[Merritec]

Had an interesting article sent to me and thought I would post it for comment. Please remember this was published in 2002 and was written by a UK writer for a UK newspaper.
This wasn't posted to start a flame war. It was just nice to see some respect for our military, even if they don't get it here at home sometimes.
Article is as follows:

The country the world forgot -again
By Kevin Myers
The Daily Telegraph, London, April 21, 2002

UNTIL the deaths last week of four Canadian soldiers accidentally killed by a US warplane in Afghanistan, probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops were deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will now bury its dead, just as the rest of the world as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.
It seems that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.
That is the price which Canada pays for sharing the North American Continent with the US, and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: it seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved.
Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10 per cent of Canada's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.
Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, its unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work of the "British". The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the third largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign which the US had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.
So it is a general rule that actors and film-makers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer British. It is as if in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakeably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers. Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1 per cent of the world's population has provided 10 per cent of the world's peace-keeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peace-keepers on earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peace-keeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.
Yet the only foreign engagement which has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia, in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.
So who today in the US knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan? Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac, Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost.
This weekend four shrouds, red with blood and maple leaf, head homewards; and four more grieving Canadian families know that cost all too tragically well.

[mustangdriver]

What/ Growing Pains man, Growing pains.

[Alph]

This isn't as surprising when one considers whether or not they have Friends in Winnipeg/Halifax and Edmonton. Canadians are trained to do specific jobs such as Special OPS. There are even Foreign Legion although the public don't really want to know because these guys are not messing around with rules of engagement! Alph

[bsmith13]

I am not trying to fan flames or anything, but every american serviceman or woman I know is aware of the Canadian Armed Forces and the excellent job they do worldwide. I have had the honor of controlling many Canadian squadrons, hosting their own controllers, and working side by side with them in 1st AF. It's too bad this particular British writer (in 2002) didn't know of their contribution.

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by bsmith13

I am not trying to fan flames or anything, but every american serviceman or woman I know is aware of the Canadian Armed Forces and the excellent job they do worldwide. I have had the honor of controlling many Canadian squadrons, hosting their own controllers, and working side by side with them in 1st AF. It's too bad this particular British writer (in 2002) didn't know of their contribution.

Well said bsmith! We who are, or have been, in the US military know how great the Canadians are.

I used to tangle with their F-18s when they were still in Germany during the Cold War. Great pilots (they didn't care much for any rules, though)! I have nothing but the greatest respect for their Armed Forces (even though sometimes their budget could use some help).

It's too bad about the fratricide incident too (referred to in the article). That REALLY sucked...

FVD

[mapleflag]

An excellent insight into the Canadian state of mind. As a former member of the Forces I can attest to how hard we worked to get so much done with so little, and at the end of the day we knew we had accomplished something in spite of the budget. Alph, in response to your observations, a large number of us were/are cross-trained to perform multiple roles for two primary reasons, smaller and therefore more mobile ops teams and minimal down-time waiting for replacements, ops carried on. We have very few specialists but a fairly large number of versatile, effective trained and skilled members.

[Lofty]

Will probably get my private parts chewed here, but here goes........As a "Brit" living in Canada,(hopefully will become a Canadian citizen in time) I find it sad that Canada feels the need to sacrifice its young to the meat grinder that Blair and Bush seem so keen to feed.Whilst I support/respect/admire all the men/ women who serve in the armed forces , I mourn the waste of life in a war that the "Western Democracy's" surely cannot win........
During WW II , I am amazed why Canadians were thrown into the disaster that was Dieppe........Surely it should have been British troops, but then so many of the UK's "Empire" were dragged into the conflict , amazing sacrifices!
And now in recent times I also feel it is Bush's responsibility to sort out what he started in Afghanistan,though that will cost USA lives.....
Sad times.......as ever, in Human terms........

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by Lofty

Will probably get my private parts chewed here, but here goes........As a "Brit" living in Canada,(hopefully will become a Canadian citizen in time) I find it sad that Canada feels the need to sacrifice its young to the meat grinder that Blair and Bush seem so keen to feed.Whilst I support/respect/admire all the men/ women who serve in the armed forces , I mourn the waste of life in a war that the "Western Democracy's" surely cannot win........
During WW II , I am amazed why Canadians were thrown into the disaster that was Dieppe........Surely it should have been British troops, but then so many of the UK's "Empire" were dragged into the conflict , amazing sacrifices!
And now in recent times I also feel it is Bush's responsibility to sort out what he started in Afghanistan,though that will cost USA lives.....
Sad times.......as ever, in Human terms........

Please, read a few history books (any at all), then come back with some perspective.

FVD

[Lofty]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Please, read a few history books (any at all), then come back with some perspective.

FVD

Gentle sarcasm and put down eh?.........
Any you could particularly recommend?
Always interested/intrigued in mans need to kill each other.

[jim]

Originally Posted by Lofty

During WW II , I am amazed why Canadians were thrown into the disaster that was Dieppe........Surely it should have been British troops, but then so many of the UK's "Empire" were dragged into the conflict , amazing sacrifices!
........

I am not sure what you mean by that? Surely fighting the Nazis and Japanese was a global fight.

I have just reread that first post. I would like to add to the above comment.

The sacrifices of the Canadians in WW11 has not been forgotten nor has it been absorbed into British history. The Canadians acheivments stand out in their own right.
I for one will never forget the brave Canadian airmen that flew over the Reich night after night, Neither will I forget the soldiers and seamen that gave their lives so that I could live as a free man and reap the benefits those men fought for.

God bless them.