July 2018 - Legion Magazine

31Jul 2018

By Sharon AdamsNo Comments

Military Health Matters

Dealing with hearing loss

The profession of arms is hard on hearing. The roar of engines, thunder of artillery, ear-splitting shrill of sirens, high hum of an engine room, jackhammering of weapons fire, piercing clang of metal on metal—even the joyful sound of instruments in a marching band—take a toll on the ears of members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Federal noise regulations consider hearing is safe at exposure to 87 decibels over an eight-hour workday, with the length of safe exposure time decreasing as decibels rise. Noise from artillery can reach 184 decibels. “Many weapons emit sounds that exceed the maximum achievable protection that double hearing protection can offer,” says a 2015 article in Military Medical Research. Inside fighter planes, the level can top 100 decibels. Even marching band members...

26Jul 2018

By Legion MagazineNo Comments

Serving You

New initiatives come into effect

On April 1, 2018, the new initiatives announced in the 2017 federal budget came into effect. As of that same date, the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act became known as the Veterans Well-being Act (VWA). The Caregiver Recognition Benefit supports caregivers with a tax-free monthly benefit of $1,000 provided directly to them. A veteran is eligible for this benefit if the veteran has had an application for a disability award approved under section 45 of the VWA. Still-serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces are not eligible for the benefit. A veteran who resides in a health-care facility where the level of care provided eliminates the need for an informal caregiver is not eligible for the benefit. The Career Transition Services program ...

Photographs document the true agents of change—the people

25Jul 2018

By Stephen J. ThorneNo Comments

Front Lines

Photographs document the true agents of change—the people

It’s telling that the finalists for the most prestigious prize in photojournalism were all connected to some form of conflict, yet the principal subjects in all six photographs were civilians. For the first time in its 61-year history, the esteemed World Press Photo (WPP) competition this year announced nominees for its grand prize before declaring the Photo of the Year in April. Selected from 73,044 images submitted by 4,548 photographers from 125 countries, the photographs considered the best produced in 2017 pretty much reflect the gamut of conflict—from protest to war—primarily through the experiences of everyday people. Not soldiers. Not police. And not politicians. Rather, there are refugees, victims, survivors, ex-hostages and, notably, agents of change. Now on exhibit at t...

24Jul 2018

By Sharon AdamsNo Comments

Military History, Pictorial

The long wait for peace

Recent overtures for a treaty between North Korea and South Korea can be traced back 65 years The world awaits a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War, 65 years after an armistice ceased the fighting between military forces. The Korean War went into hiatus with the signing of an armistice on July 27, 1953. But a peace treaty was never signed—the war did not officially end. At the end of the Second World War, Japanese-occupied Korea was divided along the 38th parallel, the Soviet Union occupied the north, the United States the south. In 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) were established. Backed by the Chinese army and buoyed by Soviet equipment, 135,000 North Korean People’s Army troops invaded South Korea on J...

Canadian kids learn of RAF’s rich history

18Jul 2018

By Stephen J. Thorne1 Comment

Front Lines

Canadian kids learn of RAF’s rich history

The Jack Tars of the Royal Navy may have ruled the seven seas in the 19th century, but Royal Air Force pilots owned the skies over Britain in the 20th. Indeed, Britain’s “finest hour,” as Prime Minister Winston Churchill called it, came mainly thanks to RAF pilots, whose staunch defence and willing sacrifice against overwhelming odds dealt Hitler his first defeat, stopped his western advance in its tracks and bought Allied nations the time they needed to win the Second World War in Europe. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” said the pugnacious, cigar-chomping, war-time prime minister whose taste for Pol Roger champagne, vintage Hine brandy and Johnny Walker Red was itself the stuff of legend. Now an integral part of the British school cur...

17Jul 2018

By Mark ZuehlkeNo Comments

Heroes And Villains

Norman Schwarzkopf and Saddam Hussein

When placed in command, take charge.” This was more than just a catchy quote by General Norman Schwarzkopf. The four-star general was 56 when United States President George H.W. Bush appointed him to command the multinational coalition responding to Iraq’s forced annexation of Kuwait in August 1990. Immediately after the Iraqi invasion, Schwarzkopf initiated a plan to defend Saudi Arabia from possible attack. Thousands of American air and ground forces deployed to the Arab country. By October, plans were coming together to forcibly expel the Iraqis from Kuwait. On Nov. 29, a UN Security Council resolution gave Iraq until Jan. 15, 1991, to withdraw from Kuwait or be forced out by “all necessary means.” Even as the coalition force of 750,000 (540,000 American, 1,700 Canadian) g...

Month: July 2018

Dealing with hearing loss

New initiatives come into effect

Photographs document the true agents of change—the people

The long wait for peace

Canadian kids learn of RAF’s rich history

Norman Schwarzkopf and Saddam Hussein

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