UN Beret on Rememberance Day? Darned Tootin'! Let the Rant Begin!

" Can you wear your peacekeeping beret on Remembrance Day?"

Thus started a spirited post that had quite a crowd opining to wearing their Blue Beret every day because they earned the Right, to the more staid of the crew, who pointed out that the UN "owns" their images, and have directed that their (Blue Beret) is only to be worn on National Peacekeepers Day each year on the Ninth of August.

So they didn't really "forbid" wearing the Beret, but "directed", which in UN parlance, is meant for UN delegates, employees and other attendees to the UN in NYC.

So, as per usual, a typical wishy-washy statement from the UN that does not hold an ounce of force behind it. So, it becomes just a statement, and not an directive, never mind an order as it was intended.

Pretty much their go-to statement for anything to do with anything the UN sticks their noses into.

We wish. We desire. We hope. We strenuously object. We suggest, we direct (flip-flop?), we concur, we care, we pray, we hope. One could go on and on, but nothing ever gets done.

At least the World Court came right out and Called Russia AND Israel genocidal and apartheid masters.

But even as far back as March 2022, the UN court at the Hague, Netherlands, ordered Russia to cease hostilities in Ukraine.

Russia ignored that as fast as a Republican would ignore any Federal subpoena's.

But...no one listens. Palestine 2,000 victims. Israel Retribution was 40,000 in the summer, but now is up to 60,000, as many as 25,000 (formerly 17,000) of them children.

Tell me - who are the real terrorists???

155mm, 120mm, mortars 24/7, 500lb bombs, F16 and F35 Attack aircraft dropping 500lb bombs to take a whole building of Palestinians to hopefully take out a SINGLE Hamas Soldier or leader. How is that even Ethical, never mind Moral?
And what does the average Hamas soldier have to fight back? A few manpack tubes, a bunch of AK47's or whatever they could "rescue" from their own antics. Add Paragliders to the list of weapons as well...

The UN really should have stepped in about 30 years ago.

But...but...'Merica!

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force of today ain't anything like the UN that PM Lester B. Pearson left for his descendants. Canada "tries" to do it's best with what it's raped warehouses now hold. 

Canada has dropped to an all-time low of Peacekeeping, even when including Police Force members. It's at it's lowest Army Manning, Lowest new equipment, Lowest retention rates, Lowest budget for beans and bullets. The Air Force spends $100 Million Dollars on a SINGLE AIRPLANE from the USA!

That would buy 2 SAAB Gripen's - Arctic Ready and short-field landing/takeoff. Have a handy highway or flat iceberg? Filling station for those guys eh? We don't need to fire missiles over the horizon. We don't need to sneak around our own country. Let the F-35's do that. We do NOT need that capability. Who we gonna fire on?
Russia?
No. Really!

SAAB Gripen

We need to Patrol our borders, and that includes our Arctic Borders and any maritime traffic within our borders! And the SAAB Gripen is also capable of Super-Cruise - that is the capability to go faster than Mach-1 without needing to use afterburners. For those not aware of afterburners, basically, the aircraft dumps fuel into the burning exhaust to radically increase the thrust, and therefore, speed of the aircraft. However, this is a very fuel-intensive event, as this could empty an airplanes fuel tanks within minutes. Super-Cruise can go for hours, theoretically. I'm sure mid-air-refueling would be required.

Today, mostly other countries are handling Peacekeeping duties in the Middle East, Africa and Indonesia where required.

Source: UN

Mission	Location	Type	Male	Female	Total
MONUSCO	D.R. Congo	Police	3	6	9
		Mil	7	1	8
UNFICYP	Cyprus	Mil	2	0	2
UNMISS	S. Sudan	Mil	4	1	5
UNTSO	Middle East	Mil	2	0	2
		Mil	15	2	17
		Police	3	6	9
		Totals	18	8	26

I think I would be safe in mentioning that these numbers are mostly from the Officer Corps, and not from NCO's - the only exception I could think would be Military Clerks to handle daily paperwork continuity back to NDHQ and UNHQ. Maybe a cook or 2 if there is a lot of officers hanging around.  If just a couple, and mostly NCO's, then it'll be ration packs...

In either case, the numbers are dismal.  There were perhaps at least that many Canadians attached to the British Communications Squadron in Cyprus when I was posted there for my UN Tour. In our detachment with the Danish Contingent, we had 4 people just to handle hourly radio checks, and handle any teletype message traffic that came our way.  24/7. 

Meanwhile, the Canadian Contingent (Usually a Regiment) had at least that many cooks for the the Regiment/Batallion of Canadian men as part of Canada's commitment.

Honestly, I am thinking that not only is a change of our government required, but a change of attitude against our neighbour to our North - Russia. I jokingly suggested a new party in the USA, but this can also work in Canada. I'd call it the "Centrist Party", with political leanings on either side of the Centre between Conservative and Liberal. The NDP's are trying to make a go of it in National Politics, but weak leaders and poor mandates keep them from gaining any popular vote.

We have to quit being so frikkin' wishy-washy about National Defence. It takes years to train up troops to our reputed high-level of competence, and we cannot afford to filibuster any more about this.

Our Politicians are "required" to give our guys and gals in uniform the kit they need to enter, accomplish and survive future taskings.

Gotta stop borrowing shit from the Yanks...

Canada need things like Nuclear Ice Breakers, Small Aircraft Carriers (carrying CF35's and LR Choppers?) and perhaps even some Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripens with their amazing short field take-off/landing characteristics could land on a quickly prepared ice strip for refueling/reprovisioning/rearming/etc.
Extra Long range CH-47's, Fast Attack/long range Helo's would be a vast improvement. Something like the Lockheed RAIDER-X, with a pusher prop to really cover some ground.

Cheyenne's would be neat, but are getting a bit long in the tooth.
FFS, even old, cast-off Sea-Cobra's would be preferable to the current "cargo" Griffin helocopters Canada currently has as the only fast-reaction chopper in it's inventory. 

The only good thing I have to say about this is that Canada is rocking the most advanced version of the CH47, as they were all purchased from Boeing, starting in 2014 with it's first delivery. I think Canada currently has an inventory of 5 Chinooks, all based in Petawawa, Ontario, for the 2nd Brigade Air Wing. I hear they have a bunch more on order. Good stuff that! But...

Hardly enough to cover Canada, never mind deploying troops from the 1st Brigade or 5th Brigade. They both do, however, rock a Squadron of Griffin Helo's. However, that being said, they are not the most "tactical" choppers Canada could utilize. The Blackhawk chopper could carry more troops and cargo by weight than the Griffin, and the US is RETIRING the fleet, preferring to go with the Tilt-Rotor Bell V-280 Valor.

I think a long-range version of the Valor for patrolling our Northern Coastlines in the summer - Ship transit season.

You know you are really behind the times when the Americans invent a new airplane to replace TWO other older airframes. In this case, the F35A Lightning II is designed to replace F-16's and A-10's.

That's right, the two most dangerous up-close fighting platforms in the world!!! The Yanks want to toss.

Canada should purchase. We got lots of ground to chew up in practice for both the F16 and A10's. Be a helluva purchase. But then again, the Grippen has shown it can stand up to F-16's and F-14's in wargames. And beat them. So, perhaps we should just stick with the Grippen. Helluva lot cheaper than F-35's, easier to maintain, just as fast, just a dangerous, and while it may not have a bumble-bee radar cross-section, it is more than capable of mixing it up with Eastern Airframes.

Really - Get some of those new fast bastards from Sweden - They are designed for climates such as ours! The F-35 certainly is NOT! It is a hodge-podge of cutting-edge electronics and other technical tricks, designed more for over-the-horizon attacks using advanced radar and missiles, and requires white-glove handling because of all the electronics and other super-secret stuff.

Not so much an up-and-close fighter. Might actually scratch the paint.

You would think they learned their lessons from the F-101's and F-104's. Speed is good, but highly over-rated. Accuracy and a long-range punch is much more preferable - especially for the pilots and equipment lifespan extensions, that is. This is the current standard of US Military Planners.

We need to not only improve on Canada's NATO commitment, but also build up our Northern Defense policy and get going with building installations, harbours, access roads and, get this - start building our OWN Hovercraft for Arctic Surveillance! It is the perfect craft for ice, tundra or water.

We need something that will be future-proof to not only provide Canada's future soldiers with modern weapons and equipment, but also provide even more safety and security at the same time. Yes, it costs money, but are our soldiers not worth it? They are putting their lives on the line for US - the average Canadian.

And that, ladies and gents, is JMHO.

I Remember.
Cyprus '82 VVV
*(Signals were the First Peacekeepers Mr. Pearson sent in. Just so you don't forget who set the standard, eh?🤫)

*
"Pearson was called a “chore boy” of the Americans, and the signallers who were selected to be the Canadian contingent were derided as the “1st Chairborne” because they were not traditional soldiers."
--From PolicyOptions.irpp.org--
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/november-2017/pearson-and-canadas-peacekeeping-legacy/