Year of the Veteran & commemorative pin to be worn by all CF pers

[MPIKE]

News Release
Canadian Forces Members to Observe Year of the Veteran

NR-05.017 - March 4, 2005

OTTAWA â “ Canadian Forces members will wear a special insignia pin on their uniforms throughout 2005 to recognize Canada's â Å“Year of the Veteran.â ? Veterans Affairs Canada has produced the pin to promote an understanding of the significance and sacrifice of all Canadian veterans. The pin is a stylized maple leaf overlaid with a red-enameled poppy engraved with the year 2005.

The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, has authorized CF members to wear the pin on their uniforms â Å“...to mark this extremely important and solemn observance.â ? â Å“The service men and women of today become the veterans of tomorrow,â ? said General Hillier. â Å“Wearing this insignia during this special year is both a demonstration of support and thanks for those who have gone before, and those who will come after.â ?

The Minister of National Defence, Bill Graham, and Veterans Affairs Minister Albina Guarnieri have expressed their strong support for this worthy initiative.

The pin will be proudly worn henceforth until the end of the year by all members of the CF. The pins will be issued as soon as possible via the office of the Canadian Forces Chief Warrant Officer.

In 2001, the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada refined the definition of a veteran to recognize all former CF members, Regular and Reserve, who have met both DND's Military Occupational Classification (MOC) requirements and have been honourably discharged. Many members of the CF have previous service and are therefore currently considered Veterans.

 

[QORvanweert]

I believe that though the veterans should be remembered, the daily use of this pin is a waste of time and money. Veterans are already appreciated by the members of the CF and these pins are slightly redundant. anywho, my two cents...

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I thought wearing our cap badges was a visible sign of rememberance for "those who have gone before and those who will come after."

I don't get it.

 

[Big Foot]

Well, heres what it looks like for those of you who care. I kinda like it.

 

[Kat Stevens]

I believe that though the veterans should be remembered, the daily use of this pin is a waste of time and money. Veterans are already appreciated by the members of the CF and these pins are slightly redundant. anywho, my two cents...

Then why wear a poppy on Remembrance Day?

CHIMO,  Kat

 

[the 48th regulator]

I dig it,

I think it is a great idea.  One year of doing this is worthy of it.

tess

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I dig it,

I think it is a great idea.  One year of doing this is worthy of it.

tess

Being made to wear this rinky dink dime store toy implies that we have somehow forgotten our veterans for the last 100 years or so and are only now "remembering" them.  I don't about the rest of you, but I haven't forgotten anybody.

 

[TCBF]

They want us to believe that Canadian history actually began in 1965 when we ran up the maple flag.  No Hill 70, no Hochwald Gap, just a big googly nanny state whose unifying experience is rapidly becoming ESL class.  In a few years, the Tamil Tigers will have more vets drawing benefits in Canada than the Canadian Army does.

Tom

 

[the 48th regulator]

Lead by example,

Its the year of the veteran and one more way to promot them. Civvies see it and will will wonder.

Especially in this country that we are so willing to criticise about who forgot, as opposed to who remembered.

Sorry if it is so rinky dink, but I don't think it is your remembering that this will help to encourage, its for the ones that don't.

Go and point out to someone what it means, not what it looks like to you.

tess

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Go and point out to someone what it means, not what it looks like to you.

tess

I wear brass oak leaf shoulder titles - one of only two Canadian regiments in history to be awarded such an honour - to commemorate the counter-attack on Kitcheners' Wood on 22 April 1915 - the first Canadian attack of the war, and an action part of the overall Second Battle of Ypres which saw Canada make a giant contribution on the world stage.

If some civvie has never bothered to ask what the oak leaves mean, why would he be bothered to ask about a crappy lapel pin worn over my pocket?  I'm not even sure I can explain this one to myself, much less explain to a civilian why I am cluttering up my uniform with items of civilian dress.

Maybe we can get ball caps next that say I LOVE VETERANS on them.  It would be a lot more obvious, and would also shade our eyes from the harsh glare of the earth's sun.

 

[the 48th regulator]

And  I am sure you have pointed that out to someone other than me.

Maybe we should just scrap the whole idea of commemorating the year of the veteran and go back to pissing and moaning on how the Canadian public don't know about us vets.

tess

 

[Michael Dorosh]

And  I am sure you have pointed that out to someone other than me.

Maybe we should just scrap the whole idea of commemorating the year of the veteran and go back to pissing and moaning on how the Canadian public don't know about us vets.

tess

You honestly think this pin will do anything to make anyone remember?  The act of seeing someone in uniform should be enough of a jog to their memory I should think! 

How about buttons that say "remember me?"  Or for that matter, "Punch Me" signs for our backs? 

I think people are either predisposed to remember or not, and if they're that uncaring or forgetful, some piece of gold coloured plastic on a guy's uniform isn't going to do anything. 

I don't mean to be argumentative, but this strikes me as wrong on so many levels.

a) it implies we have forgotten about the vets (not just we in the military, but the country.  I was led to believe Rememberance Day attendance has been up in recent years.)

b) it signifies that military uniforms can be accessorized with civilian items at the whim of the CDS - and while I don't consider myself jaded, I have to believe this is a cheap political move of some kind.

c) it suggests that treating veterans like shit is ok, as long as we wear dime store trinkets to make everything all better.  Did you get enough support when you returned from your tour, Tess?  And will the fact that I'm wearing this button in Calgary redress that?  Do you think the families of the Merchant Mariners who died without their hard-earned pensions will really be moved by this gesture?

d) it also implies that once we remember the vets for a year, we can go back to forgetting about them.  No, let's put HISTORY back on the curriculum in schools, then maybe people will know what the hell it is they're supposed to be remembering. 

Given a choice between us wearing some trinket, and having school kids learn what VIMY, HILL 70, PASSCHENDAELE, YPRES, SICILY, HITLER LINE, KAPYONG, ORTONA, SCHELDT, RHINELAND or MEDAK POCKET means....

What would you choose as a lasting legacy to our veterans?

 

[eliminator]

I think it's a good idea to have commemorative pins. Whether it be an airforce 75th anniversary pin, an RMC 125th one, or a Year of the Veteran pin, these are worth wearing. I just spent two weeks in France touring battlefields and paying my respects at the numerous cemeteries and monuments. Every time I put this pin on my uniform, I'll think of all those gone before me. My dad is a legion member, and says they, (legion members) are very happy over the military's decision to wear the pin. World War 2 and Korea vets are starting to pass away at an alarming rate. Let's commemorate this event with the veterans and show our respect and gratitude for their sacrifices.

 

[PeterLT]

Outstanding! The pin idea and any other idea that promotes awareness of veterans and the CF is money and time well spent. Canadians are historically apathetic at best of the contributions of our service folks and any effort, however small, is worth it. Uniform adornments have significance to those who wear them. To the average "flat faced civy" they mean nothing. And being upset at them is useless because they can't be expected to know. Almost every level of Canadian society from the government to the local vicar only grudgingly acknowledges that we even have a military. Heck, history is being rewritten every day to make us a kinder, gentler society! And unfortunately, any acknowledgement from Canadians usually requires dead servicemen to accomplish. So bravo, wear those pins with pride and make sure your chest is out when at the bank or gas station. Take any opportunity to tell a civilian about the service and why it's important for them to give their support. When I was still in the Army, I couldn't even spell vetrin; now I are one! I wear my ballcap that says "Canadian Forces Veteran" and I get comments about it almost every week. My replies always start with, "Well let me tell you something...."

We need to tell Canadians every day and every way possible that Canada too has veterans. Why? Because Canadians need to know that they have failed us for many years and even though they have, we did our best for them. Now let's do better for tomorrow's Veterans.

Peter

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Outstanding! The pin idea and any other idea that promotes awareness of veterans and the CF is money and time well spent. Canadians are historically apathetic at best of the contributions of our service folks and any effort, however small, is worth it. Uniform adornments have significance to those who wear them. To the average "flat faced civy" they mean nothing.

This pin is also a uniform adornment   Is it not? So what is the difference?

So bravo, wear those pins with pride and make sure your chest is out when at the bank or gas station.

I do that every time I'm in public, I don't need to do that with a pin on my jacket.

Take any opportunity to tell a civilian about the service and why it's important for them to give their support.

Why do you need a pin to help you do that?   Or are you suggesting we walk up to civilians at random and start lecturing on history?

When I was still in the Army, I couldn't even spell vetrin; now I are one! I wear my ballcap that says "Canadian Forces Veteran" and I get comments about it almost every week. My replies always start with, "Well let me tell you something...."

I bet you wouldn't get that with a gold pin on your lapel.    You honestly don't think that the fact a guy is in UNIFORM would get a civilian talking to you, if they were at all interested?

Or that a veteran's pin, or a uniform, makes someone an automatic expert on veterans, a history professor, or a teacher?  

We need to tell Canadians every day and every way possible that Canada too has veterans. Why? Because Canadians need to know that they have failed us for many years and even though they have, we did our best for them. Now let's do better for tomorrow's Veterans.

If you think these pins will get Ontario to vote Conservative in the next election, I think I'd have to question your logic.   And even if they did, would the Conservatives really stop all the health care spending, money for infrastructure and social programs and hand it all over lock, stock and barrel to the Forces?    

Would we really want them to?

Name one damn thing this stupid hunk of slag on our uniform will realistically change, except suck more money from the taxpayers.  

Consider this:

How many of you can name the colours of all the "we care" ribbons worn by civilians?   Pink for breast cancer, yellow for remembering the troops, etc. etc.    Remember when Rush Limbaugh wore like a dozen different colours to show how much he cared?

Same thing.   How many of you have stopped and asked someone why they are wearing a coloured ribbon on their lapel?   Tell the truth.   And then how many of you went and changed the way you vote because of what the person told you?  

 

[enfield]

Since the average Canadian never sees a person in uniform, I don't know how they'd see the pin...
I gotta admit, a pin seems sort of silly - don't we already have lots of items of rememberance on our uniforms that carry historical signifigance? Cap badges, distinguishing marks or badges, colours with battle honours. I see vets from my Regt's Assoc every few weeks, my Regiments battle honours are on the wall of the Armoury, I wear the same cap badge and tartan as thousands before me, and the original wooden cross listing the Regiment's dead at Vimy is clearly displayed in the Armoury. What meaning does a pin have?


We have "RMC 125"  and "Air Force 75 Anniversary" pins?

 

[Infanteer]

A pin on a camouflage uniform?

Well, I think there is a better way to get people to think about veterans.  Give civvies pins that commemorate sacrifice - oh wait a minute, we all ready do that with the poppy, which is by far a more recognized symbol.

Although the intention is noble, the execution is silly.  This little knick-knack is going to be the last think people notice.  It is going to be a pain in the ass that is resented by everybody who has to find the stupid thing and make sure it is on their uniform, lest the RSM give him a jacking.

There will be little return on the investment here.  Why not take the money that we gave the "Loonie Store" to make these things and instead make sure that Canadian highschool kids get a real thourough and interactive education about Canada's past sacrifices instead of teaching them how we are the big bad boogy man for hanging Louis Riel....

 

[eliminator]

We have "RMC 125"  and "Air Force 75 Anniversary" pins?

RCAF 75th was in 99, everyone in the airforce regs, reserves, and cadets wore it for the whole year.

RMC 125th was in 2001, every one posted at RMC kingston and prep-year st jean wore it for the year

 

[PeterLT]

Well Mr. Dorosh, got up on the wrong side of the bed? Not enough Post Toasties this morning? I'm sorry if I somehow offended you with my submission. If I'd known it would bring such a hostile response and  be so unwelcome maybe I wouldn't have posted it. I'm certainly sorry that you are so bitter about your service and what it means to Canadians, IMHO you should be more proud. But enough said, I'll be sure to keep my views to myself in the future.

But I will continue to be proud of my service, that of all serving members and yes, even your contribution to Canada. And no amount of badgering and abuse can stop me from making that pride public whenever I can.

Cheers & Cheerio,

Peter

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Well Mr. Dorosh, got up on the wrong side of the bed? Not enough Post Toasties this morning? I'm sorry if I somehow offended you with my submission.

Who said I was offended?  I said this was stupid idea and I told you why I feel that way.

If I'd known it would bring such a hostile response and   be so unwelcome maybe I wouldn't have posted it. I'm certainly sorry that you are so bitter about your service and what it means to Canadians,

I've got 18 years in and going strong.  Where does it say I'm not proud of my service?  I don't need a cracker jack prize in order to display it, and I thought the issue was pride in our veterans, not in ourselves.  So what exactly are you talking about here, as I am not following your arguments.

IMHO you should be more proud.

Name one thing I've said that suggests I'm not proud.  In fact, if you read the comments, you'll see I said the opposite.

But enough said, I'll be sure to keep my views to myself in the future.

Kind of defeats the purpose of a public messageboard, doesn't it?

But I will continue to be proud of my service, that of all serving members and yes, even your contribution to Canada. And no amount of badgering and abuse can stop me from making that pride public whenever I can.

And when the pin comes down on 31 December, will you still do all of this?  If the answer is yes, then the pin wasn't necessary in the first place.  Besides which, again, the pin is supposed to be some sort of salve for our "neglected veterans."

I run the largest internet site in the entire world devoted to the Canadian Army in the 20th Century, and pay for it at my own expense, to the tune of several hundred dollars a year.  If that doesn't mean pride, I don't know what does.  I do not get compensation from anyone for my efforts, though I do get the thanks of dozens of veterans and their families every month, via email.

I think maybe your comments are a little off the mark, frankly.