WCST said:
It says he's 'imminently prepared'. Nothing about knowledge. Just that he read up. Big whoop. 'Tacticly astutute'. Yeah, so what? What's his previous skill? I was quite aware of what part I quoted.
It still makes me cringe when I read stuff that's been 'dumbed down' for the civies.
M :brickwall:
~sigh~ OK, I'll try again...slowly.
Right off the bat we need to sort out the terminology. Since this report was transcribed from a television interview, one can expect the occasional mistranscribed word. In this case, I assume the Colonel meant "eminently prepard," vice "imminently prepared." My trusty
Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd Ed. (NY: OUP, 1996), tells us clearly that "imminently" is the adverbal form of imminent; meaning "impending" (p. 706), whereas "eminently" is the adverbal form of eminent; "notable" (p. 461). In this case I assume General Fraser was being described as being "notable in his degree of preparedness." Again, one must expect occasional lapses in transcriptions. Hopefully, you're still following.
WCST said:
It says he's 'imminently prepared'. Nothing about knowledge. Just that he read up. Big whoop.
Now, how do imagine Gen Fraser became "eminently prepared" for such a command without "knowledge"? Somehow, you have determined that he "read up" but bemoan there being nothing about his "knowledge." Perhaps you are simply unaware of the various aspects of Professional Development within the CF. I cannot tell, based upon your thoughtful judgement of "big whoop."
WCST said:
'Tacticly astutute'. Yeah, so what?
You then seem to have problems with the expression, 'Tacticly astutute'
(sic). While some members here would point out the relative simplicity of using the spell check, I'll focus on the substantive issue. According to, once again, my handy dictionary, this expression would refer to someone who has "practical wisdom" in the "art of disposing armed forces in order of battle and of carrying out manoeuvres in actual contact with the enemy" (pp. 83, 1271, 1467).
"Yeah, so what?" you say. While I hesitate to answer a question with a question of my own....
In what other areas would like a Canadian General, commanding multinational troops in a hostile environment, to have?
WCST said:
What's his previous skill?
Ah well...again, the report is taken from a television interview. Seldom is complete information given because of the time constraints involved. I would suggest that anyone relying upon the television for their wisdom may be getting short changed. Were you hoping for a read-out of Gen Fraser's biography? Perhaps you should go, if you're
really interested (and not just trolling), to the CF Senior Officer Biography website:
http://www.forces.gc.ca/dsa/app_bio/engraph/FSeniorOfficerBiographies_e.asp?SectChoice=1
Oh look....not yet updated to reflect his promotion to BGen, but...PPCLI...Ops O during Cyprus deployment...Meritorious Service Medal for his Sarajevo deployment during the war...back to Bosnia commanding a battalion during SFOR Roto 0...back to Canada for some DomOps stuff and a Master's Degree...Commander 1CMBG. Doesn't sound
too lame.
WCST said:
It still makes me cringe when I read stuff that's been 'dumbed down' for the civies.
M :brickwall:
Yes...perhaps something here has been too "dumbed." Nice avatar. Fitting.
ps: Please stick to your expertise. If you want to exercise your intellect in a harmless way, figure out why dictionaries have page numbers....after all, they're organized alphabetically, not chronologically or numerically.
Thanks for coming out