I am in the military, I serve my country, I work for the federal government. These things are a part of who I am. Throughout Halifax, I have met quite a few people who judge me for what I do for a living. I have my own views, morals, and ethics. I don’t kill people, and honestly I’ve done more humanitarian aid then many others. For a city that is so dead-set on having an open mind to how people live and love, there is still some room to grow. I’m not a cop, I will not arrest you. I’m not a spy, I will not report you. What I do for a living does not define who I am as a whole but an important part of who I am. —A sheep in wolf’s clothing
This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2017.
Try not to judge the community by it’s college students, and/or fringe political fads.
As a military dependant, going to mixed community schools, I can say that I only rarely encountered outright hate for what I allegedly represented, and that was almost entirely from those possessed of higher education, and the affectation of viewing all things through the warped prism of politics.
More common was ignorance, and indifference. But, to be fair, this was well before 9/11.
Maybe we are only appreciated within our own community?
You are in the military. And while you have yet to kill anyone, you are trained and expected to do so when required; and you will. We appreciate your assistance with humanitarian aid.
The City claims to have an open-mind, but doesn’t. If you are only realizing that now, you must be a CFA.
To compare your experience with that of a cop or a spy is ludicrous. And for all intents and purposes, we know the difference…
Everyone’s life experiences defines who they are, including their work – not just you.
No OB, your complaint is unfounded. Fail.
Join the Armed Forces
See the World
Get PTSD…
You’re on the right track, Sport, just keep playing the victim and there’s nothing this city won’t do for you.
Some folks are uncomfortable being around people who, as part of their daily existence, must blindly obey the orders of questionable military overlords.
Well, I suppose I need to thank fobo for endorsing half of my comment.
I’m going to assume that you, like the OP, are Canadian and therefore understand that those “questionable military warlords” you refer to, are in their turn answerable to the Minister of National Defence and senior civilian bureaucrats at DND who are tasked with enacting government policy?
Now, I’m not going to attempt to argue that there isn’t dead wood in the senior ranks – the Peter Principle affects the military as much as it does any other hierarchical organization – Big Business, the NSTU, the provincial government. But I’m pretty confident that anyone who wears command rank in the CF, was once an officer cadet / 2nd Lieutenant – universally agreed to be the single most useless inanimate object in any military organization. The point being, that those who would lead, learn first to serve – and that really doesn’t have a civilian counterpart – not with the same real world consequences, at any rate.
And, as for “blindly obeying orders” – again, not quite. We’ve come a very long way from Nuremburg.
If some people are uncomfortable, that is on them – not on the serviceman/woman
Its been awhile since there’s been ‘news’ stories about NCM’s getting their groceries at the food bank. Maybe The Coast wants to take that on.
I agree with Buster
I think Tickle is an ignorant civi
OB, thank you for serving to protect our country
Most of the people I know who are/were in the military are regular people who simply chose it as a career path. In fact, it’s always been a way for people of modest means who couldn’t easily afford post-secondary education to get a decent job, to learn a trade and maybe even get a university education. Any assumptions that people in the military are “types” is just plain inaccurate.