I love the sentiment that it is a good thing he quit. Yes, absolutely it would be a very bad thing if he was there commanding troops and he didn't want to be there. If you're driving a car, and you feel you're in over your head, you should pull over. Not just for your safety, but for the safety of others.
If he truly believes in what he is saying, then he does have a moral obligation to say it. I have done my best to reserve judgement, but I have come to the conclusion that not only is what he saying factually incorrect but his intentions for saying them are questionable. I can understand the desire to blame personal short comings on external things, it is a coping strategy. However to get the kind of attention he is receiving by being "The Canadian soldier war resister" I feel it is dishonest and harmful to himself and the national dialogue.
I don't know for sure, but no one who knows him has said differently on this thread (correct me if I am wrong), I think he was an Officer Cadet in the reserves. I can only speak for my experience as an officer cadet. An officer cadet doesn't have the training, experience or authority to order a pizza. A leader in training is "in training". I see a difference between a Dr in training and a Dr. I would be much more inclined to give a value to his "experience" if he had any rank other than officer cadet. (He said in his speech officer candidate, I might have to hit google to find out)
He said in his speech that he joined because he wanted the 100% tuition reimbursement. I would never imply that people who join only because of the money for schooling are looking to get the money and then quit, but I don't think the argument could be made that nobody has joined with that intention. From his speech, I gleamed that he had finished his degree program. I don't think his 1 year of service would have come up while he was on course. (to get tuition when you're in the reserves there is a promise that you make to parade for at least a year after the completion of the course)
I think I am so vexed with this situation because I am also an Officer Cadet in the reserves. Everyone deep down is afraid of being put in harms way - I see him acting out a reasonable fear - one that I would love to deny I have - but I'll just have to settle with overcoming it. Perhaps I have taken such a strong view on him because I see him showing me how easy it is to fail and then blame others - and then get told how brave I am. Maybe I'm vexed because I know I'll have to explain this to my Mother or maybe just maybe the guy is a putz and I should just move on. ;D
Oh and there are quite a few threads on the NDP/Anti-war/Union connections http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/51699.0/topicseen.html for example.