Unless they went to battle as Irish Regiment, or British Columbia Rifles right? Those are okay to amalgamate.
There has never been a unit called the British Columbia Rifles. You're summarily dismissing the weight some people, including myself, put on what came before because its not your what came before. That's fine, I'm not going to argue that point any further because I've already conceded its not a point based in reason, and you're not listening anyways.
Firstly, who’s side are you on?
Secondly, we both know that’s not going to happen. We’re stuck with the TAPV and frankly infantry mobility is one of the few jobs it probably can do.
The side that gets rid of awful equipment while allowing us to support an ally in a time of need. TAPV is not a good vehicle, but the Ukrainians have demonstrated a keen ability to make do, and every sub-optimal vehicle that arrives frees up a better one to be used on the front lines. And then our allegedly NATO standard, first world army can get actual AFVs instead of pumped up MP patrol cars.
Also while your comment I'm assuming is in jest, I'd rather somebody else die crewing that vehicle than me and my friends and fellow Canadians.
Well now you’ve moved the goal posts. I fully understand that Yakima is more appealing to guys in BC, everyone wants to go somewhere different and it’s much larger than what you have available. It’s just not without massive complications.
Chief amoung them is who’s fixing these tanks I. Yakima. Experience tells us at least 2 will be in the shop at any given time. So are we posting people there? Who’s doing crew maintenance? Are guys coming down on the weekend to pound tracks?
Presumably the same guys that fix our trucks now, but properly supported with funding and spare parts hence my insistence whatever we bought needs to be American. It would take more money to make happen, but my crews show up to do maintenance on LUVWs and TAPVs one weekend every month, without fail. The only difference would be a couple hours drive down to the hanger first to make it happen. Same would go for actual repair level maintenance.
As I have acknowledged, it would take a significant investment and on-going expenditure to make something like this happen, but its easily doable. It would also easily fit within the 2% we're expected to spend on defence, which we never do. I also suggested a pooled fleet in Wainwright like they did with the Cougars. I'm not hung up on tanks in Yakima, I'm hung up on crappy equipment and the constant condescension and outright dismissal of the reserves by the Reg Force. There are ways to make things work without reinventing the wheel here, but attitudes on both sides of the reg/reserve fence need to change.
The complications apparently aren't that bad, given the BCR spent more time exercising at JBLM and Yakima last year than we did in Canada.
My point is this: no one is going to procure 200-300 tanks for Canada. Even if we did I’d doubt seriously they’d issue them to the reserves. We have what we have, and we’ll go to war with what we have. We need to organize what we have into something that can be credible, makes sense, and can be task oriented.
Could the BCRs force generate crew for tanks? Maybe. What they can actually do right now is help generate these formed reserve platoons / troops for deployments. Especially if they blend with the rest of the geographically located units around them.
Fine. Give us a task and a vehicle fit to purpose, properly supported with training, spares, funding, doctrine and the training area to support it and we'll do the job. In exchange, I'll give you my LCol and RSM, and even the drill hall. My example of tanks is an "I wish" dream supported by the transfer of all the tanks to the LdSH and a squadron being deployed to Latvia. The only reason the BCR or quite frankly any other reserve armour unit in 3 Div can't support that mission is a lack of money and a lack of will on the part of the Reg Force Army.
Waiting on multi billion dollar purchases to make a unit viable is like me waiting to get drafted to the NFL at 37. Sure I can dream, but it’s not buying me a house.
How have you not worn body armour in 12 years? It’s issued on every deployment.
Its not that I haven't worn it, its I haven't been personally issued a set. I've never been able to go overseas, for reasons I'm not going to get in to here.
The fact a first world army can't issue its soldiers basic PPE, reserve or not, is an embarrassment.
I know change is needed. But if the change becomes what you want, which is the Reg Force makes us shut everything down, amalgamate everything and then hand out bullshit jobs like driving the infantry around to be done with substandard equipment the whole bloody reserve is going to quit and then the Regs will be well and truly screwed.
I'm advocating for more money, real equipment, an actual worthwhile job and a place at the table with the Reg force. And if a few light colonels and RSMs lose their jobs to make that happen, so be it.