TURNCOATS

The state of Canada's military is worse than I thought. I wrote a month or two back about a group of Canadian snipers who were slighted by the Canuckistan government after serving in Afghanistan. The US wanted to award six members of the group the Bronze Star, but the Canadian DoD balked at the suggestion.

It seems they were finally given the accolade, but they did not get the respect of their fellow soldiers:

The military ombudsman has launched a special investigation into why Canadian Forces snipers were treated like "turncoats" by their comrades after serving with American troops in Afghanistan.
The probe was started last week by Andre Marin after he received an unprecedented request from Gen. Ray Henault, chief of defence staff, The Canadian Press has learned. "It's the first request we've ever had by the chief of defence staff to investigate a case," Marin said Wednesday. "We're taking it very seriously."
Hailed as heroes in early 2002 by the U.S. military, the six Canadian marksmen were later given highly coveted Bronze Star medals - awards normally reserved for American soldiers who display extraordinary heroism during combat.
However, sources close to the investigation say the snipers were treated with much less than high regard when they returned to their Canadian bases, both in Afghanistan and back home.
"They were treated as outsiders and sort of turncoats," said one source who didn't want to be identified.
"At least three of these guys have since quit the army over their treatment."

(via Damian)

I have long assumed that the Canadian military had been demoralized by successive years of starvation, from funding and official recognition. And that the sad state of our forces was caused by the absence of support from the federal Liberal government.

The fish rots from the head, but is unfortunate to see how far the rot has crept:

Men, if they are to fight well, need an entirely different set of characteristics. The military ethos stresses reciprocal trust and loyalty between peers and subordinates and mutual respect among peers.
...
Armed forces reflect the society they are drawn from in many ways. If fundamental flaws in the Canadian Forces' standards of leadership and behavior are becoming manifest, what is the ultimate cause?
If officers shun personal responsibility for the actions of those under their command, is this also not frequently seen in so many other institutions? Indeed, for thirty years, Canadians have stressed individual rights, entitlements and privileges while disavowing the concepts of duty, obligation and personal responsibility. The evidence is everywhere from our Parliament to our prison.

Canada is a country where governing party MPs can call Americans 'bastards' or worse, it is a place where 40% of children consider America evil. Now, men who fought with exceptional bravery against the Taliban and Al-Qaida were treated by their comrades as 'turncoats.'

Can anyone recommend a new nationality for me? Australian sounds nice.