Things that make you go hmmm.....

While reading this article I found a link to this article in the Star. Now the main thrust of the article was a cheesy attempt by a Tory candidate to set up a photo op with Harper. The bit that caught my eye was this part:

Opitz, a lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian military, is the senior regional advisor to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Well LCol Ted Opitz had better either be a) recently released from the CF or b) a reservist or he is in violation of QR&O 19.44 Paragraph 7.

If he isn't either recently released or a reservist, LCol Opitz is breaking the law. QR&O's aren't guidelines, they are regulations that amplify the National Defence Act and violating them are punishable under the NDA and military law. QR&O stand for Queens Regulations and Orders, by the way for those of you who don't share the military's fetish for acronyms and abbreviations.

In a broader sense this is a dangerous thing. Harper is politicizing the military for his own purposes. If one looks at the more successful coups in the world, the military leaders are generally in the rank range of Major to Colonel, as these officers are close enough to the men they lead to have personal loyalty be an important factor. Generals are usually quite insulated from the lower ranks and it is rare that they are well known to the rank and file beyond their name and photo in the base HQ building. One wonders if this is a prelude to have the tanks roll on parliament should Harper not win the election? Personally, I wouldn't put it past Harper or his supporters to want this.