Civvies in the dark.

[dutchie]

I saw one episode of it. It was showcasing the Basic Mountain Ops course. Quite realistic and very well done. Showed troops in a good light, showed a good mix of the physical demands, mental demands, basic structure of the section/platoon, some weapons stuff, and some LCF video (rappeling, weapons, etc).
Now if only it was on a channel with more exposure than the OLN (like CBC or CTV).

 

[Nat. Cap. Girl]

perhaps we should all send emails to some of the major broadcasting companies and maybe they'll do something about it?

 

[Sig_Des]

I personally enjoy TDV, but as mentioned, it doens't get a lot of exposure. But it's a well-made show, and if you read the credits, allows for a lot of imput from the military.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Truth Duty and Valour was also discussed several months ago when it first aired which is maybe why you never got the reaction you hoped for.

 

[Nat. Cap. Girl]

k thanks, i'll do a search

 

[30fdGunner]

I attended Stalwart Guardian, the big reserve excercise, this summer. And i was dumbfounded to hear some of the questions asked by some of the civilians who came to observe. I am a member of the artillery, and i had some rediculous questions asked to me.For example; One person was amazed to find out that canadian artillery systems could fire at night. He thought we didnt have the technology to fire at night any more.  For many civilians CADPAT was a very amazing thing. When they found out that it was currently the best camouflage in the world, they all became very proud of that fact. Not a single one had ever seen a lav before they attended the ex. Many other things such as the training we go through, completely amazed these civilians. Not too mention the fact that we actually have live ammo, surprised many. These show how well informed the civilian population is about their military. How are we supposed to expect the canadian population to have pride in their military, when they are this informed.   

 

[pbi]

These show how well informed the civilian population is about their military. How are we supposed to expect the canadian population to have pride in their military, when they are this informed.    

But this can be overcome, a little at a time. We make a huge mistake if we equate the mostly benign ignorance of our people with dislike or hatred or mockery. As you pointed out yourself, once they are educated, they are often pleasantly surprised and quite proud. I have sometimes been very moved by the expressions of pride and encouragement expressed by just ordinary folks. In particular I remember the reactions of folks in Manitoba when we deployed into the Red River Valley for OP ASSISTANCE in early 1997. It was truly, truly amazing and it really made me stop and think about my attitudes towards civvies.

IMHO, if WE do not tell our own story, who will? It is NOT the job of the media to be our publicists, although they can certainly be of use. We can do a huge job of connecting, educating and "converting" if we try. My advice (especially to Reserve soldiers, who are often the Army's "front line" on this...):

-Never pass up a chance to do public speaking. Encourage your people to speak too, regardless of rank;

-Support community footprint stuff (some units, both Reserve and Regular, do a fantastic job of this, some do nothing);

-Wear your uniform to any important event. You'll be surprised at the positive reaction from most Canadians;

-never let BS get published unnoticed. Reserve soldiers, because of their "semi-civvy" status, have a unique advantage in being able to write and speak as private citizens as long as they don't violate the OSA or OPSEC. If you see ill-informed crap in your local paper, write in. If you don't challenge it, who will?;   and

-if you are in a command position, make your PA people a key part of your team. Too many of us old Cbt A types are suspicious or dismissive of PA folks and what they can do. IMHO, info is a weapon: it will be used either by us or against us. Strike first, I say. Cheers.

 

[Sig_Des]

Reserve soldiers, because of their "semi-civvy" status, have a unique advantage in being able to write and speak as private citizens as long as they don't violate the OSA or OPSEC

Just to add on to that, we can right in as reservists under the afore-mentioned conditions, but it still a good idea to run it by your PA people. Maybe the way you write something can be misinterpreted, and as mentioned, the media can be a killer with twisting words.

And believe me, If your CO reads your name in the paper, doens't like what he sees, next parade night can suck..

 

[pbi]

Just to add on to that, we can right in as reservists under the afore-mentioned conditions, but it still a good idea to run it by your PA people. Maybe the way you write something can be misinterpreted, and as mentioned, the media can be a killer with twisting words.

And believe me, If your CO reads your name in the paper, doens't like what he sees, next parade night can suck..

I guess you could do that, although if you don't use your rank or identify yourself as a member of the military it isn't really needed. But, it probably won't hurt. If you do use rank and identify your unit, etc. then you need to run it by your PAO shop.

On your second point, while I'd be the last one to encourage bad behaviour, I have to ask on what grounds your CO (or anybody in the military, for that matter...) could actually do anything as long as you had acted as a civilian, and had not violated the laws of Canada? He might not like it, but it really couldn't be the basis of any formal action. That is the beauty of being a Class A Reservist, and why the CLS recognizes their importance in connecting with Canadians. Regulars like me are subject to the Code of Service Discipline and other regulations and restrictions 24/7, but Res have a bit more flex. Use it wisely. Cheers.

 

[GGboy]

Some very interesting points in this thread, and at the risk of "outing" myself as a journalist (and reservist) I actually know a fair bit about recent developments in military-media relations.
I think in the past 3-4 years the CF in general, and the Public Affairs branch in particular, have made enormous strides in getting the message out. Look at Op Athena for eg: in addition to the almost daily coverage of Roto 0 in almost every newspaper in the country, the bloody CBC hosted its national news program from Camp Julien, the first time the National had ever been based outside Canada. This would've been unthinkable even 5 years ago. Even the Toronto Star is now running stories about the military including (gasp!) a recent editorial calling for more support for the CF.
Almost every example raised here about things the media never covers, and/or that the public doesn't know about, HAS been covered. I've personally written almost a dozen stories about CadPat and Clothe the Soldier for instance. The Truth, Duty, Valour series was a huge ratings success for the Outside Life Network, so much so that it has been picked up by the main CTV network this fall.
And in my experience, the public response to such stories about the military is overwhelmingly positive. People may not know a lot about the military, but they're learning and they love reading about what our soldiers, sailors and airmen are doing, whether its in Kabul or Haiti or even Petawawa.
Not to say that there haven't been shortcomings in either the media's coverage or the CF's public relations efforts -- some senior officers continue to shy away from publicity, thinking it's a career killer -- but overall, things are MUCH improved over the mid-1990s.
Part of the reason why there doesn't seem to be as much coverage of the military is that while the newspapers or wire services have begun to cover the CF, radio and television coverage has lagged. To put it bluntly, TV and radio follow the agenda set by print and it takes some of my broadcast colleagues a while to catch on to the fact that stories about the military are of increasing interest to the public.
This will improve with time: the only question is will it improve quickly enough to stop the government from cutting the CF into virtual non-existence. On the plus side, the politicos have been made painfully aware that journalists are watching what happens to the CF very closely and whatever they do in future to our military will not be done in the dark.

 

[Scratch_043]

Has anyone seen the new show, Tactical to Practical? I haven't seen it myself, but it looks like something that is both intersting to the public, and informs them of where the advancements that made the products possible came from.

 

[bigwig]

Yeah I caught about 10 minutes of that show on the history channel the other day. They were showing how the parachute has been used by the military and by fire fighters. I also saw a small segment on NVG and how it is used in the military. This is a good show to shed some light for the civilian population because it shows how a civilian could put this equipment to use. This way I think more civilians would watch because it interests them, and when they watch they also become more aware of the military.

 

[Lost_Warrior]

Most civilians are not interested in are military because of the state it's in.  When I mention to people that I'm in the army, the usual response is "yeah, but it's only the Canadian army"

I even had one ignorant individual say to me "how can you tell when the real fighting is over?  When the Canadians come rolling in"

It's this additude and public image that has us cursed...

 

[skura]

Hope I don't shoot myself in the foot by posting here, but here it goes anyway;

Has anyone ever asked one these people who say "It's only the Canadian Army..." what they would do if they were in charge?  From what I heard / read about most peoples opinions on our army it's like they expect us to be fighting all the time, and supporting and sending troops to help with wars in other countries. 

I don't understand how people can talk trash about our army, especially Canadians if they have no first hand experience.  It's no secret that our military isn't a "powerhouse", and it's not entirely the facts that we are undermaned and underfunded, because I'm sure that even if we had the size and technology as say the American Army, our role in wars wouldn't change (I think).

So if this question was asked, and the person being questioned respond by saying something like "getting involved in more wars, and establishing Canada as a powerful nation"...then you know they're a little more off base then I usually am (and may be here)...

(Just in case I take some heat on this I'm just another civilian with no experience and little knowledge about the operations of our military, my opinion is an outside opinion with very little backing it...just trying to show some support from the civvie side of things I guess...perhaps if there was more awareness to the public about our army then there wouldn't be so many negative opinions about the Canadian Army, and people like me would have more to contribute to conversations such as these and not be so sticky about our army.  I think this has been mentioned before, if it has I support it, if not, what do you all think about it?)

 

[dglad]

In my experience, as a senior Reserve officer who also deals extensively with civilian authorities at a variety of levels, there's actually a lot of good-will among civilians for the CF.  Sure, there are some on the fringe that say, "get rid of the CF and put the money into health care, or affordable housing, or <insert cause du jour here>".  Most Canadians, though, truly want Canada to have a "capable" military.  The real question, though, is capable of what, exactly?

I don't think you'll find the Canadian public supporting a massive militarization, a la the US.  First of all, we could never afford it (frankly, the US can't afford it, either.  The growth of public debt in the US, a big chunk of which is going to fund military spending, is going to become a central global economic issue in the not-too-distant future).  Secondly, the Canadian public has much higher spending priorities...and the goverment answers to what it perceives the Canadian taxpayers want (and, like it or not, the military works for the civilian government in a stable democracy).  Having said all of that, Canadians probably will generally support the CF participating in multi-lateral operations intended to restore and maintain peace and order where it has broken down.  Unfortunately, that's about as far as it goes; most civvies wouldn't be able to suggest exactly what such a military should consist of.  And that's fair...I probably couldn't suggest exactly what capabilities would be required to operate a major airport or build a a digital cell-phone network (we all can't know everything, can we?)

So the good-will is generally there, supporting a military that can act as part of a coalition (probably enabled by something like a UN SCR) to halt, and set the conditions for repair of a humanitarian tragedy or an "unjust" conflict somewhere in the world.  I think that most Canadians genuinely want a military that is properly equipped and trained to do that job; just don't expect them to offer details of what that equipment and training should be (that's the job of the government and the military).  And don't expect widespread support for a massive build-up, or large-scale generation of high-intensity combat capability...unless we end up facing the 21st century equivalent of WW1 or WW2.  Canadians have a history of answering that sort of call whole-heartedly (and, yes, doing it from way behind an eight-ball of underfunded, undermanned and under-equipped forces unready for the sort of conflict they're suddenly facing.  Unfortunately, few, if any countries seem to learn that particular lesson.)

 

[pbi]

GGBoy: very good post. I agree with you, but I still stress that the info battle is OUR fight, not the media's, and we have to do more, not less. There are tons of good things going on across the Army to help with this: in our Bde, for example, Community Footprint is a specific part of our Bde Op Plan and our units, in their Op Plans, must show how they intend to achieve presence. Some of our units, (such as the one recently commanded by "bgreen" a poster on this site), do a really first class job. Others make an effort, and one or two do not too much(although this is improving).

As an example of increased media interest in the military, especially the Army Reserve, last year during OP PEREGRINE (BC fires) our Bde mounted two firefighting companies(over 200 troops, with more in waiting) for JTF PEREGRINE. We got bags of media coverage (I even got on TV...) and the troops were clearly and specifically identified as "Army Reserve Soldiers" not "members of the CF" or other wimpy crap. Several media outlets assisted our mobilization plan by  broadcasting messages to our soldiers to report to their units, and most media did a great job of passing on our thanks to schools and emloyers for letting the troops go.


But, we extended our info op beyond that. Each emloyer/school received a letter of thanks from the Bde Comd, and we had a special OP PEREGRINE poster made that our soldiers could give to their employers, their schools (or stick on the wall at home).

Things are MUCH better than they were even a decade ago, but we can;t rest on our laurels: we have to keep educating our people. Cheers.

 

[pbi]

Hi dglad. Welcome. Hope your tour is going well. Excellent post. What's your take on what Res units can do for better footprint? Cheers

DJB

 

[Lost_Warrior]

pbi, kind of makes me wish I was out west.  I am currently in Quebec.  Quebecers have never really been known for their "support for the military" and worst of all, I'm in Montreal, and my unit is right downtown, and to get there I have the pleasure of walking around 2 major North American universities with all their anti-american/anti-"globalization" anti-military students....

So it's become a routine.  Leave the subway, walk down the street, meet and greet dirty looks and stupid remarks, then walk into the unit.

The last major "disaster" here in Montreal was the Ice Storm in 1998.  The CF was all over the place helping out.  At the time, I was a civilian, but a friend of mine was in the reserves.  Had it not been for him, I would have never known the CF was involved in the efforts.

 

[dglad]

Hi dglad. Welcome. Hope your tour is going well. Excellent post. What's your take on what Res units can do for better footprint? Cheers

DJB

Going very well.  Working in a multinational HQ is an eye-opening experience.  More than anything, I've learned that the problems we face are shared by many other armies around the world--even the "big boys", like the UK and US (who are wrestling with all kinds of issues these days, not surprisingly).

Res units need to seize every opportunity to push themselves into the faces of their communities.  In particular, I think Res units should investigate ways (within the constraints of their chain of comd, of course), to get involved in local emergency response planning.  There are, of course, lots of such constraints, but even having "observers" attend local municipal emergency response meetings and exercises puts the uniform right directly into the civvie focus, in a very relevant way.  The trick is to manage expectations (our own municipality believed we had endless resources to bring to the table...no, I'm sorry, I don't have a helicopter squadron on-call).  Res units should also get maximum mileage out of members who participate in op deployments (developing good relationships with the local media are very important).  Parades and ceremonial activities are well and fine, but too many of these sends the wrong message i.e. we look pretty, but that's about it.  Above all, we have to convince the taxpaying public that we're worth the investment.

A final point all Res units should keep in mind is that THEY are the ambassadors for the Army in Canada.  The Reg F is now installed in exactly five locations across the country--Edmonton, Shilo, Petawawa, Valcartier and Gagetown.  Only the first of those is an urban setting. If the Res F doesn't pick up the slack in "connecting with Canadians", then the Army is going to fade even further from the public consciousness (even op deployments are pretty transparent to the average Canadian, unless they're new or something goes very right or very wrong to get them into the media).

 

[pbi]

Roger that. I am not sure what is happening in other LFAs/CBGs, but I think we are doing pretty well on the domestic emergency response issue. Comd LFWA's letter of last year auth Res COs to respond on "life and limb" civil disasters, as well our involvement in PEREGRINE, complemented by the advanced state of CONPLAN BISON, position us pretty well. It's also clear that the role of the Army Res in Dom Ops will become greater, not smaller. IMHO this is exactly as it should be. As you note, the trick (especially for you guys in TBay who are technically inside LFCA for Dom Ops) is managing civil expectations which in my experience are usually very unrealistic. More info ops required! Cheers.

DJB