I removed comments from Rian Stone, a known figure in the “manosphere” who pushes toxic “red pill” nonsense—full of misogyny, fake toughness, and a warped idea of dominance that’s the opposite of real leadership and respect. He’s also been banned.
This article calls out this garbage and its bad influence on military culture. Instead of a proper debate, Stone attacked me aggressively. After trying to stay calm, his behaviour crossed the line, so I have deleted his comments and banned him.
This place is for honest, respectful discussion—not for bullying or nonsense like that. Thanks for understanding.
Every so often the warrior trope pops up. We had a brief flirtation with “warrior police” to try to differentiate between us and our civilian counterparts. Fortunately, besides a dumb name it became apparent that the two terms were in opposition to each other. A well trained soldier with a developed ethos and a code of conduct is much more desirable than warriors.
I used to consider myself a warrior, but I saw being a warrior as one aspect of being a soldier. I was a warrior when we needed to fight, a peacekeeper when we needed to keep the peace, a leader when i looked out for my troops, and even a bureaucrat when there was paperwork. But like a lot of good things, the toxic right turns what could be something good or benign into something rotten; kinda how the right has usurped FREEDOM to mean freedom to be an asshole, freedom for the wealthy to do as they please, and freedom for the powerful to hurt those without.
I totally agree with you. Warrior like so many other terms has been absconded by the likes of this
Tate, Rogan and others. I always took a warrior as someone who was professional and dedicated to accomplishing the mission without being deterred by minor inconveniences and a little pain. It now means something that I, like you, cannot identify with. I once read "Grunt: The curious Science of Humans at War" by Mary Roach. One of the articles is about the false military fitness of spending time in the weight room bulking up and how it actually makes one less fit to fight. It is aligned with all the BS you point out.
If you want real professionals then train them properly and they will become real fighters not those fakes. Your list is a good one to differentiate between professionals and wannabees.
This is an extremely well written, coherent assessment of the situation we face. If I had your writing skills I think it is almost exactly what I would write. Particularly; "I’ll admit to being completely baffled. Here was someone transparently stupid, spouting utter nonsense in the guise of providing advice to men."
This has very much been my feeling for a number of years, I just do not understand the appeal of people who spend their time telling everyone just how powerful and amazing they are. Humility should be an overwhelming trait of powerful people, not hubris.
Currently I work alongside various military members as part of a volunteer organisation, somewhat integrated in training and operations. By far the majority of the people I encounter are very professional members, dedicated to service. In general, one will know a CAF member for some considerable time before one learns of any conflicts they have been involved in, with US members in particular it may be one of the first things one learns and it's not uncommon to later learn that their involvement was quite peripheral.
Throughout history and quite inevitably, there have been and will be members who get a kick out of the aura around them and the power they wield. Anyone who has lived in a military town, or environs will have encountered it. This is why those in command must be aware of their units culture.
Again I come back to my word of the decade - complacency. We have been extremely fortunate for many decades. There have been few major conflicts and we have acquitted ourselves honourably when we have been involved. The US aim when NATO was first set up, was that they should be "in charge". Yes, all members had a say, but they wanted to be the major part of NATO. Now the orange blob has decided that the contribution members make is a stick he can use, it has caught up with us.
Along with quite a few aspects of Canadian life, this is an opportunity to shake us out of our complacency, yes, the next couple of years may be rather expensive and painful, but we can thrive even more in the long term. Planning decades ahead and constantly assessing where we are and where we need to be is critical (especially in a few years time when someone comes out with the observation that "we've done this for years and all it does is cost money").
I like your chart - very good capture of some of the differences between soldiers and warriors.
I’m wondering if most of those people who choose idolize the warrior codes of “insert here,” if they realize they are 19th or 20th century creations? I mean the Code of Bushido Japan adhered to was a creation of the pre WWI Japanese govt as a way to unify young men around the idea of charging machine gun nests, but for a noble reason…
Thanks for the well written take on this important topic for military members. It echoes (much better I may add) some thoughts I've previously shared on "warrior culture" versus "fighting spirit" in the CAF... I.e. we want the CAF to have well rounded professional soldiers with "fighting spirit", rather than "warriors". One issue with warrior culture, is that if your own self worth is based on your ability to fight & gain honour on the battlefield... How long until you're putting yourself & the troops you lead unecessarily in harm's way to chase down those US "Combat Infantry Badges"? How long until the "warrior" leadership is sending in combat troops to fight it out with... Someone... To solve a humanitarian crisis? How long until they are drumming up false pretexts to generate a casus belli to fight (*cough * Iraq)?
Warrior culture will lead to the failure of US forces... Everywhere.
Professional soldiera with fighting spirit is a more balanced & war winning approach (whatever the "war" happens to be...)
I agree with most of what you’ve said, but where you’ve missed the mark is with respect to the lawyers. It isn’t the lawyers who’ve created the disciplinary mess - it’s the politicians. They were tired of bad press - whether it was true or not - and of course the CAF can’t respond to half of it due to the Privacy Act. So it was the politicians who ordered the military justice system changed and made administrative instead of quasi-criminal; it was the politicians who took jurisdiction for sexual misconduct away from the CAF - despite the fact that the CAF historically charged and prosecuted even “minor” things that no civilian prosecutor would even bother with; and it was the politicians who accepted and promised to implement every recommendation in the Arbour and Fish Reports - even where they directly contradicted each other. Most of the JAG lawyers I knew were as frustrated by it all as their clients were.
Thank you BC6. A thoughtful well-written article as usual. I’m a subscriber and I’ve not received any spam. I have family in the CAF and none of them subscribe to these horrible and hateful “ideals”.
And Canada has had GREAT soldiers...men like Guy Simonds, Bert Hoffmeister, Harry Foster, Chris Vokes, Romeo Dallaire, and John Currie.
Mark Zuehlke, a great friend of mine, has written about Canada's heroics in World War II, and I cannot recommend his books too highly. They combine the foxhole view of the battle with that of the generals.
Anyone who wants to learn about how the soldiers from north of the 49th Parallel defeated Hitlerism at immense cost in blood and treasure should go here.
This is how wars are won and tyranny is crushed. Not through the rhetoric of Poltroon Pete the Podcaster.
I removed comments from Rian Stone, a known figure in the “manosphere” who pushes toxic “red pill” nonsense—full of misogyny, fake toughness, and a warped idea of dominance that’s the opposite of real leadership and respect. He’s also been banned.
This article calls out this garbage and its bad influence on military culture. Instead of a proper debate, Stone attacked me aggressively. After trying to stay calm, his behaviour crossed the line, so I have deleted his comments and banned him.
This place is for honest, respectful discussion—not for bullying or nonsense like that. Thanks for understanding.
I meant to include this article from a US perspective. It resonates (free gift article):
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/08/warrior-myth-lethality-pete-hegseth/683247/?gift=sASPKFE6hWNuUoCz0YtLmVJDDBCbmb8P-iUTDA133jA&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Taliban is now a good friend of Moscow
Excellent article, thank you for the freebie
Every so often the warrior trope pops up. We had a brief flirtation with “warrior police” to try to differentiate between us and our civilian counterparts. Fortunately, besides a dumb name it became apparent that the two terms were in opposition to each other. A well trained soldier with a developed ethos and a code of conduct is much more desirable than warriors.
Thank you for this article, it Is very important to differentiate between the 2 cultures. Have a nice vacation. Family is the most important thing.
I used to consider myself a warrior, but I saw being a warrior as one aspect of being a soldier. I was a warrior when we needed to fight, a peacekeeper when we needed to keep the peace, a leader when i looked out for my troops, and even a bureaucrat when there was paperwork. But like a lot of good things, the toxic right turns what could be something good or benign into something rotten; kinda how the right has usurped FREEDOM to mean freedom to be an asshole, freedom for the wealthy to do as they please, and freedom for the powerful to hurt those without.
Another well written article, thank you!
I totally agree with you. Warrior like so many other terms has been absconded by the likes of this
Tate, Rogan and others. I always took a warrior as someone who was professional and dedicated to accomplishing the mission without being deterred by minor inconveniences and a little pain. It now means something that I, like you, cannot identify with. I once read "Grunt: The curious Science of Humans at War" by Mary Roach. One of the articles is about the false military fitness of spending time in the weight room bulking up and how it actually makes one less fit to fight. It is aligned with all the BS you point out.
If you want real professionals then train them properly and they will become real fighters not those fakes. Your list is a good one to differentiate between professionals and wannabees.
Thank you.
This is an extremely well written, coherent assessment of the situation we face. If I had your writing skills I think it is almost exactly what I would write. Particularly; "I’ll admit to being completely baffled. Here was someone transparently stupid, spouting utter nonsense in the guise of providing advice to men."
This has very much been my feeling for a number of years, I just do not understand the appeal of people who spend their time telling everyone just how powerful and amazing they are. Humility should be an overwhelming trait of powerful people, not hubris.
Currently I work alongside various military members as part of a volunteer organisation, somewhat integrated in training and operations. By far the majority of the people I encounter are very professional members, dedicated to service. In general, one will know a CAF member for some considerable time before one learns of any conflicts they have been involved in, with US members in particular it may be one of the first things one learns and it's not uncommon to later learn that their involvement was quite peripheral.
Throughout history and quite inevitably, there have been and will be members who get a kick out of the aura around them and the power they wield. Anyone who has lived in a military town, or environs will have encountered it. This is why those in command must be aware of their units culture.
Again I come back to my word of the decade - complacency. We have been extremely fortunate for many decades. There have been few major conflicts and we have acquitted ourselves honourably when we have been involved. The US aim when NATO was first set up, was that they should be "in charge". Yes, all members had a say, but they wanted to be the major part of NATO. Now the orange blob has decided that the contribution members make is a stick he can use, it has caught up with us.
Along with quite a few aspects of Canadian life, this is an opportunity to shake us out of our complacency, yes, the next couple of years may be rather expensive and painful, but we can thrive even more in the long term. Planning decades ahead and constantly assessing where we are and where we need to be is critical (especially in a few years time when someone comes out with the observation that "we've done this for years and all it does is cost money").
I like your chart - very good capture of some of the differences between soldiers and warriors.
I’m wondering if most of those people who choose idolize the warrior codes of “insert here,” if they realize they are 19th or 20th century creations? I mean the Code of Bushido Japan adhered to was a creation of the pre WWI Japanese govt as a way to unify young men around the idea of charging machine gun nests, but for a noble reason…
Thanks for the well written take on this important topic for military members. It echoes (much better I may add) some thoughts I've previously shared on "warrior culture" versus "fighting spirit" in the CAF... I.e. we want the CAF to have well rounded professional soldiers with "fighting spirit", rather than "warriors". One issue with warrior culture, is that if your own self worth is based on your ability to fight & gain honour on the battlefield... How long until you're putting yourself & the troops you lead unecessarily in harm's way to chase down those US "Combat Infantry Badges"? How long until the "warrior" leadership is sending in combat troops to fight it out with... Someone... To solve a humanitarian crisis? How long until they are drumming up false pretexts to generate a casus belli to fight (*cough * Iraq)?
Warrior culture will lead to the failure of US forces... Everywhere.
Professional soldiera with fighting spirit is a more balanced & war winning approach (whatever the "war" happens to be...)
I agree with most of what you’ve said, but where you’ve missed the mark is with respect to the lawyers. It isn’t the lawyers who’ve created the disciplinary mess - it’s the politicians. They were tired of bad press - whether it was true or not - and of course the CAF can’t respond to half of it due to the Privacy Act. So it was the politicians who ordered the military justice system changed and made administrative instead of quasi-criminal; it was the politicians who took jurisdiction for sexual misconduct away from the CAF - despite the fact that the CAF historically charged and prosecuted even “minor” things that no civilian prosecutor would even bother with; and it was the politicians who accepted and promised to implement every recommendation in the Arbour and Fish Reports - even where they directly contradicted each other. Most of the JAG lawyers I knew were as frustrated by it all as their clients were.
thank you, and enjoy your time off....
Thanks for this summary of an important issue, and for your call to professionalism.
The table you created is particularly good and useful, very much to the point.
I wish you and all your family a happy summer.
Thank you BC6. A thoughtful well-written article as usual. I’m a subscriber and I’ve not received any spam. I have family in the CAF and none of them subscribe to these horrible and hateful “ideals”.
The issue is with the chat. Spammers get in and post, setting off notifications for those who have them turned on.
Oh, I see. No notifications received. I try and keep most notifications turned off.
Thank you so much for this article.
We need to maintain our Canadian values at all costs.
And Canada has had GREAT soldiers...men like Guy Simonds, Bert Hoffmeister, Harry Foster, Chris Vokes, Romeo Dallaire, and John Currie.
Mark Zuehlke, a great friend of mine, has written about Canada's heroics in World War II, and I cannot recommend his books too highly. They combine the foxhole view of the battle with that of the generals.
Anyone who wants to learn about how the soldiers from north of the 49th Parallel defeated Hitlerism at immense cost in blood and treasure should go here.
This is how wars are won and tyranny is crushed. Not through the rhetoric of Poltroon Pete the Podcaster.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+zuehlke+books&crid=3OHRCEDOV61YS&sprefix=mark+zueh%2Caps%2C1244&ref=nb_sb_ss_p13n-pd-dpltr-ranker_1_9