A less radical unification (ASB free Canadian Military Timeline)

For the most part I think it could be said that the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces was a failure; it didn't end up saving much money on defence, and because of the massively unpopular changes the strength of the CAF was struck significantly due to so many servicemen quitting.

In my opinion if unification was done properly by changing the upper command structure of the military while not severely effecting the troops on the ground along with some other minor changes could actually increase the military power of Canada.

Some changes I was thinking for a less radical unification include:

- Creating a new public image focusing on peacekeeping, humanitarian missions and air search and rescue following the peace movement to not discourage recruitment
- Allow women into more military occupations to expand the recruiting pool
- Do not make changes that will kill existing heritage and drive a good portion of the existing leadership base to quit
- On that note while retaining heritage organizational structures, make a more progressive operational command structure as per OTL. Also ranks would visually look identicle but would have service specific titles as per OTL
- Instead of adopting the horribly unpopular CF wide green uniforms have uniforms similar to the post 1986 DEUs
- Refocusing from a garrison role in Europe to a NATO expeditionary force role of which standby elements can also be used as a standby UN force
- Not utilizing any nuclear weapons so as to give the military a better public image.

Basically these changes would make the military more attractive to the Canadian population and at the same time not be so radical that it will stay attractive to existing personnel. Therefore there would be more recruits, more public support for overseas operations and defence spending and the armed forces would not loose a good chunk of its leadership and not to mention professionalism. At the same time the power projection role in NATO would expand the independent capabilities of the Canadian military.

All of this could be achieved in my opinion with a POD around 1960.

So before I start are there any questions regarding the idea or suggestions on bringing this about other than killing off Hellyer?
 
(So after delay which lasted MUCH too long I will be starting with the political changes which will make a less radical unification a reality.)

So in regards to political PODs, for starters Pierre Trudeau during the Second World War will volunteer in the Army so that he serves overseas and sees a fair bit of action unlike in OTL when he was conscripted and eventually discharged for lack of discipline and politically supporting an anti-conscription advocate. Basically because he volunteers and serves overseas he has a far better attitude towards the armed forces than OTL. Following the war he continues his education as a war vet and enters liberal politics.

Our friend Paul Hellyer does not return to politics following his defeat in the 1957 election.

Douglas Harkness runs as a Liberal in the 1963 election due to his frustration with the conservatives over their indecision following the indecision over the purchase of Bomarc missiles and becomes the MND of the Pearson and later Trudeau government.

Harkness is instrumental in the drafting of the 1964 White Paper on Defence which while outlining major restructuring (as per OTL) it also emphasized the retention of traditions for the sake of preservation of moral as well as focus on the flexibility of the services.

The Canadian Armed Forces unify in 1968 but however while restructuring takes place and some aesthetical changes are made (to give the CAF a distinct “Canadian identity”) each service retains their individual identities and as such the military does not become unpopular amongst the ranks.

Progressive policies such as the expansion of women and minorities in the armed forces, an ending of nuclear capabilities and publicized “soft” missions such as peacekeeping, humanitarian missions and search and rescue make the armed forces popular in the eyes of potential recruits and voters alike.

Trudeau envisions the armed forces as a tool to help Canada economically recover from the recession during the seventies and as such ensures the preservation of personnel numbers and expansion of the domestic defence industry.

As such by the time the eighties roll around Canada will have maintained the comparative military power which they had enjoyed twenty years prior.

(I will be going into detail about the structure of the CAF in future posts however for now I would like some feedback regarding the plausibility of these political changes.)
 
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