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The fact you are so certain of your lazy prejudice you can't be bothered to spend 10 seconds to see if you're making a fool of yourself speaks volumes about *you*, asshole.

Please contact the Canadian Search and Rescue Centre before starting your trip. Link to JRCC Halifax, Nova Scotia below. You will need their number on your speed dialer. Also, please pre-pay a deposit of $100,000 CDN for your rescue. Have a great trip. http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/ope...

I wasn't aware of any new/current wars since Afghanistan(which we are now doing training only) nor of any drone strikes that Canada has carried out in military operation. The closest I could come up with was the NATO missions in Lybia which I think have wrapped up and the current support non combat roll in Mali. So I have no idea what the hell your talking about, can you care to elaborate on that?

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/index-eng.asp

And the fools days is upon us again. Well done slashdot, and happy Birthday to the Royal Canadian Air Force

They could always add the CSOR as a CT team in counterstrike.

The US and Canada joined together to defend North American from attack from the USSR and China.

On 9/11 all air traffic in the U.S. and Canada was grounded simultaneously. The next day the Prime Minister of Canada was asked by a reporter how soon flights in Canada would resume. He answered simply, "I don't know. The air space belongs to Norad."

Under joint North American defense treaties, Canadian military officers participated in the second Gulf War even though the same Prime Minister had explicitly refused to join the coalition. At the time, the U.S. ambassador to Canada observed that more Canadians participated in the war than 90% of the countries that formally supported it.

There was even a treaty signed recently that allows U.S. and Canadian forces to cross into each other's countries without any formal invitation under certain emergency conditions.

It appears that behind the public posturing about sovereignty and national identity, the defense of North America takes priority over everything. Some people will find that fact comforting and others find it alarming.

As stated: NORAD == *North American* Aerospace Defense

Canada was involved from the beginning. As a matter of fact there is a Canadian counterpart to Cheyenne Mountain near North Bay, Ontario. It is buried about 200 metres into the solid granite of the Canadian Shield bedrock which makes up the geology of the area. There are American military personnel permanently working there, just as Canadian military work in Cheyenne Mountain.

The likely attack of Soviet bombers or missiles is over the pole. This was especially true during the late 1950's (when NORAD was formed), and probably continued to be the direction of most threat during the cold war. So most of the radar stations watching for this are in Canada. The famous early version was the DEW line (Distant Early Warning) of radar stations.

SCARY FACT!!!: Canada once had NUCLEAR TIPPED BOMARC ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES to be used against Soviet bombers in the event of war. They were a purchased in part to move them further north (so that when they exploded after firing at Soviet bombers, it would be in the Arctic instead of say, over Winnipeg, Calgary or Edmonton if they were fired from the U.S.A.) and as an additional replacement for the ignorant John Diefenbaker's incompetent handling of Canada's defense when he canceled the Avro Arrow (a very advanced intercepter fighter whose speed was projected to eventually top Mach 3 and had the first fly-by-wire avionics).

Immigration is a country's opportunity to recruit the best and the brightest from around the world to enrich one's country.

We already have many of the best and the brightest - almost too many it seems. 30% of adult Canadians have bachelor's degrees or better, the highest percent per capita in the industrialized world. The trouble is, we are having labor short-falls in less-skilled, semi-skilled, and skilled positions. Too few Canadians are seeking employment in trades, be it as journey(wo)men, apprentices, or in less-skilled positions. Curse our extensive education systems!

If we can import a few hundred thousand US citizens with skilled trade qualifications or college-level (read: non-university) education and save the hassle of giving them student loans (as the government would for a Canadian Citizen), teaching them to read/write/speak english/how to drive on the right (as some non-north american/european require), or many other extensive/expensive government endavours, so much the better.

Even better, we could boost our military by importing US soldiers who don't want to fight in Iraq, but want all the benefits the army/navy/air force has to offer. If you thought my mentioning the minimum wage pay-boost was nothing significant, get a load of this. Full-time enlisted personnel at NATO rank E-0 (Private in both countries) make around $12000USD/year in the US. Not bad, but in Canada it's $28000CDN/year (just below $24000USD/year), plus benefits and perks second to none!

Canadian legislation allows for importing of military personnel as well. Of course, the requirement is that the Minister of National Defence must extend an invitation to an individual, which is required to overcome the "Canadian Citizen" requirement to join. Still, a pretty substantial pay increase.

The only thing I ever heard refered to as a rucksack in canada, are the military issued backpacks.
 
  Rucksack

Is this similar to what he was carrying, or was it more the standard backpack, like you would use to carry books to school?

As another Canadian recently returned to Canada, I can tell you why they're fighting over it -- however stupid the whole notion is.

We are fighting with the Danish over this to enforce our sovereignty. Unfortunately, like private arena disputes over copyright, failure to exert sovereignty means you effectively cede control over an area. Lose it if you don't use it, more or less.

We actually have a First Nations military unit dedicated to looking after our interests in remote northern communities.

You can read an entertaining article about the Canadian Rangers here.

Well, I don't really see them as having many choices. They are on-again off-again at war with India. Afghanistan can't keep its lights on, never mind provide internet connections.

Iran? China? Wow. Who other sets of political issues. (See pretty map here.)

Not to mention that a large part of Pakistan's borders are extremely inhospitable mountain regions. The Arabian Sea actually makes sense.

The four soldiers who died and the 8 others that got injured, were exactly where they were supposed to be.

Here's a photo of an aurora in flight. Kind of hard to visualize this at mach 5 :)

Please report these people immediately.

Thank you.

If this thing isn't escorted by at least two 688s it will never hear the modern diesel boat running on batteries that launches 4 torpodoes on it.

Cool. That means that Canada could potentially sink the pride of the American fleet? After all, we happen to have 4 Victoria Class modern diesel powered subs.

You pussies only have the option of not defending youerselves because your neighbors do it for you. If Iraq were your neighbor you wouldn't have lasted a day. Smug idiots.

Who has the US ever protected Canada from? When was the last time a nation tried to attack Canada?

I'll tell you -- it was the Fenian Raids (terrorist attacks) from the US back in the mid 1800's. Prior to that, it was the US again, during the War of 1812.

I routinely hear this type of rhetoric -- that the mighty US military machine is "protecting" Canada -- but never can anyone tell me who they're protecting Canada _from_. And indeed, they seem to convienently forget that the US's military forces have _benifitted_ from Canada's contributions to continental and international security -- everything from allowing US cruise missle tests in Canada, to committing troops to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, to intelligence sharing, to giving the US access to Canadian mutition and military technology test facilities (ref: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/focus/canada-us/agree _e.asp).

So before you spout such rhetoric again, just remember that a) the US hasn't really protected Canada _from_ anybody, and 2) the benifit has always been two-way.

Yaz.

Sorry, a quick addendum. The Canadian division responsible for the incident in Somalia was the Canadian Airborne Regiment, not the "1st Airborne". The unit has since been disbanded.

The victim was Shidane Abukar Arone.

CBC Newsworld report

Click here for the Somalia Inquiry Report.
Canadian Airborne Regiment Unofficial Homepage To get their side of the story.

Every story has two sides, and those who are truly interested in this case should be willing to consider both of them before making up their mind.

The SmartTruck looks like something Mattel invented... Why they decided to put it on a truck cab instead of a modified Hummer is beyond me.

In any event, there is already a great vehicle system on the market: the Canadian Forces' Coyote, part of their LAV platform of vehicles (insert gratuitious Canadian army jokes here). This system is so successful that it has been picked up the US Army under the Stryker name. Plus, it has the advantage of looking like it belongs on a battlefield and not some kid's sandbox.

Some specs for the Coyote:
Length: 6.39 m
Width: 2.50 m
Height: 2.69 m
Maximum speed: 100 km/hr
Range: 660 km
Weight: 14.4 t
Gradient: maximum 60%
Side slope: maximum 30%
Minimum turn diameter: 15.6 m
Trench crossing: 2.06 m
Fording
shallow: 1.3m
deep: 1.0m
3 configurations:
Command (51 vehicles)
Battlegroup (120 vehicles)
Brigade (32 vehicles)
Armament:
25-mm stabilized M242 chain gun
7.62-mm stabilized coaxial machine-gun
7.62-mm top-turret mounted machine- gun
76-mm smoke/fragmentation grenade launcher
Sights:
Daytime optical
Thermal Imagery (TI)
Generation III Image Intensification (II)
Surveillance System:
Battlefield
Surveillance Radar
Thermal Imager
Daylight camera
Laser Rangefinder

Winch: Front-mounted 6,800 kg dynamic pull
self-recovery winch
Engine: 275 hp Detroit Diesel 6V53T
Transmission: 5 forward gears, 1 reverse
Transfer case: 2 speed
Suspension: Independent Rear 4 wheels
torsion bar
Front 4 wheels strut
Wheels: 8 wheels (4 or 8 wheel drive)
Tires: Michelin XML
Brakes: Power (air)
Electrical system: 28 V
Batteries: 2 x 12 V automotive, 6 x 12V
auxiliary
Alternator: 300 A

The SmartTruck looks like something Mattel invented... Why they decided to put it on a truck cab instead of a modified Hummer is beyond me.

In any event, there is already a great vehicle system on the market: the Canadian Forces' Coyote, part of their LAV platform of vehicles (insert gratuitious Canadian army jokes here). This system is so successful that it has been picked up the US Army under the Stryker name. Plus, it has the advantage of looking like it belongs on a battlefield and not some kid's sandbox.

Some specs for the Coyote:
Length: 6.39 m
Width: 2.50 m
Height: 2.69 m
Maximum speed: 100 km/hr
Range: 660 km
Weight: 14.4 t
Gradient: maximum 60%
Side slope: maximum 30%
Minimum turn diameter: 15.6 m
Trench crossing: 2.06 m
Fording
shallow: 1.3m
deep: 1.0m
3 configurations:
Command (51 vehicles)
Battlegroup (120 vehicles)
Brigade (32 vehicles)
Armament:
25-mm stabilized M242 chain gun
7.62-mm stabilized coaxial machine-gun
7.62-mm top-turret mounted machine- gun
76-mm smoke/fragmentation grenade launcher
Sights:
Daytime optical
Thermal Imagery (TI)
Generation III Image Intensification (II)
Surveillance System:
Battlefield
Surveillance Radar
Thermal Imager
Daylight camera
Laser Rangefinder

Winch: Front-mounted 6,800 kg dynamic pull
self-recovery winch
Engine: 275 hp Detroit Diesel 6V53T
Transmission: 5 forward gears, 1 reverse
Transfer case: 2 speed
Suspension: Independent Rear 4 wheels
torsion bar
Front 4 wheels strut
Wheels: 8 wheels (4 or 8 wheel drive)
Tires: Michelin XML
Brakes: Power (air)
Electrical system: 28 V
Batteries: 2 x 12 V automotive, 6 x 12V
auxiliary
Alternator: 300 A

well it's not a huge armada or anything dozen frigates, 4 destroyers, dozen coast guard cutter type ships and various helos and surveillance aircraft older than i am (34) - oh yeah, I forgot the subs - the whole 4 of them and the 10 oberons that the limeys sold us that aren't seaworthy.