Hey, even if you just write once in a while, your knowledge and writing are worth it to many of us. Take care and just write when you feel like it. And remember, failing can be ok here. No one’s going to get hurt.
I subscribed for the experienced knowledge you bring to your writings, when and if they come. I am sure your other subscribers feel the same way so please do not put any pressure on yourself to please us! As you say, this is your hobby and there is no demand on you to stick to a schedule. Be well :)
It has always been an embarasmment to me how our government has strangled our armed forces. To me, it is automatic that when you have a volunteer armed force of a smallish stature you provide them the best resources you can afford - and that is not defined by the governments current funding priorities but by the tactical needs of the force you have. It is shameful that the good people who step up to defend our nation and serve as international peacekeepers are treated as an annoying expense rather than the important resource they are. I just hope PM Carney delivers on his agenda.
BC6, you need not have any misgivings about how much you post. You have given so much to our country, been physically damaged as a result, and we will read whatever you have to share at your leisure. Keep on keepin on, Bro.
Thank you for "holding the line"...I truly hope politicians of all stripes will wake up and actually value the service that our members provide-and budget/staff accordingly...the world needs a functioning and capable CAF!
Thank you so much for this, as difficult as it must have been to write it. Those of us on the outside need to be told. Your natural leadership ability is obvious to all your readers. Your history makes it possible to see the big issues at a distance that the rest of us can’t. Because of the commitment of you and others like you, Canada’s future will be Freedom.
You nailed it. Based on when you said I was a LCol when the Bosnian and many other missions, especially Afghanistan, coalesced to become a major mission drag on people of all ranks mostly in our Army — that had been cut from its already smallish state in 1970 by PET to more cuts under Chrétien and Harper getting to the point where strengths in numbers (such as they were) fell. These aspects are now apparently very difficult to repair by just trying to recruit more.
Part of it has to do with huge slashes to infrastructure, training medical and other CAF institutions that commenced seriously in 1970 and has not stopped since. Most critical institutions that were cut over 40-50 years have not been replaced. They were simply absorbed with duties distributed to those who already had too many.
It is going to be hard to fix so many things when much of it is not, by nature, in the shop window and not therefore very sexy for the buying officer, bureaucrat or even Joe public who has to pay for improvements.
Wow, you are also describing how practicing medicine is like.
Having said that, just like in medicine, it seems like making do and making do and "not failing" while trying to do it with less and less resources is a slow death. The making do is done on the backs of the military staff, again as you say, working longer and longer hours because three times the staff to do the job isn't an option.
Thank you for sharing this and thank you for your Substack. You shed a light and impart knowledge that most of us could never know.
Post when you can and know that we are all appreciative.
Take care of yourself because you did your part in taking care of Canada (and us!).
I understand d your story as, although not military, I have worked in stressful situations, including running a newsroom.
I reached a point where I simply had to change. What happened was we abandoned our lives in Australia and moved to Thailand to teach English language to university students.
This was a complete change of life. I experienced a different culture and was able to look back at Australia from the outside, which gave me a new, and mixed, opinion about my country and the world.
Sometimes you just have to walk away from the familiar.
Now retired, I started my Substack to use my writing skills. I can investigate things which make me curious. My priorities are no longer determined by others.
It's important to take control of your life and allow relaxation time. A rubber band constantly stretched loses its elasticity.
This year we are travelling full-time in our caravan and Defender. It's our choice.
We need people like you and I fully understand though I have never been in the military except in the Reserves during my University years. A types burn out—I did and recovered with time—so manage your health first—your knowledge and leadership will be useful when you are ready- God be with you
I’m seeing a lot similar to the pressures we were under at the Internal Revenue Service when I was still a working civil servant. A lot of people just quit and disappeared. I was one of the first in years at my post of duty to successfully get a medical disability retirement. The stress almost killed me in the job.
I’m doing much better now as a teacher. The docs do say I’ve come quite a ways health-wise since I stopped being a fed.
I just want to thank you for writing. I still talk to buddies that are trying to keep things together with spit and wire at the old office. It is good to see that that sort of crazy work environment wasn’t unique to just us.
I am a retired CAF Military Policewoman. I love what you write, and truly hope you only write when it is right for you! When in the past I have heard criticism of our Armed Services, I stepped in to staunchly defend. We are like a whole Armed Forces of "MacGyvers". I have worked with British and American MPs. They could not believe how complex our roles were. I told them we could be posted anywhere. One year at an embassy, off on a peacekeeping mission, army bases, air bases, naval bases, security, or criminal investigation. We had to be smart, and adaptive. I cannot wait to see how incredible we can be with the proper funding and support. I am afraid we will really need it. I am learning alot from you, Black Cloud Six, and look forward to reading anything you write. 😊 🙏
My earlier comment on your note referred mostly to your personal issue but I just reread this and I believe it is important to address the issue of failing not being possible. I totally understand why it is part and parcel of military values but, as you mention, it has a devastating effect on personnel when there isn’t enough manpower, equipment and other ancillary services. And, mostly, not enough money to fix those overwhelming deficiencies. In the last year, we have heard politicians pledge more military spending and polls show that Canadians support this. But time is of the essence and the government should act fast. One, raise military salaries to attract more qualified personnel and train new recruits; two, ramp up our military industries to produce equipment (that is longer term but must be activated now); three, buy new equipment from reliable allies. I could go on but you have already listed many of the needed actions in some of your earlier posts. The bottom line is that, in a world getting more and more dangerous, we can’t let our most competent military personnel burn themselves out.
This ability leads to a vicious circle: why provide additional resources if the military can still fulfill its assigned responsibilities?
Thank you for a very powerful and personal piece. The quote above hit home since it feels that many institutions rely on or take advantage of this situation. And they are able to do so not solely because failure is not an option. Rather, people in many roles such as the military (where the stakes are perhaps highest) come to see the role as a mission and not just a job. And thus achieving the objectives assigned also then comes to be an identity and even an indicator of one’s worth.
Managers and leaders in organizations which can create or have a significant number of employees who accept these conditions, start to understand that their staff will go above and beyond and can often achieve results that arguably nobody would have expected from the outset.
Yet, in many instances people in such roles simply will not be able to achieve the objectives demanded. They are placed in Sisyphean situations where almost inevitably they start to break down because the impact of their failure on clients or fellow citizens is so stark.
I can still place myself on the phone at the Canadian Embassy in Jakarta in 1998 speaking to a terrified Canadian. There were riots in the Chinese quarter of the city where mobs had already set fire to businesses and apartment buildings thought to be Chinese-owned. The Canadian could see the mobs coming to here building and wanted help. One duty of an Embassy is to help protect citizens abroad but there are clear limits to what can be done legally and logistically. When that call ended I was gutted, knowing there was little I could do and fearing what might happen to her.
Thank you for sharing this with us. So many of us have no idea of the sacrifices and contributions made by the military even in times of relative peace. I am sorry to know of the suffering and stress and injury you and your colleagues endure to serve our country. It makes me doubly incensed by these separatists across our country playing with our borders. They are so selfish and short sighted IMHO.
Hey, even if you just write once in a while, your knowledge and writing are worth it to many of us. Take care and just write when you feel like it. And remember, failing can be ok here. No one’s going to get hurt.
I want to second this ⬆️
I subscribed for the experienced knowledge you bring to your writings, when and if they come. I am sure your other subscribers feel the same way so please do not put any pressure on yourself to please us! As you say, this is your hobby and there is no demand on you to stick to a schedule. Be well :)
It has always been an embarasmment to me how our government has strangled our armed forces. To me, it is automatic that when you have a volunteer armed force of a smallish stature you provide them the best resources you can afford - and that is not defined by the governments current funding priorities but by the tactical needs of the force you have. It is shameful that the good people who step up to defend our nation and serve as international peacekeepers are treated as an annoying expense rather than the important resource they are. I just hope PM Carney delivers on his agenda.
BC6, you need not have any misgivings about how much you post. You have given so much to our country, been physically damaged as a result, and we will read whatever you have to share at your leisure. Keep on keepin on, Bro.
Thank you for "holding the line"...I truly hope politicians of all stripes will wake up and actually value the service that our members provide-and budget/staff accordingly...the world needs a functioning and capable CAF!
Thank you so much for this, as difficult as it must have been to write it. Those of us on the outside need to be told. Your natural leadership ability is obvious to all your readers. Your history makes it possible to see the big issues at a distance that the rest of us can’t. Because of the commitment of you and others like you, Canada’s future will be Freedom.
You nailed it. Based on when you said I was a LCol when the Bosnian and many other missions, especially Afghanistan, coalesced to become a major mission drag on people of all ranks mostly in our Army — that had been cut from its already smallish state in 1970 by PET to more cuts under Chrétien and Harper getting to the point where strengths in numbers (such as they were) fell. These aspects are now apparently very difficult to repair by just trying to recruit more.
Part of it has to do with huge slashes to infrastructure, training medical and other CAF institutions that commenced seriously in 1970 and has not stopped since. Most critical institutions that were cut over 40-50 years have not been replaced. They were simply absorbed with duties distributed to those who already had too many.
It is going to be hard to fix so many things when much of it is not, by nature, in the shop window and not therefore very sexy for the buying officer, bureaucrat or even Joe public who has to pay for improvements.
It is possible that we know each other….🤔
Thank you for all you’re doing. Whether regular, or intermittent, it’s important and it matters.
Wow, you are also describing how practicing medicine is like.
Having said that, just like in medicine, it seems like making do and making do and "not failing" while trying to do it with less and less resources is a slow death. The making do is done on the backs of the military staff, again as you say, working longer and longer hours because three times the staff to do the job isn't an option.
Thank you for sharing this and thank you for your Substack. You shed a light and impart knowledge that most of us could never know.
Post when you can and know that we are all appreciative.
Take care of yourself because you did your part in taking care of Canada (and us!).
I understand d your story as, although not military, I have worked in stressful situations, including running a newsroom.
I reached a point where I simply had to change. What happened was we abandoned our lives in Australia and moved to Thailand to teach English language to university students.
This was a complete change of life. I experienced a different culture and was able to look back at Australia from the outside, which gave me a new, and mixed, opinion about my country and the world.
Sometimes you just have to walk away from the familiar.
Now retired, I started my Substack to use my writing skills. I can investigate things which make me curious. My priorities are no longer determined by others.
It's important to take control of your life and allow relaxation time. A rubber band constantly stretched loses its elasticity.
This year we are travelling full-time in our caravan and Defender. It's our choice.
Make your own choices. Enjoy them.
Hugs, Black Cloud. And respect.
We need people like you and I fully understand though I have never been in the military except in the Reserves during my University years. A types burn out—I did and recovered with time—so manage your health first—your knowledge and leadership will be useful when you are ready- God be with you
I’m seeing a lot similar to the pressures we were under at the Internal Revenue Service when I was still a working civil servant. A lot of people just quit and disappeared. I was one of the first in years at my post of duty to successfully get a medical disability retirement. The stress almost killed me in the job.
I’m doing much better now as a teacher. The docs do say I’ve come quite a ways health-wise since I stopped being a fed.
I just want to thank you for writing. I still talk to buddies that are trying to keep things together with spit and wire at the old office. It is good to see that that sort of crazy work environment wasn’t unique to just us.
I am a retired CAF Military Policewoman. I love what you write, and truly hope you only write when it is right for you! When in the past I have heard criticism of our Armed Services, I stepped in to staunchly defend. We are like a whole Armed Forces of "MacGyvers". I have worked with British and American MPs. They could not believe how complex our roles were. I told them we could be posted anywhere. One year at an embassy, off on a peacekeeping mission, army bases, air bases, naval bases, security, or criminal investigation. We had to be smart, and adaptive. I cannot wait to see how incredible we can be with the proper funding and support. I am afraid we will really need it. I am learning alot from you, Black Cloud Six, and look forward to reading anything you write. 😊 🙏
My earlier comment on your note referred mostly to your personal issue but I just reread this and I believe it is important to address the issue of failing not being possible. I totally understand why it is part and parcel of military values but, as you mention, it has a devastating effect on personnel when there isn’t enough manpower, equipment and other ancillary services. And, mostly, not enough money to fix those overwhelming deficiencies. In the last year, we have heard politicians pledge more military spending and polls show that Canadians support this. But time is of the essence and the government should act fast. One, raise military salaries to attract more qualified personnel and train new recruits; two, ramp up our military industries to produce equipment (that is longer term but must be activated now); three, buy new equipment from reliable allies. I could go on but you have already listed many of the needed actions in some of your earlier posts. The bottom line is that, in a world getting more and more dangerous, we can’t let our most competent military personnel burn themselves out.
This ability leads to a vicious circle: why provide additional resources if the military can still fulfill its assigned responsibilities?
Thank you for a very powerful and personal piece. The quote above hit home since it feels that many institutions rely on or take advantage of this situation. And they are able to do so not solely because failure is not an option. Rather, people in many roles such as the military (where the stakes are perhaps highest) come to see the role as a mission and not just a job. And thus achieving the objectives assigned also then comes to be an identity and even an indicator of one’s worth.
Managers and leaders in organizations which can create or have a significant number of employees who accept these conditions, start to understand that their staff will go above and beyond and can often achieve results that arguably nobody would have expected from the outset.
Yet, in many instances people in such roles simply will not be able to achieve the objectives demanded. They are placed in Sisyphean situations where almost inevitably they start to break down because the impact of their failure on clients or fellow citizens is so stark.
I can still place myself on the phone at the Canadian Embassy in Jakarta in 1998 speaking to a terrified Canadian. There were riots in the Chinese quarter of the city where mobs had already set fire to businesses and apartment buildings thought to be Chinese-owned. The Canadian could see the mobs coming to here building and wanted help. One duty of an Embassy is to help protect citizens abroad but there are clear limits to what can be done legally and logistically. When that call ended I was gutted, knowing there was little I could do and fearing what might happen to her.
Thank you for sharing this with us. So many of us have no idea of the sacrifices and contributions made by the military even in times of relative peace. I am sorry to know of the suffering and stress and injury you and your colleagues endure to serve our country. It makes me doubly incensed by these separatists across our country playing with our borders. They are so selfish and short sighted IMHO.