The Price of Tradition

Ottawa Citizen:

Changes to Canadian Army insignia will cost about $245,000 but the military is hoping the move will pay for itself over a five-year period.

The Conservative government announced July 8 that Canadian Army rank insignia, names and badges would revert to their traditional forms; the army would replace the maple leaf rank designation on the uniforms of officers with traditional “pips” and Crowns. The ranks of non-commissioned officers will return to the original designations that were in place during the First and Second World Wars. Those were based on the British Army.

The federal government spends about $275 billion a year. On this blog I've documented dozens of examples of government waste that run into the many millions, examples that pass without comment in the MSM. Yet these same outlets seem utterly obsessed with the cost of restoring traditional insignia and designations to our armed forces. Last year it was how much returning the word royal to the navy and air force would cost the taxpayers. Opposition parties that think nothing of proposing multi-billion dollar welfare programs complained bitterly about ordering new stationery.

A bit of bias there?

 

Comments

[Mark3Ds]

I must differ on this one:

"Canadian Army: Pips, Crowns, Leaves, Whatever, Cont’d"
http://cdfai3ds.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/mark-collins-canadian-army-pips-crowns-leaves-whatever-contd/"

A "tradition" that has been gone almost 50 years is not much of one--renaming the RCAF and RCN is different as those names are still associated with our participation in major wars whereas pips? crowns? as rank insignia?

This thread at Milnet.ca suggests that an awful lot of CF serving members, including Army, think the same way:
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/index.php/topic,16520.msg1243442.html#msg1243442

A youngish friend in the military had one word for the latest changes: "Retarded". QED.

Mark Collins

[Mark3Ds]

More Milnet.ca snark:

"The obvious solution to any potential cost for these changes is to simply have officers purchase their commissions. In fact such a scheme could be an excellent boost to the CF. There would be no more complaints of HQ bloat in Ottawa or too many high ranking officers in tiny Reserve units if having those positions actually helped pay for some useful kit!.."
http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/index.php/topic,16520.msg1245634.html#msg1245634

Keep scrolling down (or up!).

Mark
Ottawa

[Richard Anderson]

As a youngish reactionary I regard your comments as treasonous!
;)

[Jim Whyte]

Hi Mark,

The tradition may have been "gone" for 50 years (from the Reg Force, that is) but if serving soldiers find it retarded, maybe that says something about them, rather than about the tradition.

For example: I recall the Gomm-Moran "Corporals' Report" of a few years ago, with plenty of intelligent thinking about Army structure and doctrine, and the completely irrelevant suggestion that RCR, PPCLI, and R22e be lumped into a single Canadian Infantry with numbered battalions.

All that said to me was that they should have paid better attention when hearing the Regimental history in GMT.

Hellyerization had two prongs, not one: unification, which robbed the Services of differentiation and distinction, and the conscious suppression of Service history, which had British roots and was therefore Bad.

In the Militia the pips-and-crowns rank badges persisted on uniforms other than the green suit into the 90s, and with some units even today.

[Arty]

It hurts to see your traditions trashed and changed by people you don't particularly care for, doesn't it Mark? Now you know how we've felt for the last 50 years.

I hear Harper's next move is to shut down the CBC and start funding SUN News.

[Jim Whyte]

Whoa, Arty...if you think that about Mark, you don't know him so well.

[Mikeg81]

Milnet.ca is a joke. Last time I checked, there isn't a provision in the Code of Service Discipline that makes allowances for members to comment on service policy.

[Cytotoxic]

I still don't see why I should have to pay for an indulgence of a monarchy I don't believe in. This is dumb.