Military Journalism - Calgary/Edmonton
May 2 - I check into the residence at the U of C and they hand me my key and a 6 inch binder full of information. Yikes.
It has everyone's bio in it. Now I'm really sure there was a screw up somewhere. One girl, Rym, was in Iraq in January. Another, Ruth, grew up in Mali. Everyone but me seems to be able to speak more than 2 languages. My ace-in-the-hole seems to be my Asian experience. No one else has ever been there.
May 3 - Class starts at 9am. We lug our binders to the 11th floor of the library and for the next 3 days, learn about the Access to Information Act (shouldn't we have learned that in j-school? No, not mine.), Geneva Convention and hear speakers from DND and the Reserves. We even visit the Calgary Highlanders at the Mewata Armoury (next to the Science Centre). We hang out with the reservists, talk about their daily lives and whether or not they get respect from the regular forces (they don't).
The biggest thing I learned in the first 3 days was what the Poppy Fund was for. We visited the Calgary HQ for the Poppy Fund, a volunteer organization, in one of the dodgiest areas of Calgary downtown. We went through their food bank, their supply of wheelchairs, canes and scooters, and heard the director talk about how they send their 'old hags to see the old bags' at the Vet Hospital in town. I didn't know this before, but the Canadian Forces don't give pensions to war vets. So many of the soldiers and their families from WW2, Korea and even some peacekeepers are living on the poverty line, relying on the Poppy Fund for the food bank and medical help. Very sad and very shameful of the gov't.
I remember debating about the relevance of poppies last Novem ber. I hope that someday the Poppy Fund is irrelevant b/c that'll mean that the government is supporting the vets, but until then, I'll be buying poppies.
May 6 -9 - CFB Edmonton.
We got to see everything on that base. EVERYTHING. They had us handling C7 rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles. We were climbing in and out of tanks, LAVs, old historic Sherman tanks. We were briefed on every squadron on that base, including the Strathcona Horse (yup, hanging out at the stables). We even ate rations and I have to say, not bad, not bad at all. We were hosted at the Officer's Mess for lunch on Friday, drank for free at the Officer's Pub on Friday night and were chauffered around the base by 2 LAV crews. Had to wear helmets and everything.
We even talked to a documentary filmmaker who had been embedded with troops in Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Gave us some tips on how to stay on the good side of the military (such as carry your own weight and do what you're told) and go to a war zone with lots of money, but don't let anyone know you have lots of money. Oh, and having big tits is a benefit AND a detriment. The man certainly didn't mince words or ideas.
Highlight: Learning about the sniper detachment. These guys are intense. In exercise, they sometimes will take up to 8 hours to move one kilometre! Insane!
Lowlight: Wearing non-stretchy jeans and trying to climb in and out of tanks.
May 9-11 - We returned to Calgary and visited the Museum of the Regiments and finished up our classroom portion of it all.
End result: I learned a TON of stuff about the military; their good and bad points, the government's attitudes toward them and National Defense, and have started to think more seriously about why Canadians don't KNOW more about our military and why they don't care (and I'm counting myself in with that). It's an interesting challenge.
In chatting with my dad about this, I almost gave him a heart attack when I suggested that mandatory reserve service might be an interesting idea. When I explained that it was simply an idea I was toying with, and I was not going to join the new Conservative party, and I still think that Stephen Harper is a dangerous schm,uck, Dad recovered nicely.
May 2 - I check into the residence at the U of C and they hand me my key and a 6 inch binder full of information. Yikes.
It has everyone's bio in it. Now I'm really sure there was a screw up somewhere. One girl, Rym, was in Iraq in January. Another, Ruth, grew up in Mali. Everyone but me seems to be able to speak more than 2 languages. My ace-in-the-hole seems to be my Asian experience. No one else has ever been there.
May 3 - Class starts at 9am. We lug our binders to the 11th floor of the library and for the next 3 days, learn about the Access to Information Act (shouldn't we have learned that in j-school? No, not mine.), Geneva Convention and hear speakers from DND and the Reserves. We even visit the Calgary Highlanders at the Mewata Armoury (next to the Science Centre). We hang out with the reservists, talk about their daily lives and whether or not they get respect from the regular forces (they don't).
The biggest thing I learned in the first 3 days was what the Poppy Fund was for. We visited the Calgary HQ for the Poppy Fund, a volunteer organization, in one of the dodgiest areas of Calgary downtown. We went through their food bank, their supply of wheelchairs, canes and scooters, and heard the director talk about how they send their 'old hags to see the old bags' at the Vet Hospital in town. I didn't know this before, but the Canadian Forces don't give pensions to war vets. So many of the soldiers and their families from WW2, Korea and even some peacekeepers are living on the poverty line, relying on the Poppy Fund for the food bank and medical help. Very sad and very shameful of the gov't.
I remember debating about the relevance of poppies last Novem ber. I hope that someday the Poppy Fund is irrelevant b/c that'll mean that the government is supporting the vets, but until then, I'll be buying poppies.
May 6 -9 - CFB Edmonton.
We got to see everything on that base. EVERYTHING. They had us handling C7 rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles. We were climbing in and out of tanks, LAVs, old historic Sherman tanks. We were briefed on every squadron on that base, including the Strathcona Horse (yup, hanging out at the stables). We even ate rations and I have to say, not bad, not bad at all. We were hosted at the Officer's Mess for lunch on Friday, drank for free at the Officer's Pub on Friday night and were chauffered around the base by 2 LAV crews. Had to wear helmets and everything.
We even talked to a documentary filmmaker who had been embedded with troops in Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Gave us some tips on how to stay on the good side of the military (such as carry your own weight and do what you're told) and go to a war zone with lots of money, but don't let anyone know you have lots of money. Oh, and having big tits is a benefit AND a detriment. The man certainly didn't mince words or ideas.
Highlight: Learning about the sniper detachment. These guys are intense. In exercise, they sometimes will take up to 8 hours to move one kilometre! Insane!
Lowlight: Wearing non-stretchy jeans and trying to climb in and out of tanks.
May 9-11 - We returned to Calgary and visited the Museum of the Regiments and finished up our classroom portion of it all.
End result: I learned a TON of stuff about the military; their good and bad points, the government's attitudes toward them and National Defense, and have started to think more seriously about why Canadians don't KNOW more about our military and why they don't care (and I'm counting myself in with that). It's an interesting challenge.
In chatting with my dad about this, I almost gave him a heart attack when I suggested that mandatory reserve service might be an interesting idea. When I explained that it was simply an idea I was toying with, and I was not going to join the new Conservative party, and I still think that Stephen Harper is a dangerous schm,uck, Dad recovered nicely.
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