>>23810906

An 'embarrassing' gear shortage has Canadian troops in Latvia buying their own helmets

Soldiers also have been purchasing rain gear and equipment belts

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Jun 05, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 9, 2023

There's a phrase soldiers use to describe equipment they've bought themselves to augment what the army gives them.

They call it Gucci gear, after the luxury fashion designer.

For Canadian troops deployed in Latvia, those private purchases have been decidedly more practical than luxurious — given the fact that they're taking part in more live fire training exercises meant to deter Russia from setting foot in the Baltic country.

They've been buying their own modern ballistic helmets equipped with built-in hearing protection that doubles as a headset. They've also personally purchased rain gear and vests and belts to carry water and ammunition. And the number of complaints about the ill-fitting body armour issued to female soldiers has been growing.

These purchases — usually made through online retailers — involve brand-name tactical gear or weapon accessories that make soldiers' existing gear more personal or more comfortable to wear.

Canadian troops in Latvia are grappling with more urgent equipment shortages as well. The battlegroup of roughly 1,500 soldiers, including more than 700 Canadians, lacks modern anti-tank weapons, systems to counter drones and a dedicated short-range air defence system to guard against helicopters and attack jets.

Those frustrations have only been compounded by the arrival of more allied troops — among them Danish soldiers who are in some cases arriving with Canadian-purchased gear that makes them better equipped than Canadian soldiers.

"In general, it was concerning verging on embarrassing to see the differences in issued soldier equipment between us and the Danes," said Lt.-Col. Jesse van Eijk, the Canadian battle group commander in Latvia, in a May 12, 2023 email obtained by CBC News.

"This was only exacerbated by the fact they were carrying more advanced Canadian-made Colt Canada rifles, mounting more advanced Canadian Elcan DR sights, and the fact that most of the systems our soldiers lacked were easily available on the open market and not some sort of closely guarded technology."

For more than three decades, the Danes have been using a variety of Canadian-made weapons, including the C7 assault rifle and the C8 carbine.

CBC News requested an interview with van Eijk, but he declined through the Department of National Defence. The department said in a written statement that his email was a response to concerns raised during a recent staff visit from the army's directorate of equipment and program management.

The DND statement did not directly address the complaints of soldiers or explain why it has taken more than three years to address concerns about hearing loss — which is accounting for an increasing number of disability claims coming before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

More:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-soliders-latvia-equipment-helmets-1.6864290

Related, two years later and includes the againg out of Canada's tank inventory:

CAF training in Latvia “undermined” by military funding neglect: top general

A top Canadian Armed Forces general told MPs Canada's military readiness during NATO training in Latvia was “undermined” by years of underfunding from Ottawa.

Clayton DeMaine, True North Sep 20, 2025

https://www.junonews.com/p/caf-training-in-latvia-undermined

General Research #29031

CFIA says cull over, all ostriches shot dead at B.C. farm by ‘professional marksman’Part One

EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has shot dead all ostriches at a British Columbia farm and is moving to the disposal phase of the operation to fulfil a 10-month-old cull order over an avian flu outbreak.

It said in a news release on Friday that a “professional marksman” was used as the “most appropriate and humane option” to complete the cull of hundreds of birds at the farm at Edgewood, B.C.

“This method is consistent with Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and American Veterinary Medical Association recommendations and may be used as required, particularly when other methods are impractical,” it said.

A holding pen where ostriches were herded into a day earlier was instead filled on Friday with tarpaulins that were pulled back in some parts to reveal piles of dead ostriches, and a utility vehicle with a front shovel was seen approaching the enclosure.

The shooting went on for hours on Thursday night, after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled earlier in the day that it would not hear the farmers’ final appeal against the cull.

The farm’s co-owner, Dave Bilinski, imagined the scene as a marksman shot down “on these defenceless animals … wounded birds down there all over the place.”

He also worried about what was coming next for supporters of the farm who were shocked by the shootings.

“There are many supporters here that right now need mental health (support),” he said in an interview.

He said the CFIA should have had mental health workers “right here, right now.”

The inspection agency, which numbered the flock at between 300 to 330 birds, said the shootings were completed under veterinary supervision.

“The CFIA has now started the disposal stage of the disease response,” it said.

A CFIA manual on culling procedures, that the agency had previously said contained “best practices,” describes shooting as a method of “last resort.”

The owners of the farm had fought the cull order since it was issued on Dec. 31, losing at the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, while managing to stave off the killings with legal stays.

But at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday the Supreme Court of Canada announced it had declined to hear their final appeal, lifting any impediment to the cull.

The shooting began under darkness around 6 p.m., with multiple shots in quick succession.

Farm supporter Janice Tyndall, 72, said she listened to it intermittently for a couple hours before she “couldn’t stomach it anymore” and left the scene.

The farmer from Salmon Arm, B.C., was back in her car near the property around midnight when she heard the shooting start again.

“I’m thinking, ‘they’re still shooting? How could they still be shooting?'” she said.

She said the gunfire varied, with some “lower bangs” and others higher, “like somebody with a high-powered rifle.”

Bright floodlights and the bales obscured what was happening inside the enclosure after dark, while supporters of the farm gathered at a highway overlooking the field, screaming at the CFIA to stop the cull.

>>23826510 (me)

General Research #29031

CFIA says cull over, all ostriches shot dead at B.C. farm by ‘professional marksman’Part Two

RCMP guarded the site and blocked a road during the cull, saying their presence was necessary as security because of “weeks of threats and intimidation towards CFIA agents and contractors.”

A police news release said RCMP “did not otherwise take an active role in the cull.”

Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, who was on site at the farm on Thursday, said in the release that the cull was paused for security reasons while a police shift change occurred.

“With our oversight of safety protocols, no one was injured during the dynamic portion of the CFIA operation, and no arrests were made,” he said.

Farm spokeswoman Katie Pasitney, whose mother Karen Espersen co-owns the property, said in a Facebook post Friday that they were “broken and can’t imagine the suffering last night. We can’t get out of bed.”

The farm’s owners have said the cull was unnecessary because the flock was healthy and had “herd immunity,” making them valuable for scientific research, while requesting that the birds be tested for infection.

But the CFIA refused, saying ostriches that appear healthy can still be a potential source of the virus and allowing the flock to live increased the risk the virus would dangerously mutate, particularly if the birds were exposed to wildlife.

Tyndall, who said she had visited the farm six times since the spring, including her current stay of two weeks, said she “felt every shot” that she heard overnight.

She said she admired the farmers, who were fighting government overreach and the CFIA, which lacked accountability.

“It’s gonna ruin their lives, and they need a lot of support and thank God that they’re standing up,” she said.

The farmers are eligible for up to $3,000 per ostrich in compensation, according to the CFIA.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/11/07/cfia-says-cull-over-all-ostriches-shot-dead-at-b-c-farm-by-professional-marksman/

>>23829101

I have Iron Maiden stuck in my head right now

Soldier new in the frozen place

Hiding from moose is a game

The judge gave it to them

So taking it back

Indigenous title is lame

Run to the hills, run for your lives

Run to the hills, run for your lives

>>23829333

>The assault is alleged to have occurred in December, 2017

Dafuq?

>>23829295

>Georgieva pointed to only two countries — Germany and Canada — that have the fiscal room to spend more on items such as infrastructure and housing

Germany's economy is circling the drain

>Georgieva, a graduate of the Karl Marx Institute of Economics

Now can I se some Provinces declare Independence? Alberta, hello, you there?

>>23832711

>The outlet, usually known for in-depth analysis on business

Years ago, they went lefty in the 90s and have a major case of TDS

>>23832437

Un hunh

The voluntary service contracts have fine print where the kids can be extended in case Belgian MOD or the EU Parliament declares some kind of "emergency" right?

>>23841241

>for the sake of the common good

Isn't that why everybody was supposed to get the clot shots?