A soldier’s duty

When you join the Canadian military you accept what’s known as “the clause of unlimited liability.” That is, you agree your service is total even to the point where you may be required to sacrifice your life in the defence of the country if ordered to do so. It is this unlimited liability that most sharply distinguishes the soldier from the civilian.

Cpl. Kate MacEachern seems to have forgotten this. The 34-year-old is a tank driver in the Canadian Army. Last year her commanders agreed to her undertaking a charity trek to draw attention to the plight of military personnel with posttraumatic stress disorder. Her efforts won praise, including from former defence minister Peter MacKay. Now she wants to do a similar walk.

This time, however, Gagetown commanders have rejected her request for time off. MacEachern says she’ll resign. She should — if she can no longer abide by her enlistment obligations.

We don’ t know why MacEachern’s superiors made this decision, but they have that prerogative and, presumably, decided as they did because the army’s needs take priority over any individual soldier’s desires, worthy as they may be. The army is hard-pressed for personnel and, no doubt, the brass doesn’t want to encourage the notion that soldiers can take time off just to satisfy personal interests.

Hard as it is for civilians to understand, a soldier’s life is not completely his or her own. Those who can’t accept this military ethos shouldn’t wear the uniform.

OTTAWA CITIZEN