Military Death

The CBC recently released a press report of the death of another soldier in Afghanistan as per Canadian soldier dies in Afghanistan and confirmed by the Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada.

This is the 125th death since the mission began in 2002 and is the 5th death this month.

We Will Remember Them

'Start of Something Good'

The weatherman has been saying we are going to have a great weekend with lots of sun and warmth. . .

I just returned from doing my morning papers and we definitely have lots of nice clear blue sky. Nary a cloud in sight. Mind you it is a wee bit on the cooler side with the temperature sitting at 5.6C when I started my walk.

Hopefully the skies will stay clear and some of the warmth of the sun can get down here and dry up some of the water that is still in puddles. Great haven for mosquitoes to grow :(

At least the weatherman has it partly right so far. Hopefully they are correct for the rest of the week and into the weekend.

Dang, It's Cold Out There

What a country! We had quite a cool spring this year and then it started to warm up and the countryside became too dry. Then about 2 weeks ago, the moisture started to come down and now we can't get the tap to turn off.

When I went out this morning at 5:45 a.m., it was 7C. That definitely is cool for July 11th. All through the hour walk it threatened rain, however, it held off until I was about 10 steps from my door. That was nice :)

This time of the year in our Province is 'Craven' time and our newest city has sprouted up north of Regina a bit. With all the rain that we have received in the last while, you can bet that Craven will be one huge mud pie. Throw in this cool weather and it makes for an uncomfortable time.

Then again, what will probably happen is those at Craven will just increase their anti-freeze level and keep on partying :)

Fun, fun, fun . . .

RJ and the Boys #3

I did finally get the last of the videos uploaded. I am not quite satisfied with the third one though. It is probably the best of the three, however, it appears James was not able to record the whole song.

You can get a teaser at RJ and the Boys #3 or of course view the video here by clicking below.



If you ever get a chance to see the group live, don't pass it up. They are certainly worth the time to go and view them.

As a side note, if I was David (the drummer), I would be strongly giving James a few pointers on how to focus the camera and getting the whole band included on the video :)

RJ and the Boys #2

Whew, I got another of the videos uploaded to YouTube. Are they are large!

To access the next video, you can click on RJ and the Boys #2 or you can view it through the blog by clicking below.

Who Is A Veteran

I find it quite interesting that as I posed my question a couple posts ago about who actually qualifies as a veteran, the Legion Magazine just publishes in their July-August 2009 magazine with a quotation of exactly who qualifies as a veteran.

To quote the magazine . . .

Quote

"So who is a veteran? Successive generations of Legionnaires have debated who is a veteran, sometimes to the chagrin of many who have served Canada both in wartime and in peacetime.

In the year 2000, The Royal Canadian Legion at its Dominion Convention in Halifax took an extraordinary step and debated the question. By the end of the discussion, a definition of who is a veteran was accepted and it is:

""A veteran is any person who is serving or who has honourably served in the Armed Forces of Canada, the Commonwealth or its wartime allies; or who has served in the Merchant Navy or Ferry Command during wartime.""

In contrast, the definition of a veteran later approved by Veterans Affairs Canada and the the Department of National Defence is:

""A veteran is a former member of the Canadian Forces or Reserve Force who has met the military's occupational classification requirements and has been honourably discharged from the Canadian Forces.""

The primary difference between the two definitions is that the Legion recognizes those who are currently serving as veterans. In keeping with The Legion's mission "to serve veterans and their dependants" and in concert with our Purposes and Objects, the Legion definition permits us to advocate as an independent voice on behalf of all veterans including those currently serving in the CF.

Canadians who volunteer to serve in the Canadian Forces understand that they have an unlimited liability to serve. We, as Legionnaires, understand that we have an unlimited obligation to advocate on their behalf, to recognize every one of them as veteran, and to support them."

Unquote . . .

It is very apparent from the above that all ex-members of the CAF are classed as veterans and derserve the assistance from the local Legions. The local Branches should not be able to pick and choose who they feel are veterans and deserving of their help and disregarding others that are just as deserving of assistance.

Apology to the Veterans

The other day the headlines blared out that we had lost another member of our military in Afghanistan when Cpl Nicholas Bulger was killed in action. I kept my eye on the flag pole in our Cenotaph Park to see if the flag was half masted as has been done in the past with all military deaths.

Not a sign of activity at the flag pole was noticed even though it was a weekend and the local Legion's President and the Ladies Auxiliary President were home all weekend.

I thought that maybe they just missed the death even though it was all through the news media (ie TV, paper, radio, etc). Maybe they turned off their hearing aids and lost their glasses for the weekend? Or did they just not know what the Branch did to pay respect for fallen members of military?

Then we had the next announcement of another member of the military succumbing to his injuries due to the war in Afghanistan Soldier dies from injuries sustained in Afghanistan.

I just returned from down town and checked out the flag staff and nope, there is no flag to be seen as the picture will certify.

Empty Flag Pole

It is noted that at the Hanley Legion's monthly meeting of June 4th, 2008, it was voted on to lower the flag at our local Cenotaph Park to half mast on the death of any military members in Afghanistan. The 15 members in attendance at the meeting voted in favour of this submission.

With the new President taking over the reigns of the Branch on April 1st, 2009, you would expect him to be up to speed on what has transpired at the Branch for the last year. Afterall, that is why the incoming President was a vice President for the previous 3 years at the Branch. The motion to remember our fallen military members was voted on legally by the members of the Branch. To change this ruling would need to have another vote by members of the Branch. No one member can unilaterally change a vote on their own. Unfortunately the Hanley Branch does not meet during the summer months. To my thinking, if you wish to change a ruling you should follow the guidelines at least until a legal meeting and official vote takes place.

I personally don't think this is quite correct that we failed to honour the fallen military members. I have resigned from the local Hanley Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and will move to another Branch for my own reasons. For the current members of the Branch, I would think it is incumbent on you to query your President to ascertain his thoughts as it pertains to previously voted on resolutions from the Branch.

For those interested, I have done a bit of searching around and have listed the addresses of other Branches of the Royal Canadian Legion that are always looking for new/transferred members.

Nutana Branch, Royal Canadian Legion

Saskatoon Branch 63, Royal Canadian Legion

Saskatoon TVS Branch

Outlook Branch, Royal Canadian Legion

There are other Legion Branches in the area as well that will more than likely always be looking for new members. Give any of them a call to see what their views are.

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But getting back to my headline, I wish to apologize to all of our serving members in Afghanistan and other theatres of action at present. Members of the Hanley Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion do remember you and thank you for all of your service to your country and to the citizens of Afghanistan.

I for one truly thank you for all of your service. Be advised there are many, many more veterans in this area and all throughout Canada that also thank you for your service and wish you all the best and a safe return home to Canada.