Comm

Canadian Army; 8 years this July. My MOC (Military Occupational Code) Combat Engineer, although I rarely do it anymore since I've transitioned to an instructor role for Cadets (ironic really, If I hadn't had joined the army; I'd be a teacher). I joined the Army because it has always been a childhood dream of mine (joined at 17, eight years later I'm still kicking around); In addition it's also about protecting the innocent and safeguarding the helpless, "These Things We Do That Others May Live" "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." The Military is a lifestyle, I don't know many who have joined for money because it's a decent wage by most standard; but the amount of work and sacrifices we make, woefully inadequate. You have to want to be there and you have to be willing to do things that most people don't want to do or are afraid to do; you also have to make spilt second decisions that may scar you for years after, most of all you have to be willing to go places that politically don't make sense but it is your job. It's not an easy life style and if you've been in long enough as I have, you'll become jaded and to a degree cynical about the world; you get to see what humans can do to one another. Lastly, god forbid anyone has to experience this; but you may have to say goodbye to friends, people you considered brothers/sisters. The hardest thing I've ever had to do in life and the military was to bury my best friend, you see it on TV or in movies but when your the one saluting the casket.....It's hard. Over the last couple of years (I'm 26), I've been pondering about my decision about Military Service; My friends are all Dentists, Bankers, Work at Google or Microsoft, Accountants etc. I've always wondered "What If". I don't ponder anymore because I realized that I'm one of only a handful of people that can say I've achieved a dream of mine; I've got to do many wonderful things in the Army, travelled, made friends for life (had to bury a few). I couldn't see myself anywhere else, I'm proud, honoured and privleged to have worn that uniform everyday for 8 years, as I'm about to close one chapter of my life (I'm leaving the Army) and hopefully opening another chapter really soon, I have no regrets whatsoever.

OP needs to have at least PR status for Edmonton and Canadian Citizenship anywhere else; with an equivalent to an indictable offence on his record, the OP would have to persaude Immigration that he/she is rehabilitated. An assault charge is a grounds for inadmissibility under Immigration law unless they can prove otherwise. It's not naysaying when you have to face the reality that one day you will have to answer for your mistakes, and explain. Having gone through the interview, I can tell you the interviewers WILL try and find something to use against you; not only that but when you do the pysch interview, the psychologist will use it against you. As others have mentioned (I don't know how recruiting waivers work in the States) but maybe you should look at being in the Military.

It would follow you even up here; the application asks "Have you ever been charged with an offence outside of Canada?". If you have a felony on your record (Which is equivalent to you being charged with an Indictable offence in Canada) the chances of you getting Permanent Residence or Citizenship is slim, let along being hired as a Peace Officer in Canada. Unless you get a Pardon (which I guess would equivalent to a expungement in the states) even then you would still have to explain your record

I like you was told and bullied that I would never be able to join the Army and be a soldier or fighter pilot because I was too fat (I was a fat child), the joke is on them because I joined the Army at 17 and spent the better part of seven years in one of the most psyhically and mentally demanding trade/job in the Canadian Army (Combat Engineer). When I went back for a school reunion, most people didn't recognize me because I had completely changed from being that over-enthuastic 13 year old kid, to a 24 year old Soldier. Having said that, I spent a little bit of time in Military Recruiting and for the most part being a Fighter Pilot in Canada is as competitive (if not more) as the United States. First of all being in the Military is no joke, it is NOT a job it is a life style and for some a career. Secondly, being a fighter pilot is EXTREMELY competitive and exclusive many people try out, few get selected and even fewer earn their wings; They will take into consideration many attributes to include maturity, grades but above all physical and mental fitness. If you DO NOT meet standard you WILL NOT go on any further, they might give you a second try or they might not. As a Cadet Liaison and Instructor part of my job is to recommend people for training courses to include some of the more "prestige" and "specialized" courses, I have failed or not recommended many people simply because they were not mature enough or did not meet standard. I highly suggest you converse with an Air Force recruiter and if possible start training to get a civilian flying licence. Start preparing for it now, volunteer, play sports, do extra homework anything to get that competitive edge. I guarantee you the majority of people who you will be up against WILL have an impressive resume and background. Thirdly always revulate your goals; I finally decided that I couldn't be a pilot because I wasn't very good academically and my eyes were not the greatest. So I decided to do some research and chose a trade/job that I would enjoy. Fourth start growing a thick skin (this is not a criticism or to poke fun of you, but it is reality of what we face in the Armed Forces), Being a former recruit and having been an Instructor I can tell you that some days get REALLY tough. You will be called names, you will be made fun of and you will be singled out, nature of the game; if you can't shrug that off then you're in for a very long ride. Not only will you take crap from fellow Service personnel or instructors, but the public will single you out in Uniform or if you are wearing anything Military related. I've been called everything from baby killer, mama rap***, murderer, I've been told that people in the Armed Forces were just people who had dropped out of HS or is a last resort career; I've also been called ethnic slurs whilst in Uniform. Fifth we taught people to Never Give Up. Basic Training can get real tough and real fast, the option of giving up was always their and the temptation ever so present. If you think you can do it, then go for it; nothing is stopping you. The only way you can be stopped is if the President or God comes down and says "No".

The majority of the countries you listed are part of the Commonwealth (any nation that was once a British colony) as such many countries within the Commonwealth have adopted similar styles of policing, (to include uniforms etc.) in addition to similar styles of Law (known as English Common Law), Government (Parliament), Military ( traditions, uniforms and TO&E) and various other facets of society and government. The reason? it was inherited and has been in the facet within the Commonwealth for hundreds of years, there are slight variations here and there for example in addition to English Common Law here in Canada we also adopted French Civil Law.

Enlisted = Recruit to Regimental Sergeant Major Commissioned = Officer Cadet to General. Generally once you hit the rank of about Major (This being Commonwealth standards; as the OC of a Coy is generally a Major), your now known as a "Staff Officer" and are generally the one planning the operation rather than partaking in it. Think of Officers as a "Manager" and the Enlisted Pers as "workers or employees", whereas the SNCO's are generally "advisors". As for your desire to join Special Forces, It's an incredibly long and arduous journey and one that takes dedication, persistence and a Never Quit attitude. You'll have to be mentally and physically strong (mentally is the biggest part) and it'll take a lot of hard work; although I was never in Special Forces, I've worked amongst them in my time as a Combat Engineer (7 years with the Canadian Army) the majority of them were quite intelligent and were able to think on their feet. Regardless joining the Military itself is a feat, and just going through basic training is a challenge in itself. My advice, if you are joining the Army, learn a trade in the Army; seeing that your from Ireland and you want to join a foreign unit, I would advise you to join the Irish Defence Force, who knows maybe you might not like the military structure or lifestyle (It is a very different culture and to be quite honest, it's not for a lot of people) or maybe you'll make a career within the Irish Defence Force. I know to join any Special Forces unit, you'll need to be able to obtain a High Level security clearance (dual citizenship makes it incredibly harder to get one). Check out the Army Ranger Wing within the Irish Defence Force (It's Irelands Counter-Terrorist Unit/Special Forces). As for your question as to how to develop the "Never Quit" attitude, it's just that. Tell yourself that you’re not going to give up, Tell yourself one more km on a run, or one more chin up, one more push-up; keep pushing yourself to be better than what you think you are. Always strive to improve and never stay complacent.

You realize that there have been multiple controversies surrounding the TSA from letting prohibited items (knives and guns) through, to sleeping on the job to actually failing to detect explosive devices during covert tests run by DHS; and yet people want to arm them? TSA Officers are not sworn law enforcement officers and as such have no powers of arrest, instead of arming them why don't we either increase Airport Police or as another member wrote consolidate Airport Police and Border Protection into one unified organization. Better yet why not just give airport security to the State Police or Federal Protective Service as the Australians and us Canadians have done.

Actually the reason why the MP5 has faded (not replaced) is due to ballistics and bullet penetration and not due to an out-dated design or the inability to accessorize the firearm. Ever since the advent of the use of Carbines in the military, Law enforcement agencies have adopted the carbine due to the fact that it offers everything that a SMG offers (Size, weight, compactness) with the specifications of a rifle (Longer engagement, Power, Ease of transition, ease of training etc.). The MP5 has not been replaced as it is still the favourite in many disciplines and domains. It depends on the city, size of the agency and local politics. In New York you will never see a regular patrol officer with an AR-15, Likewise here in Canada many urban agencies have begun to adopt the Patrol Rifle policy (although my views differ but that's for another discussion). He wasn't asking how much the CIA, NSA, CSE, CSIS, MI6, MI5 gets in terms of funding or what's the latest in stealth technology or the latest in combat survival equipment for X Army or even how First Responders respond to a particular incident. He was asking what types of firearms are used and issued to Law Enforcement which is public domain, do a google search and you'll receive hundreds of thousands of hits regarding Law Enforcement equipment and firearms. Unfortunately I hate to say it, your point is moot, This is not classified information this is information that has been made public by particular agencies through purchasing contracts, recruiting information, officer-involved shooting incidents and court cases.

I agree with you 100% regarding the 99%; unfortunately here in Ontario, Policing and Law Enforcement has become sort of like a private business. It's become a joke when you talk about accountability and internal investigations regarding bad and corrupt cops.

That's the problem, at no point were any officers endanger of being stabbed or attacked. The fact that they didn't try to de-escalate the situation using words (Telling the guy "Drop the Fing knife" isn't de-escalation), is going to be one of the largest issues. William Blair did hire a former judge to conduct an audit in regards to police procedure and protocol, however it was discovered that the judge used to work for a private law firm that has acted on behalf of the Police Service dealing with Civil Lawsuits against the force. In addition the Ombudsman Andre Marin (who audited and released a scathing report on the SIU) will also be conducting an investigation into Use of Force practices in Ontario, already he has received threats from anonymous officers from other regions.

We've had two or three similar incidents in the past two years. I'll agree with you that Toronto cops aren't the best in dealing with these types of situations, some of the guys are very good at what they do but for the other 75% they need a refresher or two on what being a cop means, as you can see in the video 22 cops stood around and did nothing; one can be heard calling for a taser. Sergeant was already on scene with a taser. He's already been charged criminally. Problem is the supervisor wasn't the one who put nine rounds into the kid, having spoken to a couple of friends who are still with Toronto; the supervisor will probably be demoted and face adiminstrative action.

Those two units are OPP; they have unmarked units in various colours and makes.

Not simple, self-explanatory as in there is no need to explain any further due to it being extremely well looked into.

I'm sorry if this is a bit blunt but the reasons posted on this thread are extremely simplistic and overlook some of the deeper reasoning behind the explanation of why people hate cops. There are deep societal, economic, environmental and cultural reasons as to why people have a negative view of policing it's not simply "oh, he was a p***** that's why I hate em". Some explanations are self-explanatory (Race, Age, Gender, Where they live) others like Socio-Economics (Class) and Cultural run much more complex.

Yes the Use of Force in this video was justified as the dog was posing a threat. A Taser or Pepper Spray would be pretty much ineffective against an angry determined dog, especially one that is seen in the video. However there are mistakes seen in the video which ultimately leads to a provocation. The dog was reacting to the fact that its owner was being threatened and as such decided to lunge at the officer's involved. Hind sight is great but simple mistakes and miscalculations lead to something even bigger.