Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinGermany
The British Army, full time numbers as of 2009 stand at 106,000 approx this also includes LTR (Long term reserves),so we're a bit pushed for numbers considering all our other commitments.
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So, if one takes the numbers of troops available, the UK is making a very large commitment of resources to Afghanistan. This is a much more reliable and realistic way of looking at numbers on the ground. Total population figures are misleading gauges of the degree of commitment. Soldiers are produced only by rigorous and extended periods of training ... they don't leap into being on enlistment. Indeed much of the efforts of NATO troops in Afghanistan are directed at training Afghan troops and police. Canadian forces too are being stressed to the limit. Of the 139 Canadians kia in Afghanistan, most are experienced NCOs, the backbone of our army. Many of them are reservists, men and women with jobs and careers back home, who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way because they believe in what they are doing.
And I just heard on the news that we are commiting more resources to Haiti. (Canada, particularly Quebec, has a large number of Canadians of Haitian origin. Our Govenor General came from Haiti as an immigrant.) Two ships, HMCS Halifax and HMCS Ville de Quebec, carrying troops and supplies will soon arrive. DART (Disaster Assistance Respone Team) teams from Kingston have been flown out of Trenton with mobile hospitals and water purification plants. It might not seem like much, compared to what the US is doing; but in terms of our available resources, stretched to the limit in Afghanistan, it is all we can do. I know it's a wander mentioning Haiti; but that star crossed country needs as much help as those of us more fortunate can give.