What's in a name? Rather, what's in an abbreviation?Apparently the hint of jackbooted thugs with death's heads on their collars, arms raised in the fascist salute:
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor wants to change the name of the Canadian Forces' top counter-terrorism unit, but the move is causing concern among some in the military because of the possibility the new moniker could be linked to Nazi Germany.
Mr. O'Connor is looking at renaming the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2 as the First Special Service Regiment. But some in the defence community are worried the abbreviated version of that, the 1st SS Regiment, could turn into a public relations nightmare because of the potential Nazi connotations.
....
Defence Department sources, however, argue it is highly unlikely the new name would be referred to as the 1st SS Regiment or as an SS Regiment. They pointed out, for instance, that the existing Royal Canadian Regiment is not called the RC Regiment when referred to in an abbreviated form. Instead, it's called the RCR. The department sources expect the new regiment will be called the 1SSR when it is discussed in military circles or in the public.
The Forces might not call them the SS Regiment, but you can bet the media and the opposition parties will.
That might be reason enough not to rename JTF2.
O'Connor should leave well enough alone.
Source: National Post
2 comments:
Perhaps the worry is legit; it's not the first time we are being compared with the Nazis, especially after Abu Graib.
How come people don't see who the real Nazis are?
Funny how the US never renamed the "Secret Service" huh?
Why not call it the Canadian Special Air Services Regiment? After all, the Australians and New Zealanders have "THEM" too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Air_Service_of_New_Zealand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Special_Air_Service_Regiment
http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/THEM
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