Canadian_Mind wrote:
$1:
"The tank and helicopter acquisitions are a reaction to combat casualties the Canadians suffered after the current Kandahar mission began in February 2005, bringing Canada's total war cost to at least $7 billion so far."
Bullshit. If we didn't buy them for this war, we'd be buying them for the next one. As such they should be treated as any other piece of military kit or hardware is when they calculate how much a war is costing us, which is usually ZIP.
You are largely correct although the usual suspects yell BS when somebody posts in inconvenient truth.
The difference between maintaining a standing army in peacetime and a fighting army in war are however considerable.
Cost of deployment (Freight) of men and material. Replacement/repair of battle damaged/ destroyed/lost equipment. Cost to payroll for combat bonuses etc. Ammunition expended.
However usually the entire costs are calculated in these estimates which are largely inaccurate.
It is as ridiculous as the bills presented for Policing large events. The personell were being paid anyway and the only relevant costs are the extra fuel for vehicles and overtime. And yet the bills are calculated on the total payroll costs of personel who would be normally paid anyhoo.
CKA Super Elite 
