AFP Newsletter - Summer 2020 ENGLISH

7 Issue #35 • Summer 2020 Armed Forces Pensioners’ / Annuitants’ Association of Canada astute Force commander, Col. Rob- ert T. Frederick, arranged that the Canadians would receive their pay on a different day than their Amer- ican colleagues. The Canadians were also denied receiving Amer- ican medals and awards during the war. After the war, in perverse, reciprocal fashion, the Americans were not able to accept awards offered by Canada. The success of the Black Devils was exceptional but the sacrifice was horrendous. The numbers tell the tale. Rarely exceeding 2,000 in number, the First Special Service Force is credited with the capture of 12,000 prisoners and 15,000 enemy killed — the equivalent of two German line divisions. But these achievements came at a tremendous price — a 600 per cent attrition rate, with more than 500 killed and 2,400 wounded — many several times. The Black Devils saga is one of uncompromising valour and an “esprit de corps” matched by few military units. They had all the essential qualities of the ideal combat unit. Quoting Hackworth again: “Great combat leaders who led from the front, and two-fisted warriors who performed brilliantly in what many consider the most brutal mountain fighting in World War II.” The brigade received the very rare Congressional Gold Med- al in 2013. I would hope that the Canadian War Museum might carve out a place to honour the memorable courage and sacrifice of this ex- traordinary unit. The outstanding record of the Force highlighted the most precious aspect of the Canada — U.S. partnership. Just as in WWII, Canadians with Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-20) were united with America’s elite Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D or Delta Force) in a spe- cial assignment force for the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. For anyone seeking to learn more about this most unusual bri- gade, I would recommend reading “Black Devil Brigade: An Oral His- tory” by Joseph A. Springer. You will get the story in the pungent words of many of the then surviv- ing combatants. A career Foreign Service officer for more than 30 years, Derek H. Burney is a former Ca- nadian Ambassador to the United States and served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Reprinted with permission from an article published in the Nation- al Post, March 3, 2020 (Link to https://tinyurl.com/y73p5hsb) Devil’s... Continued from page 6 V eterans Affairs Canada (VAC) announced in March, 2020, that it would be opening a new office intended to better serve women and those with specific needs stemming from their sexual orientation or gender identity. The office is aimed at removing barriers to helping veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen- der or two-spirit. Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay says the government is responsible for providing these members with the care and support they deserve and that the idea for the office stemmed from discussions which took place during the first annual Women’s Veterans Forum held in Char- lottetown last year. Since then, the department has spoken with veter- ans and interested parties to iden- tify barriers some face due to their gender or sexual orientation. Of note, women account for 14 per cent of the estimated 670,000 veterans in Canada. This initiative dovetails with others happening within the federal government, which has been ex- amining ways to modernize its sex and gender information practices. In September 2018, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Department of Justice Canada presented a report to the Clerk of the Privy Council with recommen- dations on ways to modernize how the Government of Canada handles information on sex and gender. At the heart of the office’s ap- proach is Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+), a process used to as- sess how diverse groups of women, men and non-binary people may experience policies, programs and initiatives. The “plus” acknowledges that GBA goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences. Given that we all have multiple identity factors that inter- sect to make us who we are; GBA+ also considers many other identity factors, like race, ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disabil- ity. A newly-established LGBTQ2 veterans’ hotline is now available for former members of the Cana- dian Armed Forces and the RCMP who are also members of the LGBTQ2 community and who have service-related injuries. Those who meet these criteria and previously did not apply or were not aware of benefits for which they may have been entitled are encouraged to contact VAC toll-free at 1-800-487- 7797 for more information. Veterans Affairs Canada to open new gender equality office