has anyone ever seen the series called the Underground Royal Commissions which looked at the serious problems with the military and Canadian governance overall, I even think there is a film on the UN too and their accounting and accountability problems, done quite a few years ago because Canada, when you consider its population of 30 million is one of the largest contributors to the UN
I get the i! channel which is an excellent documentary channel, they did an update on the series and one of the top ex military generals was saying they need like 25 billion just to get the military back to old or barely adequate levels, that there is going to be a massive exodus of experienced soldiers, instructors and mechanics starting about now because they are all reaching their first pension level and they are just sick and tired of the bs and being unappreciated and they can make way more money out in the private sector
my cousin is married to helicopter instructor for the Canadian military, based out of CFB Edmonton, he's retiring this summer at age 40, and my cousin said he would never ride in a Sea King, and a few other of the helicopters, they could court martial him if they wanted, which they never did
he's spent most of the last 10 years in Bosnia and he's in that wave of retiring soldiers who are just fed up.....
so now the Canadian military is really going to be in bad shape........
Rick Mercer who is a very funny if not liberally bent comedian in Canada
well did Rick ever change his tune towards soldiers when he did a Xmas special with Canadian soliders in Kabul and up in Petawawa [besides the fact they are just great guys, hands down] he did joke after joke about the equipment and yet it isn't funny....
one of the most moving films from the Underground Royal Commission series is the one about Canadian peacekeepers sent to Croatia in 1993, they followed the plight of one unit - these guys said they arrive in Croatia without helmets (some dispute over where to order them?), with little ammunition, old flak jackets and tanks that aren't real tanks but practice tanks, Lew Mckenzie had been promised these tanks would never see action, they were practice tanks and they said peacekeeping are you kidding me we arrive in the middle of firefight with Serbs on one side, Croats on another and Muslims on the other, and we have just a few bullets........