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National Post editorial board: Putting the 'Armed' back in the Forces
While the troops would undoubtedly prefer new trucks and destroyers, nods to our proud past never hurt.
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Brian J. Gavriloff/Postmedia News
Though the federal Conservative government has often fallen short of its lofty promises to rebuild Canada's military, with desperately needed equipment procurement programs being delayed or lapsing into seeming permanent limbo, it has at least shown a solid appreciation of Canada's military history. While the troops would undoubtedly prefer new trucks and destroyers, nods to our proud past never hurt.
The latest move by the Conservatives is to begin formally referring to the military as the Canadian Armed Forces. That was the official name for the military after the unification of the various service branches in 1968, but the term fell out of use during the 1990s, during the Jean Chrétien-era cuts to defence spending. The Liberal government of the day preferred the softer, gentler term, "Canadian Forces."
National Post editorial board: Putting the 'Armed' back in the Forces Back to video
This was always absurd. Even as the military's budgets were slashed, its primary duty remained protecting Canadian territory and aiding our allies, if needed. Canadian military personnel have long served ably when called upon to provide humanitarian assistance, at home or abroad, but the first duty of any military is to be ready to fight. That requires arms of high quality and sufficient quantity. This self-evident reality has been obscured behind mushy "soft-power" euphemisms for too long.
Maintaining a military capable of meeting all of our international obligations, while safeguarding our security at home, will require more than a mere rebranding. But a military runs on tradition and pride as much as it does fuel and ration packs. Putting the "Armed" back in the Armed Forces is a small gesture. But it's one we're glad to see made.