Canadian Ferret with Strathcona history

[Robin Craig]

A trade has been worked out for the spare hull with a two wheeled device as the item being swapped.

Potentially swap will occur spring 2015 or earlier if I get some time

Am very happy but also very sad that the Strats did not engage one iota

R

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Robin Craig

A trade has been worked out for the spare hull with a two wheeled device as the item being swapped.

Potentially swap will occur spring 2015 or earlier if I get some time

Am very happy but also very sad that the Strats did not engage one iota

R

Robin,

It does not surprise me that the Strathconas were not interested. This is a period of contraction in budgets at all levels of the armed forces and the usual regimental/battalion canteen funds tend to go for things that the unit need (as determined by the CO and RSM, of course), as opposed to what the unit wants.

Even if the CO was a history buff and loved these wierd vehicles, he would have a hard time diverting funds towards its restoration particularly since there is a lot of money required to fund the ceremonial troop and other projects - visit their website at http://www.strathconas.ca/strathcona-mounted-troop. It takes more than public funds to keep these projects afloat.

I am glad to hear that the Ferret in question has found a home.

[Scott Bentley]

Sad but true.

I feel like i'm always "that guy" when I post on here lately, but being on the inside I can tell you that the appetite for this type of stuff is minimal to non-existent within the CF.

Case in point. There is another Ferret (complete and running) originally belonging to the LDSH, sitting in a hanger at 1 CER covered in dust and hasn't moved in years. When the long time Regt civvie mechanic retired a few years back, the Ferret got parked.

The Army of today definitely isn't the one I joined in the early 90s. Many of these Regt Historic vehicles harken from an era when Units weren't deploying every other year and could hide injured soldiers from DMCA. The other issue is funding as mentioned above. Some of these guys and many of the projects are ending up at Base Museums who have even less $$.

Don't take it personally. It is what it is.

[Robin Craig]

Dear All,

Thank you for your kind words of solace.

I guess my biggest beef is that I can understand budget cuts and restrictions and rules all day long, I can fathom those easily.

What I can't abide is lack of common civility, a simple email or a phone call from someone to me over the last number of months would have been nice.

The simple "please" and "thank you" and "thanks but no thanks" don't at last time of checking cost a red cent off anyones budgets.

I feel I have done the right thing offering it to them first.

I am happy for it to go to another MV enthusiast and survive, not a problem.

Robin

[RHClarke]

Originally Posted by Robin Craig

Dear All,...What I can't abide is lack of common civility, a simple email or a phone call from someone to me over the last number of months would have been nice. The simple "please" and "thank you" and "thanks but no thanks" don't at last time of checking cost a red cent off anyones budgets.I feel I have done the right thing offering it to them first... Robin

Keep in mind that army units are usually busy -even in peacetime. If a request is not urgent or important (to them), then it sits in the pending basket until someone gets around to addressing the request, which usually is a long way off in the future. Keep the faith, and don't take it personally if you don't hear anything - the unit has many other priorities to satisfy before it gets to the "nice to have" category. Kudos to you for making the offer.