An azure moon

I don't know if I've ever said this before: I agree with every single word Scott Taylor's written in this article, and good on him for pointing it out. This passage is particularly useful:

However, for the extended military family — perhaps better described as a "tribe" or "community" — there is of course no such luxury of putting a comrade’s death aside during the holidays. Few Canadians realize just how tight-knit and closely related our tiny military force has become.

With a regular force strength of 60,000 and a reserve numbering 20,000, of which more than 50 per cent are already on full-time contracts, the uniformed personnel represent barely one-quarter of one per cent of Canada’s total population. Given that military service in Canada is strictly voluntary, this means that 99.75 per cent of those who debate the war in Afghanistan do so knowing that they will never be called upon to experience it first hand.

By the last count, there were roughly 6,000 military married couples, including common-law partnerships, wherein both partners were in the service. This amounts to approximately one in five soldiers, sailors and air force personnel being married to a fellow service member.

Another startling statistic is that more than 40 per cent of those entering a recruitment centre have either one or both parents in the Canadian Forces. One need only to glance at the example set by the current senior command of our military to understand it truly is a "family affair." For instance, all three of chief of defence staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk’s kids are in uniform, while former chief of defence staff Rick Hillier’s son is following in the Big Cod’s wake as an officer in an armoured regiment. The daughter of army commander Lt.-Gen Andrew Leslie is not only following in her father’s footsteps as an artillery officer but she is also emulating the career path of her grandfather, Brig.-Gen. Teddy Leslie and great-grandfather Gen. Andy McNaughton of Second World War fame.The list goes on and on, but I believe the picture is clear; the Canadian Forces are tightly connected on a multi-generational basis. When you add to this equation the camaraderie that is forged during the training process and the operational experience, only then can one begin to understand the full impact that each and every death has on the Canadian Forces. The term "Band of Brothers" is no exaggeration to our veterans.

Well freakin' said. Read the whole thing.