I lived through that. I was working in Land Force Western Area headquarters during the Medak Pocket Operation when I was posted in Edmonton. We had so many updates on what was going on with the troops over there. You're right. At the time we were also dealing with Somalia, and I was quite literally ordered not to wear my uniform to work because we didn't want to leave that impression on the general public. The military just shouldn't be seen.
It hit us hard. Then, with the disbanding of the regiment, I can't even describe how we felt other than unneeded. It was the most heart-wrenching moment of my life that I served my country because of a family of service, and suddenly they didn't want to talk about you because there's bad stuff happening in the public. It was dark.