Dear Commander Dress-Up : Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

First you claw back veterans' benefits and AG lawyers try to have their class-action lawsuit about it thrown out of court for not being "the appropriate way for veterans to express their concerns", then you want them to sign a form promising not to complain about it in public .

We have a social contract with the Canadian Forces to care for them after they have risked life, limb, and mind for us. Doesn't matter if we think the wars and policing actions our government sent them off to were crap - that's the fucking contract. They have the right to fair benefits under that contract and we have the right to hear from them whether or not it's working.

Severely disabled vets take financial hit in old age under new system: report

"Some of the country's most severely disabled soldiers will take a major financial hit once they arrive at old age and risk living out their final years in near-poverty, Canada's veterans ombudsman has concluded.

[His report] shows that roughly 406 severely disabled veterans, mostly from Afghanistan and recent peacekeeping missions, will be left out in the cold because they don't receive certain allowances -- or a Canadian Forces pension.

"It is simply not acceptable to let veterans who have sacrificed the most for their country -- those who are totally and permanently incapacitated -- live their lives with unmet financial needs," said a leaked copy of the report.

Almost a full one-third of the nearly 1,500 soldiers, who have thus far been declared permanently disabled, could also be at risk, depending upon their circumstances. Many of them receive only small allowances and pension entitlements."

Judge says Afghanistan veterans can continue lawsuit against federal government

"A B.C. Supreme Court justice says current and former members of the Canadian Forces who were injured in Afghanistan can continue their class-action lawsuit against the federal government. 

The lawsuit was filed last fall, with plaintiffs arguing the new Veterans Charter and the changes it brings to the compensation regime for members of the Canadian Forces violate the constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  

Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada asked the court to throw out the case, arguing it had no chance of success and was not the appropriate way for the veterans to express their concerns."

Wounded vets asked to sign form saying they won’t criticize the military on social media

"The Canadian Forces is requiring physically and mentally wounded soldiers to sign a form acknowledging they won’t criticize senior officers or discourage others in uniform with their comments on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The form, given to military personnel who are transferred to the Joint Personnel Support Unit, was sent to the Citizen by military members upset with what they see as a threat to their right to speak out about the failure of the Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces to take care of the wounded.

The Joint Personnel Support Unit, or JPSU, was created to help the wounded and it oversees support centres across the country."

Update yesterday from David Pugliese , who wrote the above article.

JPSU is constrained by a severe lack of resources.

Retired Brig.-Gen. Joe Sharpe : "I see us falling back in the trap where the public perception comes first and the soldiers come second, Senior leadership today is focused on resources, media and public perceptions. It's a recipe for disaster."

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