Wounded in Action
The Bourque.org site has been a favourite news site of mine since I was an undergrad in Ottawa. Since that time, I have checked that site virtually every day of my electronic existence. As online news becomes more and more robust, Bourque's site gets better and better. However, Bourque has a penchant for sensationalizing his headlines. He likes to do this in accordance with his editorial policy, which can only be inductively derived because he does not publish editorial comment.
For example, Bourque is obviously not a fan of Stéphane Dion. Try and find a positive headline about Dion on Bourque's website...
Recently, Bourque posted a link to an article about DND wanting to accomodate badly wounded veterans from Afghanistan and keeping them in the army. His headline had DND "recycling badly wounded soldiers" as though we were going to send disabled veterans back out onto the front lines. To his credit, Bourque replaced this misleading headline with a much more accurate version. However, I think everyone should know what DND is doing to accomodate wounded veterans of the Afghan intervention.
A short history of Universality of Service
I was working as the assistant operations officer for an infantry battalion a little while back, and we took on a soldier who had been wounded in Afghanistan on duty. He had been wounded in the foot by a mine blast, and the road to recovery would be long. The chain of command had taken this soldier under its protection. They had brought him to Quebec City, away from his normal posting out West, so that he could be near his family. They gave him a desk job so that he could be reintegrated into the service, keep his self-respect, and continue seeking treatment in order to return (hopefully) to full duty in the course of time. I came to know this soldier. I learned that in the face of adversity and with the support of his comrades and chain of command, the challenges were no match for this young soldier. Despite being quite badly wounded, he would be alright.
Soldiers have always needed to be fit. When the services were recruiting for the world wars, some rather stringent physical standards were applied. In fact, in hindsight, the standards seem rather quaint. These standards were slow to change, as most standards are, because the people who joined met the standards, and it is the same people who kept the standards in place. Of course, even such standards can evolve. Such evolution can take place because of advances in medical understanding, but the greatest change has been a result of legislation. The coming into force of the Canadian Human Rights Act in 1985 forced changes to CF medical and fitness standards. Instead of enforcing rigid (and admittedly arbitrary) medical standards based on the square-jawed 20 year old male athlete, the military has been forced over the years to focus its standard on justifiable, reasonable tasks that soldiers must be able to accomplish. This battle has been fought out in the courts, not just between the Canadian Forces and soldiers but between unions, employees and employers across the country. The CHRA requires that any discrimination based on disabilities be tied to a bona fide occupational requirement (ie. a construction worker must be able to lift a 2 x 4, swing a hammer, and whistle at nearby women). Over 20 year of case law, the CF has had to defend its standards in court, and thus refine its policies to come into line with the CHRA and the case law precedents that have resulted.
Thus the CF has been required to change its medical standards to become actual fitness standards tied to the performance of realistic battle tasks that any soldier could be called upon to accomplish in an emergency. The Universality of Service Policy, updated a year ago states that:
"The principle of universality of service or "soldier first" principle holds that CF members are liable to perform general military duties and common defence and security duties, not just the duties of their military occupation or occupational specification. This may include, but is not limited to, the requirement to be physically fit, employable and deployable for general operational duties."
It is in this context that the return of soldiers wounded in action from Afghanistan (or elsewhere) is problematic for the policy. Those of us who are soldiers feel that those who are wounded in action are the most deserving of keeping their jobs. They must be accomodated with the utmost respect.
The CF's intent is to accomodate wounded veterans while maintaining universality of service. While this inevitably creates a kind of double-standard, it is one that is justified. It means that we will do everything administratively possible to keep soldiers wounded in action. Failing that, these soldiers will be considered as priority candidates for Public Service jobs, in accordance with recent changes to public service employment regulations.
As much as soldiers need to be fit to fight when necessary, the Canadian public and the Canadian Forces demand compassion for wounded veterans. Given the relatively small numbers (compared to past World Wars), the CF can afford to accomodate these soldiers and thank them for their sacrifice.
For example, Bourque is obviously not a fan of Stéphane Dion. Try and find a positive headline about Dion on Bourque's website...
Recently, Bourque posted a link to an article about DND wanting to accomodate badly wounded veterans from Afghanistan and keeping them in the army. His headline had DND "recycling badly wounded soldiers" as though we were going to send disabled veterans back out onto the front lines. To his credit, Bourque replaced this misleading headline with a much more accurate version. However, I think everyone should know what DND is doing to accomodate wounded veterans of the Afghan intervention.
A short history of Universality of Service
I was working as the assistant operations officer for an infantry battalion a little while back, and we took on a soldier who had been wounded in Afghanistan on duty. He had been wounded in the foot by a mine blast, and the road to recovery would be long. The chain of command had taken this soldier under its protection. They had brought him to Quebec City, away from his normal posting out West, so that he could be near his family. They gave him a desk job so that he could be reintegrated into the service, keep his self-respect, and continue seeking treatment in order to return (hopefully) to full duty in the course of time. I came to know this soldier. I learned that in the face of adversity and with the support of his comrades and chain of command, the challenges were no match for this young soldier. Despite being quite badly wounded, he would be alright.
Soldiers have always needed to be fit. When the services were recruiting for the world wars, some rather stringent physical standards were applied. In fact, in hindsight, the standards seem rather quaint. These standards were slow to change, as most standards are, because the people who joined met the standards, and it is the same people who kept the standards in place. Of course, even such standards can evolve. Such evolution can take place because of advances in medical understanding, but the greatest change has been a result of legislation. The coming into force of the Canadian Human Rights Act in 1985 forced changes to CF medical and fitness standards. Instead of enforcing rigid (and admittedly arbitrary) medical standards based on the square-jawed 20 year old male athlete, the military has been forced over the years to focus its standard on justifiable, reasonable tasks that soldiers must be able to accomplish. This battle has been fought out in the courts, not just between the Canadian Forces and soldiers but between unions, employees and employers across the country. The CHRA requires that any discrimination based on disabilities be tied to a bona fide occupational requirement (ie. a construction worker must be able to lift a 2 x 4, swing a hammer, and whistle at nearby women). Over 20 year of case law, the CF has had to defend its standards in court, and thus refine its policies to come into line with the CHRA and the case law precedents that have resulted.
Thus the CF has been required to change its medical standards to become actual fitness standards tied to the performance of realistic battle tasks that any soldier could be called upon to accomplish in an emergency. The Universality of Service Policy, updated a year ago states that:
"The principle of universality of service or "soldier first" principle holds that CF members are liable to perform general military duties and common defence and security duties, not just the duties of their military occupation or occupational specification. This may include, but is not limited to, the requirement to be physically fit, employable and deployable for general operational duties."
It is in this context that the return of soldiers wounded in action from Afghanistan (or elsewhere) is problematic for the policy. Those of us who are soldiers feel that those who are wounded in action are the most deserving of keeping their jobs. They must be accomodated with the utmost respect.
The CF's intent is to accomodate wounded veterans while maintaining universality of service. While this inevitably creates a kind of double-standard, it is one that is justified. It means that we will do everything administratively possible to keep soldiers wounded in action. Failing that, these soldiers will be considered as priority candidates for Public Service jobs, in accordance with recent changes to public service employment regulations.
As much as soldiers need to be fit to fight when necessary, the Canadian public and the Canadian Forces demand compassion for wounded veterans. Given the relatively small numbers (compared to past World Wars), the CF can afford to accomodate these soldiers and thank them for their sacrifice.
posted by Lt Smash at 7:09 AM
3 Comments:
I reach a high level of happiness when I hear that our good soldiers have to be fit to whistle, Sunshine.
You know Bourque accepts cash to torque his headlines, right? That's why you never see a positive one about Dion. My new fave news site is nationalnewswatch.com.
There was a great piece in Maclean's a few months ago on injured soldiers - very enlightening, as your post is :)
You should check out this ESA series on the Hubble.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8DCB3F2E1AF98B48
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