I must say this tongue in cheek. The power of this Blog and others across Canada has moved the Government to rescind an order only 24 hours old.
The order to cut Canada's 12 coastal defence vessels by half has been rescinded just one day after it was announced, according to the country's chief of defence staff.
We're going to rescind the order and have a look at the resources that are being provided, not only the money but also the crewing and what we can do to maximize the available personnel, not only in the navy but the rest of the Canadian Forces to ensure that the navy's next 100 years is as successful as the last, Gen. Walter Natynczyk told a press conference in Ottawa Friday.
On Thursday, a navy spokeswoman told CBC News that a shortage of money and sailors would force Canada's navy to mothball half its fleet of 12 coastal vessels used to patrol the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
The decision on allocation of resources is complicated, said Natynczyk and based only partially on budget.
The fact is that with the ships, we have different classes of ships supply ship, destroyers, frigates and maritime coastal defence vessels among others, he said.
With any service, not only the navy, but the army and air force, it is resources and manning to determine what is at high readiness. Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/14/navy-cut-rescind014.html#ixzz0nw3faHlN
On a sadder note Pte Kevin McKay of the PPCLI is on his way home to travel the Highway of Heroes and to be laid to rest where his family may visit. It is even sadder, if that is possible, that Pte McKay was only 48 hours from rotating home. Or in old Army speak 2 breakfasts and a box lunch to go. What was he thinking of ? Home Mom's cooking, going fishing, going to a jays game. Whatever his final thoughts may he rest in peace alongside his brothers in arms who have passed before him.
His father is a Fire Captain in Toronto and like the military family the Brotherhood of Firefighters families grieve with him on his loss.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1494656362
Kevin's fathers shares this with Canada.
Kevin McKay had his summer all planned out. The first stop was British Columbia, for a week of camping with his military pals, the brothers with whom he had served in Afghanistan.
Then he was going to drive across Canada to Horseshoe Valley, just north of Barrie, where he had another trip planned with his friends in his hometown.
All that was left, his father Fred said Friday, was the countdown to his arrival back in Canada at the end of the month.
We were under the impression that he was out of the hot zone at the Kandahar Air Field, said Fred, a captain with Toronto Fire Services.
He described his son as everybodys friend, and the kind of guy that would take his shirt off his back to help someone out.
We were kind of celebrating that he had made it, and that he would be home soon, he said.
A carpenter by trade, McKay was doing a job he loved with the Canadian Forces, his father added. He was there because he wanted the kids in Afghanistan to have a better life, and he was pleased that the Canadian forces were building schools and vaccinating kids.
His last conversation with his parents was on Mothers Day, when he phoned home to speak to his mom, Beth.
Scott Webb, who taught McKay in Grade 10 Canadian history at Eastview Secondary School in Barrie, remembers a personable student hed chat with in the hall about sports. The school in Barrie, from which McKays younger brother Riley graduated last year, flew its flag at half-mast to honour the soldier.
You dont do that with every student, Webb said. He was a special guy. He was the kind of kid who stays with you, even after all these years.
Born in Richmond Hill, McKay grew up around Barrie and spent much of his time outdoors. He loved fishing and camping, said Fred, and from a young age had started considering a career with the military.
In Grade 6, McKay did a project in which he tracked down all the local veterans who had died, many of whom had streets named after them in his neighborhood. From that time, he had a soft spot for soldiers, said Fred.
When McKay was 15, he was already thinking of a career in the armed forces, said former teacher Webb.
Even in Grade 10, he knew he wanted to be involved in the armed forces and the Canadian military, and that is rare at that age, he said.
Sarah Myers, a friend of McKays based in Edmonton, said she became close to him through her boyfriend, who was also in the military. Everything he said and did was good. He was a little man with a heart of gold, said Myers.
Nobody could be mad at him because hes just too sweet, she said.
His loss will definitely be felt forever.
My Brother Joe sent me this link, a very moving tribute by a Grade 3 Class in the USA>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pfBUUZNbFM copy and paste if need be it is well worth it.
