This is a huge, multi-faceted issue. Let me give you an example. I'm a gunner, and it makes me very sad to hear that a fellow gunner looks on the association as if it doesn't really do anything. If he were PPCLI, he'd be taken care of differently, more like the RCMP. . We have a patchwork of associations among the military, and it's worse in the reserves. The sergeant was reg force, and God bless him: He's getting a heck of a lot more than any reservist I know would ever get. They're really left on their own.
The Canadian Armed Forces could direct better support among the associations. Jon Vance has said that we really want to be there from birth to death, that sort of thing, but the fact of the matter is that it's not happening. Unfortunately, I've heard many stories like the sergeant's, where they're hurried out of the forces and then left with no support.
CAF is part of the solution. You're part of the solution. I think Ralph said it best: this isn't your problem alone. It's not government's. We can't ask you to solve this problem. You can help us inspire other Canadians to step up. We need more veterans who will band together—just common citizens. It really irks me to think that everybody looks at you as being the saviour. You're not the saviour. It's time for all of us to buck up.