Just because I find it to be interesting:
First, regular army regiments and trade badges:
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI):
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.gc.ca%2Fiaol%2F143000440000236%2FHTMLFiles%2F1849.jpg&hash=cb674982959bb744c867188d0f2fc3450dfcb82e)
Royal Canadian Artillery:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fartillery_crest.jpg&hash=18c322db0f75e6f9b69e23d3583b2ec56591ecb7)
Combat Engineers:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.gc.ca%2FIAOL%2F143000440000340%2FHTMLFiles%2F1CER.jpg&hash=3500e47ff0d8c461c74478beb69eb0c3c8c3e5dd)
Intelligence:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fintel_crest.jpg&hash=c413e94db5bf16d9fc6f5518f9283b6caedf60c8)
Military Police:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fmilitarypolice_crest.jpg&hash=570ad56ee6fb41918201f7ced49723e5121e0604)
Electrical & Mechanical Engineers:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fcfseme.jpg&hash=e89ecfde1fb81440305e8b604fa1acffe96ac0e4)
Royal 22nd Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Froyal22reg.jpg&hash=456bd4fe98e519260673e96838d057b12f96084e)
Royal Canadian Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fthumb%2F1%2F14%2FRCR_cap_badge.jpg%2F200px-RCR_cap_badge.jpg&hash=2a310fec97ade15ce34f4f79c1c8ffe6353d1441)
Royal Canadian Dragoons:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F%5Bhttp%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fthumb%2Fc%2Fca%2FRCD_cap_badge.jpg%2F225px-RCD_cap_badge.jpg%2Fimg%255D%253Cbr%2520%2F%253E%253Cbr%2520%2F%253ELord%2520Strathcona%26%23039%3Bs%2520Horse%3A%253Cbr%2520%2F%253E%253Cbr%2520%2F%253E%255Bimg%255Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fthumb%2Fc%2Fc4%2FLdSH%2528RC%2529_badge.png%2F150px-LdSH%2528RC%2529_badge.png&hash=37b437fa88f2d9ff6dc0cfb7c86926e43f6f96a4)
12e Regiment blinde du Canada:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F6%2F66%2F12_RBC_cap_badge.gif&hash=6f5fe930631c30a79ee19472f491bfd5132e34ce)
Cool stuff. I love finding out the history of those symbols. The one that really caught my eye was the MP's. Why the totem pole?
I could make a comment here, but I'll restrain my politically incorrect self ;)
Quote from: MIGMaster on February 09, 2012, 10:33:37 AM
I could make a comment here, but I'll restrain my politically incorrect self ;)
I would have thought the beaver on the 22nd's badge would have drawn a bit of the politically incorrect's attention.
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 09:44:08 AM
Cool stuff. I love finding out the history of those symbols. The one that really caught my eye was the MP's. Why the totem pole?
It's actually the top figure of a totem pole. I'll look it up, but I recall that the symbol represents control over the rest of the figures on the totem pole. I think that it's called a Thunder Bird. My google-fu isn't that strong this morning. I'm coming-up empty.
Here are some Atlantic Canadian army reserve (militia) regiment badges.
Princess Louise Fusiliers:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Flfaa_plfusiliers.jpg&hash=6fbcce13d7a3ca82eda8df6d6a148a6242b1ee55)
The Halifax Rifles:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fhalifax_rifles.jpg&hash=0b6da50f1735ba22643ebc8c91000ac7393e4bb6)
The Prince Edward Island Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2FPEIR.jpg&hash=af53cea5b150cefefc80a42acedb3523de6feab6)
Royal New Brunswick Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2F1_2_RNBR.jpg&hash=dd4e65442f1cf0439faba4e66634328e1a3cf04f)
8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2F37CBG_HQ%2Fimages%2F8ch.jpg&hash=2a6f08364bdacc1b8895a00db961bb5bf97bf23f)
Royal Newfoundland Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2F37CBG_HQ%2Fimages%2F1nf.gif&hash=789644e5c9c0a90ba39cc9afbb9eb5836e1b828b)
The Nova Scotia Highlanders:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2FNSHighrs.jpg&hash=4eaf9826e829d91fe70454f54bfdb00c05b767c1)
West Nova Scotia Regiment:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2FWestNSR.jpg&hash=3c712693af4305a1ba39ec6b5c14a6d83bcce0fa)
I like the elk on that New Foundland badge and I really like the simplicity of the Fusiliers.
These are some of my faves:
The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Floyaledm_lfwa.jpg&hash=40aa8dda6063652a3bc52ff5b8d9a1557c868c47)
The Calgary Highlanders
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fcalgary_highrs_lfwa.jpg&hash=e5a3397e571757cd771837f02805b82e8c28c58b)
The Canadian Scottish Regiment
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2FCanadianScottishRegiment.jpg&hash=bc5ef1bfcb6eaffe5d3e1bd053e30dfe55194cb6)
The Loyal Regina Rifles (say that 5 times quickly!)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Frga_crest.jpg&hash=48d3fb3b8ef05d4f4299763af82718cdeed5a851)
The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Froyalwinnipegrifles_lfwa.jpg&hash=0f71aba69f9e1fe5d9ec107a500eb029b4cc842a)
The Royal Canadian Hussars
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2FRCH_crest.jpg&hash=f787c0a2b785ffbefda0320a959c80b917a62c58)
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Ffusiliersmontroyal_lfaa.jpg&hash=67e3f4a6aeb67d155ec7ee77971c7da0f5e3c9c1)
The Royal Regiment of Canada
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Froyalregtofcanada_lfca.jpg&hash=c658db2ea20dbc77631bdf05d492698f2bbe4cdb)
The Toronto Scottish Regiment
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Ftorontoscottish_crest.jpg&hash=6a8ab5002554fbe1236b8267e34d5cf5ffccdbfa)
The Brockville Rifles
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fbrock_crest.jpg&hash=55dd44e5b0ac46f9ef9a9010be57516a0d382ffa)
Le Regiment de Maisonneuve
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Flfqa_maisonneuve.jpg&hash=dddc6711f22e55dbcab5e785f95e54ee91ea8711)
Les Voltigeurs de Quebec
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.forces.gc.ca%2Fland-terre%2Funits-unites%2Fimages%2Fvoltigeurs_crest.jpg&hash=bc43dfb0ef7e4b349ffe72eda2ef51aaaad2fe11)
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 10:39:04 AM
Quote from: MIGMaster on February 09, 2012, 10:33:37 AM
I could make a comment here, but I'll restrain my politically incorrect self ;)
I would have thought the beaver on the 22nd's badge would have drawn a bit of the politically incorrect's attention.
you want politically incorrect?
59th Ordnance Brigade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59th_Ordnance_Brigade), US Army
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1180017.sites.myregisteredsite.com%2Fawawqqih63.jpg&hash=f605643918daf212a47f337b1c8f27950fe004f2)
I just love the names of the regiments. US regimental designations suck. They're just damn boring.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on February 09, 2012, 11:56:52 AM
I just love the names of the regiments. US regimental designations suck. They're just damn boring.
Yeah. "Princess Brant's Primadonna Tankers" sounds so much better.
Quote from: bayonetbrant on February 09, 2012, 11:55:32 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 10:39:04 AM
Quote from: MIGMaster on February 09, 2012, 10:33:37 AM
I could make a comment here, but I'll restrain my politically incorrect self ;)
I would have thought the beaver on the 22nd's badge would have drawn a bit of the politically incorrect's attention.
you want politically incorrect?
59th Ordnance Brigade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59th_Ordnance_Brigade), US Army
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1180017.sites.myregisteredsite.com%2Fawawqqih63.jpg&hash=f605643918daf212a47f337b1c8f27950fe004f2)
Awesome! More please!! :)
Here is one that you missed 40Cent.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi981.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae295%2FShelldrake_photos%2F200px-Canadian_Airborne_Regiment.png&hash=deb3754055513f0965934b94006a179e24db9ba8)
Canadian Airborne Regiment (1968-1995)
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 09, 2012, 03:44:00 PM
Here is one that you missed 40Cent.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi981.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fae295%2FShelldrake_photos%2F200px-Canadian_Airborne_Regiment.png&hash=deb3754055513f0965934b94006a179e24db9ba8)
Canadian Airborne Regiment (1968-1995)
Do we have an Airborne Regiment again???
No - note the 1968-1995 timeline in the caption. ;)
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
It was probably the same bureaucrat who questioned why someone would want to jump out of a perfectly good 'aeroplane'.
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded as the result of a military scandal that involved the murder of a Somali teenager at the hands of two soldiers when the Airborne was deployed to Somalia in the mid-90s. It has been argued (rightly so in my view) that the regiment should never have been deployed as peace keepers since the unit was not properly trained as peace keepers and the was in a state of disorganization as a result of recent government cutbacks. IMO the Liberal government "punished" the Canadian Forces by disbanding its elite unit.
Wiki has a pretty good article on the unit's history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment)
This is also a pretty good description of the Somalia mission by a member of the Airborne who was there at the time.
http://www.commando.org/somalia.php (http://www.commando.org/somalia.php)
That's a shame all the way around.
You gotta admit our badges are so exquisite that while the enemy stops to stare we can shoot 'em. My fav US badge is from the Star Warriors - I got one of their patches when they were in Halifax for an air show.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F5%2F5a%2FVAQ-209_insignia.png&hash=2d939ae241130fb00f2cc38f25c6bfa06101ef8d)
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 09, 2012, 06:12:35 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded as the result of a military scandal that involved the murder of a Somali teenager at the hands of two soldiers when the Airborne was deployed to Somalia in the mid-90s. It has been argued (rightly so in my view) that the regiment should never have been deployed as peace keepers since the unit was not properly trained as peace keepers and the was in a state of disorganization as a result of recent government cutbacks. IMO the Liberal government "punished" the Canadian Forces by disbanding its elite unit.
Wiki has a pretty good article on the unit's history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment)
This is also a pretty good description of the Somalia mission by a member of the Airborne who was there at the time.
http://www.commando.org/somalia.php (http://www.commando.org/somalia.php)
The disbandment didn't make any sense from any point of view. You don't scapegoat an entire military unit to try to solve a PR problem (which is what I think was the case). But if they WERE a rotten unit that needed to be drummed out, disbanding them was the worst possible move...now you've scattered those guys throughout the Army.
Didn't make sense period.
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 09, 2012, 04:28:54 PM
No - note the 1968-1995 timeline in the caption. ;)
Reading comprehension is the key to success! :-[
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 09, 2012, 06:12:35 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded as the result of a military scandal that involved the murder of a Somali teenager at the hands of two soldiers when the Airborne was deployed to Somalia in the mid-90s. It has been argued (rightly so in my view) that the regiment should never have been deployed as peace keepers since the unit was not properly trained as peace keepers and the was in a state of disorganization as a result of recent government cutbacks. IMO the Liberal government "punished" the Canadian Forces by disbanding its elite unit.
Wiki has a pretty good article on the unit's history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Airborne_Regiment)
This is also a pretty good description of the Somalia mission by a member of the Airborne who was there at the time.
http://www.commando.org/somalia.php (http://www.commando.org/somalia.php)
Shellie, I could not agree with you more. You don't send your pitbulls and rotweillers to do peacekeeping.
When I think back to how we originally deployed to Afghanistan, had the Airborne Regiment still been in place, we would have had significant boots on the ground more quickly (apart from the snipers and JTF-2 deployed with US forces). Commando 1, 2 & 3 could have gone in with JTF-2.
F-ing politics.... >:(
FYI, the "airborne" capacity was retained by the army, in the each of the 3 regular force infantry regiments created an airborne or parachute company. Members of these companies wear the scarlet beret with their regiment's cap badge, as you can see below.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.airforce.qc.ca%2Fimages%2FSgt_Christos_Karigiannis.jpg&hash=dfd243d11aeda06d2cfd52d2bfaef88535f6660f)
The thing that really pisses me off is that there is no such thing as Peace Keeping - it was a novel concept invented by a politician that had no ground-level reality to it. Peacekeeping in Bosnia was a freakin' joke and before that I suspect a lot of soldiers just saw the situation as being in war without permission to shoot back.
Quote from: Centurion40 on February 10, 2012, 08:23:05 AM
You don't send your pitbulls and rotweillers to do peacekeeping.
Good analogy. One of my DIs when I was doing my gunners training at CFB Shilo was Airborne and he was one crazy motherf*cker - Death From Above!
Quote from: MIGMaster on February 10, 2012, 08:58:46 AM
The thing that really pisses me off is that there is no such thing as Peace Keeping - it was a novel concept invented by a politician that had no ground-level reality to it. Peacekeeping in Bosnia was a freakin' joke and before that I suspect a lot of soldiers just saw the situation as being in war without permission to shoot back.
They saw it as peace-making, so as not to have qualms whilst putting rounds through bad guy's skulls. They did shoot back on many occasions. The PPCLI certainly considered their advance into the Medak Pocket in Croatia as outright war. Other occasions were more frustrating, from what I've been told.
There is such as thing, IMHO, as peace-keeping, but it only works once hostilities have ceased and both sides agree to the intervention of foreign troops to man a buffer zone.
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 10, 2012, 09:09:56 AM
Quote from: Centurion40 on February 10, 2012, 08:23:05 AM
You don't send your pitbulls and rotweillers to do peacekeeping.
Good analogy. One of my DIs when I was doing my gunners training at CFB Shilo was Airborne and he was one crazy motherf*cker - Death From Above!
I've been personal friends with 3 guys (all former WNSR members) who were members of the Airborne Regiment, 2 became officers (ROTP). All were/are skilled professionals. Only 1 was hardcore batsh!t crazy (I've seen him eat part of someone else's puke) and he became a Pathfinder. He was/is a NCO. All were heartbroken and/or infuriated by the end of the Airborne Regiment.
The move certainly created a lot of votes for the Conservatives among those who understood
Quote from: MIGMaster on February 10, 2012, 08:58:46 AM
The thing that really pisses me off is that there is no such thing as Peace Keeping - it was a novel concept invented by a politician that had no ground-level reality to it.
I gotta disagree w/ you on this one. The UN mission in the Sinai has been pretty effective. It also has teeth b/c the guys have permission to shoot. That's been the problem in a lot of places - we sent peacekeepers where there was no peace, and didn't give them permission to, y'know -
keep it - just the ability to sort of recommend to the peacebreakers that they might kindly want to stop, or we will taunt them a second time.
Maybe Peace Enforcement with appropriate ROE would be a better term.
Quote from: Shelldrake on February 09, 2012, 06:12:35 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on February 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
Why would Canada get rid of a perfectly good airborne regiment?
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded as the result of a military scandal that involved the murder of a Somali teenager at the hands of two soldiers when the Airborne was deployed to Somalia in the mid-90s. It has been argued (rightly so in my view) that the regiment should never have been deployed as peace keepers since the unit was not properly trained as peace keepers and the was in a state of disorganization as a result of recent government cutbacks. IMO the Liberal government "punished" the Canadian Forces by disbanding its elite unit.
The regiment was also reported to have had long-standing discipline issues which haven't been mentioned here, and a number of hazing videos were leaked to the press at the time. Not relatively mild hockey-team stuff, we're talking new troops being forced to eat excrement and vomit. Maybe still not as bad as some of the stuff in Russian videos where they are beaten unconscious, but I don't suppose it is a contest.
I believe there were also a number of soldiers in the regiment linked to the white supremacy movement in Canada. Even though I had nothing to do with the Airborne, as a military reservist, I was questioned by the Special Investigations Unit with regards to an association on one occasion and warned of their concerns about soldiers with links to suspected "white supremacists." So I experienced this one first hand. Luckily I was given a clean bill of health and a letter to my C.O. stating I was not a "white supremist" as they put it, but the experience had been unnerving.
I seem to recall reports about some of the senior leadership as well. I couldn't say one way or another but the Liberal government was not well liked by the military community so it would be easy to blame them. While there is more clear evidence that they hold the bag for a number of other problems the military suffered, it may be that the Airborne was at least partially responsible for its own demise.
Somalia clearly scared the military, and no doubt the government. It also changed the military in Canada as an institution forever, I would argue for the better. We now have diversity and sensitivity training, and the words alone cause eye-rolling but the change itself has been positive. I don't know that there has been a real impact on how soldiers treat minorities (whether racial minorities, people of colour, sexual orientation, etc.) but I suspect any change that has occurred has been for the better. What is more apparent is simply the number of visual minorities in this country and consequently the CF. It is projected that within my lifetime, caucasians will be a minority in Canada. Few immigrants seem to choose the CF as a career but the proportions increase every year. It is certainly within our best interests to promote harmony and good relations/working relationships. It may be that the CF has always been colour-blind, but that may be a little optimistic, just as it might be optimistic to think we will never have tensions between race, gender, etc. I think Somalia opened a lot of eyes as to which path we need to go down, and that was a culture of respect. Which is why an institution that hazed their own troops, harboured white supremacists, etc., couldn't be tolerated.
To the main topic of this older thread - I'll throw out this URL for anyone not aware of the Commonwealth badge collectors forum for anyone looking for a good source of info. There are galleries as well as good forums for having questions answered, etc.
http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/index.php