Making Canada proud. One story at a time.
Ryan Flannagan is the author of Take Whiteman, A CANZUK at War novel. Visit Ryan's website: www.raflannagan.ca to learn more about Ryan and his writing.
Since I write books about the United States’ second Civil War, I feel like I should write a review about the movie Civil War, which got its full release on April 14. I saw it last night and in a word, it was a terrific movie. For those of you who don’t know about the movie or who know a little about it, the scene that sets the background for the movie is a civil war that’s taking place in…
Leave a CommentDoes this mean Canada is going to fund its military properly? The short answer to this question is no, Canada is not going to fund its military properly. This defence policy update is nothing more than smoke and mirrors that will allow the current Canadian government to say they’re treating national security seriously in the months leading up to the next election. In fact, the Trudeau Liberals have no intention of being serious on anything that has to do with…
Leave a CommentA fellow aspiring author asked how my advert for Take Whiteman ended up in his FB feed. He was looking for a few tips on Facebook ads but once I got on a roll, I banged out this tome. If you’re interested in the writing, have a gander at what’s below. I’m still very new at the writing thing, so take everything with a pinch of salt. In fact, nothing below guarantees success. They are only the lessons I’ve…
Leave a CommentThe Quick Answer is No. Let’s start off by answering the question of what is AUKUS? First, AUKUS stands for Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As best I can understand, AUKUS is a three-country defence pact that proposes the involved countries work together closely on several defence-related issues in the Pacific region, including the transfer of technology that would allow Australia to acquire nuclear submarines (henceforth to called SSN = Submersible Ship Nuclear). It’s this last point…
Leave a CommentI regularly listen to the Defence Deconstructed podcast, which regularly delves into a range of topics concerning the Canadian Armed Forces (the CAF). Recently, I listened to a conversation that discussed the brutal Wall Street Journal opinion piece that took Canada to task for its anemic defence spending, which is approximately 1.3% of GDP. Inarguably, it was the single most damning piece of opinion regarding the sorry state of Canada’s defence capabilities in recent memory. In listening to the conversation…
Leave a CommentCanada’s Policy Position on the Ukraine War: The Ugly Reasons Canada’s number one foreign policy challenge is Ukraine. To date, Canada has sunk nearly $3 billion into this war and Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have been full-throated in their support for Ukraine and its entry into NATO. To many, Justin Trudeau is an unserious person who cares very little about foreign policy issues. To that, add the fact the man seems a bit of a pacifist, or at the…
Leave a CommentThere have been two recent articles here in Canada about Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) that identified issues within Canada’s special forces community. The first addresses a number of HR issues within Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2). These issues range from burnout to the mishandling of sexual violence allegations. The second article outlines what I would call the “poor cousin syndrome” that various units in the CANSOFCOM have toward JTF-2, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) tier-one fighting unit. In…
Leave a CommentI recently listened to a podcast where Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff talked about the future of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). As things tend to go with senior leaders from any large governmental organization, it was a guarded talk. There was however one thing I seized on from the General’s remarks. Specifically, on two occasions, he indicated that the CAF would have to choose capabilities (current or future) that it wouldn’t be able to take on. The comment got…
1 CommentRecently, I wrote a detailed blog on why the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) can’t meet its recruiting targets. Further to that post, the CAF announced it would allow Permanent Residents (PRs) to apply to the CAF. Subsequently, it was announced that 2,400 PRs applied to the CAF. This was an important and positive policy change for the CAF. If done well, recruiting, training and holding onto PRs could go some distance to increasing the CAF’s enrollment numbers and increasing the…
Leave a CommentI did some reading up on Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and the consensus seems to be that it’s a step in the right direction but that it is also modest. In Take Whiteman and its sequel, China plays a role, but it’s primarily in the background. In my novels, the United States is in the midst of a civil war and has largely pulled back from its international commitments. I have also assumed China has taken Taiwan and is asserting itself…
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