COLLINS: Time to give up on our military

A week ago, we were roundly criticized for not living up to our NATO commitment. Our PM said we would fulfil our obligations. Then this past week, some senior military officers said the government was looking at cutting defence spending by a billion dollars. Defence Minister Bill Blair was only partially effective in trying to explain that.

Oh, and did I mention our fleets of search helicopters all need replacing?

Right now, we can’t protect Canadians on land, sea or in the air. We have major sexual harassment issues, morale is poor. It’s not a good time to be a soldier.

The government is trying to get more recruits. They are relaxing the rules on length of hair and being allowed facial hair. That’s good because if they get assigned up north, it will help keep them warm because the quality of their survival gear probably is only good down to the freezing mark. Note that facial hair seems to be a higher priority than developing an atmosphere of inclusion that would allow people of all genders and ethnic backgrounds to work in harmony instead of one that fosters racial and gender slurs, antisemitism and sexual harassment including, in some cases, rape and even death.

So if we don’t have the resources to be soldiers, what can we be? Well, one thing we do well is the grunt cleaning up after wildfires and floods. Why not build a couple of large bases, one at each end of the country, and make them emergency coordination centers? Keep a couple of the big transport planes to carry people to the scenes of fires and floods. We can give them specialized training to aid other ground personnel as those fires and floods become worse every year. We only need two bases, fewer soldiers and a lot less equipment. What a pleasant surprise to see soldiers actually doing something other than trying to fight a naval battle with a couple of armour-plated canoes or trying to beat off a tank with flintlock rifles.

As Louis would say, “What a Wonderful World.”

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Doug Collins

COLLINS: Time to give up on our military

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