And they wonder why recruitment is so low.
‘White nationalism’ a threat the Canadian Armed Forces aren’t equipped for: watchdog
Remembrance Day 2022, From Ottawa
Go Woke, Go Broke
Now is the time at SDA when we review the state of our military preparedness!
In a historic reform to its nation’s military dress code, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) on Wednesday permitted the servicemembers to have facial tattoos, dye their hair, allowed women to keep long nails and wear skirts in an attempt to make military service more inclusive. In a statement, Ottawa’s Department of National Defence said that these new military dress and personal grooming regulations were aimed “to support respect, diversity and inclusiveness” and to encourage the youth to join the armed forces. […]
The Canadian army will now be allowed to choose whether to wear skirts or pants. The updated rules will accommodate the men who identify as females to wear the skirts and blouses as part of their uniforms, according to an FAQ released by the Canadian military.
The commander of the Canadian Armed Forces is calling on the country to rally behind its military as it faces an unprecedented personnel crisis that he says is threatening its ability to protect and defend Canada. […]
The extraordinary appeal comes as Eyre and his subordinates are struggling to fill about 10,000 empty positions at a time when Canada’s military is facing a growing number of threats and requests for help at home and abroad.
At 19 Wing Comox on Vancouver Island a senior officer recently told Armed Forces members they could contact Habitat for Humanity if they needed help finding housing.
Also October, 2022.
h/t jk
How on earth did we get to this point?
Please show me how Tucker Carlson is wrong.
“Non-Essential”
CTV- Military’s chief orders halt to non-essential activities, focus on personnel crisis
The Armed Forces is supposed to be adding about 5,000 troops to the regular and reserve forces to meet a growing list of demands, but is instead short more than 10,000 trained members — meaning about one in 10 positions are currently vacant.
The problem has become so acute that some senior offers have started using the word “crisis” in interviews with The Canadian Press, including the commander of the navy and the officer responsible for military recruitment and training.
The China Virus
“Even as the military faces its greatest enlistment crisis in decades, tens of thousands of Christian service-members face expulsion for refusing to take the COVID-19 shot. The largest branch of the services, the U.S. Army, announced it met only 52% of its recruitment goal this fiscal year, which ends Friday,” Johnson reports today.
Today on Unsolved Mysteries
Canadian Press- Military sounding alarm over recruiting problems as Canadians steer clear
But Brodie says the military is getting about half the number of applicants it needs per month to meet the goal of adding 5,900 members this year.
The shortfall is expected to exacerbate the current personnel shortage, with about one in 10 of the military’s 100,000 positions unfilled.
“We are without a doubt in an applicant crisis right now,” Brodie says.
Net Zero
This is big. Story is still developing. And there’s a lot of speculation going round.
ZeroHedge- Damage To Nord Stream Pipelines “Unprecedented;” May Have Been ‘Sabotaged’
Jerusalem Post- Blasts occurred near Nord Stream gas leaks, seismologist tells SVT
Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden on Monday registered powerful blasts in the areas of the Nord Stream gas leaks, Sweden’s National Seismology Centre (SNSN) at the Uppsala University told public broadcaster SVT on Tuesday.
“There is no doubt that these were explosions,” SNSN seismologist Bjorn Lund told SVT.
The size of the Nord Stream pipeline gas leak is huge.
According to the Danish armed forces, it measures about 1 kilometer in diameter. The smaller circle in the center is approximately 200 meters wide https://t.co/7FJQNN5hNg
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) September 27, 2022
Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition
No rush.
The Telegraph- Britain runs low on ammo as Ukraine bombards Kremlin forces
Ukraine, then, still has a great need for ammunition. It is burning through thousands of rounds and rockets each day, but Britain’s arms industry is yet to get the orders it needs to increase production and deliver on Truss’s pledge.
Much of the UK’s ammunition stockpile is built by BAE Systems, Britain’s largest defence contractor. A deal to expand production is expected but it has not yet been signed.
This is how the west fights its enemies.
Take That Putin
The Electric Hummer
Get your mind out of the gutter.
ZeroHedge- US Army Embraces “EV Future” With New Electric Hummer
“Special”
Help Wanted
My body, my choice? Armstrong Economics- A Future Draft is Possible in the US
The US military is having trouble recruiting new members, according to the Pentagon. A much lower percentage of Americans are eligible to serve, and within that population, an even smaller amount is willing to enlist. Ret. Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr of the Heritage Foundation said, “This is the start of a long drought for military recruiting.” A recent poll by NBC News showed that only 9% of those eligible want to join the military, a major decrease from 29% in recent years.\
Quantity has a Quality
Grab a beverage.
Royal United Services Institute- The Return of Industrial Warfare
Currently, the West may not have the industrial capacity to fight a large-scale war. If the US government is planning to once again become the arsenal of democracy, then the existing capabilities of the US military-industrial base and the core assumptions that have driven its development need to be re-examined.
The winner in a prolonged war between two near-peer powers is still based on which side has the strongest industrial base. A country must either have the manufacturing capacity to build massive quantities of ammunition or have other manufacturing industries that can be rapidly converted to ammunition production. Unfortunately, the West no longer seems to have either.
So Cute!
The Military Industrial Media Complex
I really liked the new Top Gun movie but I didn’t go in assuming it had much resemblance to reality.
LA Times- Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like ‘Top Gun’?
The film’s F-18s and other military gear are courtesy of the Pentagon. This is the job of the U.S. Defense Department’s Entertainment Media Office, which allows use of such assets in exchange for control of the script. Each military branch — except for the Marine Corps, which operates out of Camp Pendleton in San Diego County — maintains satellite offices along Wilshire Boulevard to do outreach with the entertainment industry.
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
Not sure the message being sent here: Marines feature rainbow-colored bullets for Pride Month
One Big Happy Family
National Post- Finnish MP calls for boycott of Turkish kebabs in response to NATO block
In a statement, Mikko Karna urged “citizens to boycott Turkish holiday trips, Turkish kebab restaurants and Turkish-made cars until Turkey has given its approval to Finland’s NATO membership”.
At the heart of Turkey’s threat to stop NATO’s Nordic expansion is a clash of views over Kurdish political groups whom Erdogan views as terrorist organizations.
The Liberal Destruction Of Canada’s Military
As you probably already know, the Liberal Party’s former Supreme Court Justice came out with her report today. It calls for major culture changes. I saw this coming before I retired as an army officer. Some of the changes she wants is the possible closure of military colleges. Officer recruits would go to civilian university. And of course she wants more women in the forces, including more in leadership positions. I’m quite happy now puttering around the family farm and at my shack in Muskoka.
Make Borscht not War
New York Times- The War in Ukraine Is Getting Complicated, and America Isn’t Ready
Is the United States, for example, trying to help bring an end to this conflict, through a settlement that would allow for a sovereign Ukraine and some kind of relationship between the United States and Russia? Or is the United States now trying to weaken Russia permanently? Has the administration’s goal shifted to destabilizing Vladimir Putin or having him removed? Does the United States intend to hold Mr. Putin accountable as a war criminal? Or is the goal to try to avoid a wider war — and if so, how does crowing about providing U.S. intelligence to kill Russians and sink one of their ships achieve this?
Without clarity on these questions, the White House not only risks losing Americans’ interest in supporting Ukrainians — who continue to suffer the loss of lives and livelihoods — but also jeopardizes long-term peace and security on the European continent.
Moon Over Alabama- Ukraine SitRep – Russians Break Through U.S. Bolsterism
In total the social-economic situation for Ukraine is catastrophic. The military situation is even worse. Mariupol has fallen and Russian troops working there will soon be able to go elsewhere. The Propasna bulge is threatening to envelope the whole northern frontline together with the core of the Ukrainian army.
There is no more talk of the Ukrainian army ‘winning’ like in Kiev or Karkov where the Russian troops retreated in good order after finishing their task of holding Ukrainian forces in place.
The Ukrainian command has sent several territorial brigades to the front lines. These units were supposed to defend their home towns. They consist of middle age men drafted into service. They have little fighting experience and lack heavy weapons. Several of these units have published videos saying they were giving up. They are lamenting that their commanders left them when their situation became critical.