea of serving in the forces doesn't involved being handcuffed by a bunch of Serb riff raff, crying in my beer while millions are slaughtered, or sauntering off so that the women and children I swore to protect can be killed.

Unfortunately being Canadian means that you can't join a real military and it's essentially impossible to do cool things for the Brits or the Yanks if you weren't born there (Spec-Ops and pilots need to be citizens and you essentially need to be born in country). Up until very recently (and in the hopefully far future when the LPC wins again) the CF was a de-glorified, underpaid, underfunded police force. Decidedly unattractive, even for people that would be core targets for the military (I talked to a US recruiter after 9/11 when I was working there for school... went nowhere, as a compeng degree and CDN citizenship seriously limits what you can do).

Bring back the RCAF, RCN, and army of old (1 million strong, full up aircraft carriers...) and kids will join. Give us real missions rather than hostage offerings would also help.

Dear "hey":

I suggest you pay more attention to what's actually happening within the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces at the moment.

Try googling these for a start:

"Canadian Forces Transformation"
"Canadian Special Operations Regiment"
"Canadian Joint Support Ship"
"Canadian C-17"
"Canadian Hercules order"

If anyone has trouble getting attention from a recruiting office, try travelling to Hamilton Ontario. Go to the federal building at 55 Bay St. North. Enter through the main entrance. Take the escalator on the right. Voila-You are in a recruiting office.
If you want to serve badly enough, put some effort into it!

I'm sure the prairie applicants are only surpassed at the recruiting offices by blogging tories, fighting keyboarders and various and sundry rightwing chickenhawks.

Having worked closely with the recruiting system and the training system, I am of the opinion that Robert is full of crap. Two things stand out as glaring errors in his claim. First of all we have never used the term purple-beret unit. There are no such thing. We have what are known as purple trades, a slang for tri-service trades such as cooks, RMS clerks Supply techs. The second issue I have with his claim is he states, "they immediately dispatch you to one of the local reserve bases." We do not have any reserve bases. We have reserve units, that train at our bases.
Also, in my time at a recruiting center, we sure as hell never closed and went home at 1600, more like 1930 or 2000hrs, especially on Thursday and Friday nights. I suspect Robert has not set foot in a recruiting center and is spinning his yarn based on accounts he has read and from stories he has heard.

A Canadian friend emailed me this story with the comment added "Yet they still elect NDP MPs".

I thought about that and here's my Yank 2¢ thrown in:

Don't you sense that under the veneer of the "blue state" faux left wing CBC-MSM version of Canada, there's still a lot of the real "red state" Canada?

From what I've read of history of the Anglosphere, the peoples of the prairies and mountains, ranchers and farmers, people from small towns, tend to have a more conservative outlook and values. Patriotism is still one of their bedrock virtues, as are character and self-reliance. They're political and social moderates and conservatives, not lefty collectivists as a rule.

And I'm reminded of that quote from Churchill speaking to the Canadian Parliament in January 1942. (He'd come to Washington after Pearl Harbor, then visited Ottawa before returning to Britain.) Referring to the Nazis' very disparaging view of the "weak and decadent" English-speaking peoples, Churchill said, "...What sort of people do they think we are?! Do they think we crossed great oceans, the prairies and mountains, built great nations...because we're made of sugar candy?!" (BTW, that was a very powerful speech! I heard a recording of that speech once. It's available on the Internet and worth the search.)

Maybe I'm over-generalizing but I'd guess that these young men and women applying to join the Armed Forces are from that background. They are not made of sugar candy. The lefty CBC and MSM and the NDP can't eliminate their genes!

They're the descendants of those pioneers, with the same latent great strengths and virtues of their pioneer ancestors. Like their pioneer ancestors, their great-grandparents at Ypres and their grandparents at D-Day and Normandy, they'll make formidable soldiers.

"Maybe I'm over-generalizing but I'd guess that these young men and women applying to join the Armed Forces are from that background. They are not made of sugar candy. The lefty CBC and MSM and the NDP can't eliminate their genes!

They're the descendants of those pioneers, with the same latent great strengths and virtues of their pioneer ancestors. Like their pioneer ancestors, their great-grandparents at Ypres and their grandparents at D-Day and Normandy, they'll make formidable soldiers."

Indeed.

FACTA NON VERBA.

Let our soldiers' performance in OP MEDUSA speak for itself.

"Maybe I'm over-generalizing but I'd guess that these young men and women applying to join the Armed Forces are from that background. They are not made of sugar candy. The lefty CBC and MSM and the NDP can't eliminate their genes!

They're the descendants of those pioneers, with the same latent great strengths and virtues of their pioneer ancestors. Like their pioneer ancestors, their great-grandparents at Ypres and their grandparents at D-Day and Normandy, they'll make formidable soldiers."

Indeed.

FACTA NON VERBA.

Let our soldiers' performance in OP MEDUSA speak for itself.

And, for what it's worth, when "les gars du Royal 22e Régiment" get their tour in - as they surely will - I have no doubt they'll acquit themselves like their confrères in the RCR and PPCLI.

Whatever assorted petty squabbles and chicanerie we might get up to on the home front, from Châteauguay to Vimy to Panjawyi, we have proved our mettle.

Well, that made me feel better! So, happily humming "Vive la Canadienne," I bid all you good-day from London.

Canoe news has posted the text below under a photo of the soldier.

This is a despicable act of cowardice/treachery on the part of Canoe news.

Down with canoe news. ...-

(Photo here)

Soldier too young to die: uncle
The death of a 22-year-old soldier in Afghanistan has left his family numb with grief and lamenting his early passing Monday.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/

"Taliban Jack" Layton/NDP: feasting upon the carcasses. Vultures do it, crows do it...caw, caw...

"Taliban Jack", the meme, has now moved from the blogs to the mainstream media via Christie Blatchford's voice in the Globe and Mail.

"Taliban Jack", the meme, is being used by Lowell Green, CFRA, Ottawa, (AM, live streaming on the internet, CFRA.com). Callers are using the meme, "Taliban Jack", also. ...-

Christie Blatchford:

Excerpts:
"And Mr. Layton, who is known as "Taliban Jack" now in the military, ought not to purport to speak for soldiers, least of all when they are doing the very sort of thing he claims to want them to be doing."

"Now picture the man on the bicycle, moving toward them." (Afghan children, Canadian troops)

And to the Western eye, there is something almost innately peaceable about a guy on a bike. In Canada, the most famous cyclists are NDP Leader Jack Layton and his wife Olivia Chow, who as it happened, arrived at the House of Commons yesterday, a familiar sight, on their bikes.

What was the response, at home, to their deaths?

Why, let's be blunt, it was to feast upon the carcasses. ...-

http://www.paulding.net/bin/url.cgi/13410.11

(BTW, did Taliban Jack/Olivia wear their helmets? Did Taliban Jack's head not explode in 1989 after the shootings carried out by Gamil Gharbi, aka Marc Lepine.)

NDP Martin's leader is Jack "Taliban" Layton. ...-

MP WANTS ALLEGIANCE SWORN TO CANADA

Pat MartinWinnipeg NDP MP Pat Martin wants all members of Parliament to pledge their allegiance to Canada when they're sworn into office. He wants it in writing and he wants it in law. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? ...-
national newswatch

"I'm sure the prairie applicants are only surpassed at the recruiting offices by blogging tories, fighting keyboarders and various and sundry rightwing chickenhawks."

You're an idiot. Apparently you're unaware that some of those "fighting keyboarders" are people who have served in the forces themselves, or who have friends and family members serving in Afghanistan - myself included.

The owner of Mediaright.ca has a son in Afghanistan.

Now, go crawl back under that miserable rock of yours.

http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/09/18/5623.shtml

A MUST READ!!

THIS is who we're up against

There is a small minority who walk the talk, who have the courage of their convictions and good for them.
Fighters may have keyboards, but that doesn't mean all keyboarders are fighters.
The vast majority on the right, beating the drums of war, calling into question the patriotism and character of those who disagree with them, have no expectation of doing any bleeding. They are more akin to the Canadian mama's boy (Frum I assume) Eric Margolis refered to recently as having called Margolis a coward, but had been no closer to conflict than a spat between his parents at the dinner table. Until there is a blogging tory brigade heading off to Afghanistan, they are deserving of nothing but contempt.

Our soldiers are more popular when they die than when they lived. That's a tragedy. They want the same glory as the fallen soldiers. That's another tragedy. I work with a guy who claims he fought in vietnam, only trouble is he's too young. He would like the glory of fighting even tho he wasn't there. The Government knows by showing the funerals and widows gets a lot of sympathy. So many americans get killed in Iraq they don't show it. So what is our next move. When we are dying by the hundreds will we still be sympathetic??