Before anyone puts in thier 2 cents worth:
1. If you have no overseas experience,
2. Have no clue how they determine Risk and Hardship points, and
3. Unless you have something interesting to say how they will implment it,
Then just sum up before you start...
You may not think it is, but this article is a true morale killer for those of us still in Bosnia on this "not dangerous" mission. Quote from below:
"While service in places such as Afghanistan qualify as high risk, Bosnia does not." unquote. Its not like they don't already rake it in on the higher benifits for risk and hardship.
http://www.canada.com/national/features/budget_2004/story.html?id=499525bb-8d55-4bff-b9a7-8dfbfa330b2d
Budget gives tax break to soldiers, police on high-risk missions
John Ward
Canadian Press
March 23, 2004
OTTAWA -- Troops and police sent abroad on high-risk operations will not pay taxes on the money they earn while deployed, under a new break announced in Tuesday's budget.
It was a largely symbolic gesture in a document which offered the beleaguered military some extra money for peacekeeping bills and promises of some future cash for new search-and-rescue planes.
Any big budget jump, which many say is needed to keep the Forces afloat and replace their rusting equipment, will depend on the outcome of a policy review expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The tax break, which is retroactive to Jan. 1 this year, will save soldiers and police officers about $30 million a year. It comes on top of existing tax-free bonuses for hazardous duty areas.
Salaries up to $6,000 a month are covered. That's the maximum earned by a chief warrant officer, the highest non-commissioned rank. Junior officers up to the rank of captain will get the full benefit, while more senior officers will have to pay taxes on that portion of their pay that exceeds the $6,000 limit.
Not all troops abroad will qualify. While service in places such as Afghanistan qualify as high risk, Bosnia does not. There are about 1,800 Canadians in Afghanistan and about 900 in Bosnia. The mission in Haiti, with about 450 soldiers, has yet to be classified in the military's four-level risk assessment system.
The budget also allotted $300 million to cover extra costs of the peace missions in Afghanistan and Haiti and pledged to cover all such incremental costs in future missions. Under the old policy, the military never knew how much extra money it might get to cover unexpected deployments.
There was another $300 million promised for next year to speed up the purchase of new search-and-rescue aircraft. The air force uses aging Buffalo and some Hercules transports in the role and had hoped to replace them with a dedicated, twin-engine search-and-rescue plane around 2010 or so.
Now, the replacements will start arriving within 18 months, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said.
In a gesture to history, the budget also provided $1.5 million to help the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy commemorate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings during the Second World War. Juno was the code name for the Canadian landing site during the invasion.
With this "incentive", I personally will hesitate voluntering for those less "risky" missions. I am interested to see how it all plays out...
As for the rest...just another popcorn fart.
Have fun...