It has been suggested that in
a previous post (1) Canadian Defence Matters has been guilty of
simplification.
There may be some
justification in saying that ‘the primary task of the Canadian Armed Forces is
to kill foreigners and destroy their material goods” is a simplistic assessment.(2) It is true that the purpose of the
Canadian military, like that of all other departments of the federal government,
is to work for the benefit of Canadians. Benefit may be an elastic term, but in
this case it means defending Canadian interests. Unlike all the other departments
of government however the main method the DND uses to achieve these goals is to
“kill foreigners and destroy their material goods, or at least be able to
believably threaten to do so, if they don’t do what we want them to.”
Obviously there are other
methods that can be used to achieve the goal of defending the Dominion and the
military can and should use some of them. However, in theory all of these non
violent methods could be accomplished by some other organization. Only the
armed forces are trained and equipped to commit violent acts on a large scale
in pursuit of their objectives.
In light of recent reports on
the growth of civilian staff numbers at National Defence, which grew by almost 30 per
cent over six years, it is also important to remember the difference between most
civil servants and members of the military. (3) Unlike most of the
public service, members of the military undertake to risk their own lives to
achieve the goals we set for them. This unlimited liability, even more then
their willingness to do violence on our behalf, is what sets them apart from
other elements of our society.
(1) THE RIDEAU INSTITUTE REPORT ON SUBMARINES, PART ONE
(2) MILNEWS.ca BLOG
(3) Too many staff, too few
troops, despite cuts
