While super-polluter China is training their soldiers to be hardened, cold blooded killers, Ireland’s Defence Minister has a different goal – spending millions to make our troops carbon-friendly environmentalists.
To be honest, I’m not sure I want my military to be “friendly” anything. That word shouldn’t even be in a soldier’s lexicon.
Speaking in a press release today, both Minister for Defence Simon Coveney and Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris have launched a €2.4 million incentive to research teams to come up with solutions to a selection of problems facing the military, one of which is “reducing the environmental impact of Defence Forces aircraft, land vehicles and vessels.”
Simon Harris said he was “delighted” to launch a “new challenge-based funding programme that will support Irish research, our Defence Forces and ultimately society.
“If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s taught us the value of research, and just how important the work of our scientists is,” he said
“We have almost 2,000 aircraft, land vehicles and vessels in our fleet – imagine the impact we could have by reducing their effects on the environment.”
Professor Mark Ferguson, scientific advisor to the government, said: “We are delighted to launch this new collaborative challenge to enhance the Defence Forces effectiveness and reduce its carbon footprint through research.”
Well I’m sure it’ll be of great consolation to the enemy when they’re getting crushed by an armoured APC and their entrails are bursting out of their stomach to find out that the vehicle is solar powered, or something. Maith sibh to the two Simons.
Now, as most people should know by now, Ireland’s man-made contribution to the carbon emissions, according to the European Commission, is 0.1% of the world total. That’s not one percent – that’s one tenth of one percent.
Actually stop and think about that: our contribution is so small, it’s well within the margin of error. If you were in a boat that was flooding with water, and you bailed out 0.1% of the water, what meaningful impact do you think that would make to your situation? Would you even be able to notice a difference? Probably not.
And yet, this apparently is the top priority for our military.
Never mind the fact that one third of the officers who quit the defence forces in recent years told a survey they would not recommend a military career in Ireland, and two-thirds said they left for better pay in the private sector. The military hemorrhaging troops at an alarming rate due to low pay is not a priority apparently.
Nearly one-in-three officers who quit the Defence Forces in the past few years told a survey they wouldn't recommend a military career in this countryhttps://t.co/2UZrrXUoJa
— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) June 13, 2021
Never mind the fact that we have private charities having to raise money for homeless defence forces veterans to provide them with accomodation.
"The charity @OneFuchsia is appealing for people to take part in the 'Jadotville Challenge' between June 29–July 3 to raise much-needed funds for a hostel under construction in Cobh and another one planned for Cork City."https://t.co/sbE2Gbdn8G @ARCOIreland @RACO_DF
— IDFOC (@_IDFOC) June 27, 2021
There are so few troops willing to go on overseas peacekeeping missions, that they literally have to try and find reserve troops to send abroad.
Defence Forces struggling to find volunteers for peacekeeping missions https://t.co/ZyItR9sLYW
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) July 5, 2021
Reserve members of Defence Forces to be allowed to serve overseas for first time https://t.co/PQbcy8FYfl via @IrishTimesPol
— Irish Times Politics (@IrishTimesPol) June 30, 2021
The Defence Forces’ nursing service is so understaffed that where decades ago we had around 100 nurses on standby, we now have around 3 or 4. One nurse has been employed on a 24-hour basis every day for the past nine years according to former defence forces TD Cathal Berry.
Defence Forces’ nursing service down from 100 to ‘just three or four’ https://t.co/JKTa7g3Rrj via @IrishTimesPol
— Irish Times Politics (@IrishTimesPol) June 30, 2021
The problems go on, and on, and on. But apparently the biggest concern is dealing with a practically non-existent carbon footprint, because reasons.
When I see frivolous tripe like this when it comes to the military, I’m reminded of the words of Australian Assistant Defence Minister earlier this year.
After a video surfaced of a bunch of female Australian Defence Forces sailors twerking on one of the country’s naval vessels, Minister Andrew Hastie reminded the entire military that their “core business” was “the application of lethal violence” and the defence of Australian values and sovereignty, slamming “woke” infiltration of the armed forces.
Please enjoy the video under the 'shitshow' headline. The editing cuts between the twerking dancers and officers in full regalia trying to look serious is just … *chef's kiss*https://t.co/TmxDEfiIBt
— Christine Flatley (@littlechrissy) April 13, 2021
And is that not a perfect summation of where we are?
The one and only reason a country has a military is to defend the country. Their job is to fight, and, if necessary, kill enemy combatants who would do harm to our society. Our troops are not environmentalists. They’re not equality activists. They are armed forces – warriors, part of whose job is to engage in lethal violence to neutralise threats to the Irish nation.
This woke hammering of the Irish military is frankly a pisstake, and it should concern all of us that the Defence Minister is more worried about this nonsense than actually making sure our troops are combat ready in the event that we should need them.