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TALK

Transsexual soldier should re-evaluate self

I read "An interview with Sergeant Sylvia Durand" (Vol.1, No. 15, p. 7) with disgust. If this soldier is always trying to depict the highest level of professionalism, then I feel that he/she really needs to re-evaluate his/her level. In these times when all we hear about are cutbacks and force reduction, does Sgt Durand not feel guilty about spending thousands of dollars from the CF's budget just to have a sex change? Did the CF cause Sgt Durand's medical condition? If not, why should the CF pay for it? Was this condition always present in the member? If so, and if it was not mentioned on the enrolment documents, then Sgt Durand lied on his/her enrolment, which is grounds for dismissal.

I am not saying this operation is not needed. All I am simply saying is that this should not be covered in any way by the CF. If Sgt Durand wants/needs this operation, then he/she should be the one paying for it.

There are thousands of people in the military who wear some type of corrective lens. Now that there is laser surgery available to correct this problem, is the military going to pay for this? As I lose my hair, will the military pay for transplants? If I do not like the look of my nose, chin, ears, or whatever, will the military pay for plastic surgery for me?

Where is this all going to end? When we soldiers are called into battle to defend Canada-believe or not, that is our primary job-will it really make any difference that I have no hair or my nose is bigger than someone else's or I am a female caught in a male body?

Come on, people, wake up. Let us stop trying to drain the system with petty problems. If you have a problem with your looks or gender, handle it yourself. If you were not in the military, who would pay for your operation?

We have bigger problems: there are soldiers who are not getting the proper training and who are using outdated and faulty equipment because of budget constraints. If the military is paying for any type of elective surgery while we soldiers are not getting the proper training or equipment we require to carry out our duties, then we really need to look at our level of professionalism.

Cpl Clyde Baggs CFB Gagetown

À VOUS

Write Us!

The Maple Leaf welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include your full name, address and phone number for verification. Text may be condensed and edited for style. Cite page and issue for articles mentioned. See masthead for submission information.

Écrivez-nous;

La Feuille d'érable; apprécie; les lettres à la rédaction.; Vous êtes; priés; de donner votre nom (au complet), adresse et numéro; de tél;éphone.; Les lettres peuvent étre; modifiées; sur les plans de la longeur et du style par la Rédaction.; Veuillez citer le numéro; et la page auxquels l'article fait réf;érence.; Se reporter à la pour nos coordonnées.;

these times of restraint. It is also just as financially ridiculous to issue ground crew (either permanently as with Tac Hel personnel, or occasionally as in other communities) with both blue and olive green. The only colour really required is green.

Does this make sense in a smaller, cash- strapped military? How much is identity worth, and what are our priorities? Is it fuel, parts, training, and weapons or is it a fancy costume for each community?

Stop buying two different flying suits; issue just one in olive or sage green. Stop buying two different sets of clothing for ground crew once the new army clothing is on the street; issue one set in olive green. Spend the money saved on something worthwhile.

The French army entered World War I wearing bright red trousers, but eventually switched to a grey colour, which was more appropriate for modern warfare: there was an unacceptably high casualty rate with the red pants. Consider one crusty old general's comment at the passing of a grand old tradition: "Mais les pantalons rouge, c'est la France!"

I can hear the cries from our similarly outmoded thinkers now: "Mais les flying suits bleu, c'est le Canada!"

Capt Mark Horstead Newmarket, Ont.

Blue flying suit blues

"Avoiding capture becomes a very important skill" is a quote from "CF-18s in hot spot," by Kristina Davis (Vol. 1, No. 8, p. 12).

Take a close look at the accompanying photos: all of the aircrew are wearing American flying suits, while the ground crew are wearing Canadian combat clothing.

So what, you say?  
Escape and evasion require not just skill, but also suitable clothing. The standard Canadian flying suit is blue, as is the standard issue for ground crew. The American flying suit is green, while USAF ground crew wear a standard issue Battle Dress Utility (BDU) uniform, which has a camouflage pattern.

If you were trying to avoid boosting some Bosnian's morale-or a sniper's attention- which colour is better?

This is the third time this decade that Canadian flying units have been worn in war or near-war environments. Each event has seen the rejection of our standard issue flying clothing. American flying clothing has been procured for both CF-18 deployments, and the Hercules crews scrounged Canadian Tac Hel two-piece olive-coloured green flying suits.

While ground crew are unlikely to find themselves in an escape-and-evasion situation, it is definitely not wise to stand out in a crowd or against a natural backdrop in operational situations.

None of our allied air forces would send their people to war in blue, and a lot of them have much more experience than we do.

If the need for blue clothing is merely to alleviate a real or perceived identity problem (consider the "if it ain't blue, it ain't air force" syndrome), then I submit that we are not mature organizationally or individually, and we have our priorities skewed. Operational clothing needs to meet the highest operational requirements, not identity requirements.

Our so-called operational clothing makes no more sense from an economic viewpoint than it does from a functional one.

I am issued with two sets of olive green flying clothing as well as two complete sets of blue clothes, which is at some expense in

What a mess

Cartoonists on call

Experienced-or fledgling-cartoonists rejoice: The Maple Leaf could run your cartoons as part of a regular feature. To submit an illustration, contact The Maple Leaf (see masthead on ).

Caricaturistes, à vos crayons!

Que les caricaturistes d'expérience; - ou en herbe - se réjouissent; : La Feuille d'érable; pourrait bien publier leurs oeuvres sur une base réguli;ère.; Pour proposer des illustrations, communiquez avec nous (voir le bloc-gén;érique;, ).

Surf the Web for CF sites

Have you found any sites on the Internet related to the CF? The Maple Leaf will present select Web sites as a regular feature. Next issue, we focus on Women and the Canadian Forces. If you find a site you think would be of interest to other CF members, kindly contact The Maple Leaf (see masthead on ).

Sites Web des FC

Avez-vous trouvé des sites Web tou- chant les FC? La Feuille d'érable; passera réguli;èrement; en revue des sites Web choisis. Dans le prochain numéro;, nous présentons; le site des femmes dans les FC. Si vous trouvez un site susceptible d'intéresser; d'autres membres des FC, communiquez avec nous (voir le bloc-gén;érique;, ).

Harassed by "harassment stick"

In his open letter on sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and military discipline in the CF (Vol. 2, No. 1 p. 7), General Baril said that while most members appreciated the viewpoint of his previous open letter, a few felt he was overreacting.

I think that is a fair assessment: many of us feel as if we are being beaten to death on the harassment issue.

In addition to reading the CDS's letter, in the past six months, I have received SHARP training and an individual copy of "Statement on Harassment" from the CAS. And most recently, I had another one-hour briefing by the JAG staff on sexual assault.

Enough already! Everybody knows that sexual harassment, misconduct and assault is not acceptable, just as we know murder is not acceptable. But just as we have people who commit other crimes despite knowing it is unacceptable, we will continue to have people committing harassment even though that is also unacceptable.

Continually beating the more than 99 percent of us who are innocent over the head with the "harassment stick" does little more than to make us feel as if we are all being painted with the same brush because of a very small number of guilty parties.

I personally prefer to punish the offenders and make the punishment fit the crime while leaving the rest of us alone. I think a lot of people are just getting sick and tired of the constant warnings and threats about committing a crime they would never commit anyway.

Are we in overkill mode? In my humble opinion, the answer is yes.

Capt Ted Benson Ottawa

I was a bit surprised to find an initiative buried in the back of a Quality of Life message convincing members of the continuing relevance of the mess, or words to that effect. As a member who has served in both the Regular and Reserve forces since 1981, I would say from personal experience that this is a counterproductive effort.

I have seen empty messes across Canada. When teaching courses I could always count on finding a lot of the staff from Petawawa in Pembroke. And I have seen young trainees in Meaford spend $30 for one-way cab fare to Owen Sound rather than use the facilities provided.

Perhaps not everyone feels this way about the mess, but it seems extremely unjust that all service members must be forced to pay mess dues to subsidize the few who use them. Messes will not be relevant to service members unless they change somehow, but unless there is a reason to change, they will continue to claim the member's money while sitting half empty.

If membership were to become voluntary, there would be an incentive for messes to change and become relevant, since they would then have to offer a service that members would willing to pay for. Messes that do a good job for members will survive, while the ineffective ones will die.

Changing the quality of life in the CF involves more than "feel good" sentiments about institutions like the mess. They must be made to change with the times, otherwise no amount of convincing will make members see any relevance to the mess.

Sgt Arthur Majoor London, Ont.

Vol. 2, No. 3, 1999