The Whig has a good article today about four young officers from the US on exchange at our Royal Military College:

The one big difference they note is that Canadian military drill, based on the British system, is much more physically demanding than the French-derived American parade drill. "Oh man, it's hard, with all the high-stepping," said Lewis with laugh. "My wing keeps telling me that they want to have an American drill night, because what we do is so much easier."

One of the neat things about being a person who has basically lived within fifteen miles of military bases for most of my life is the awareness of the joint nature of NATO training and operations gained through spotting the uniforms of others. It is always neat pointing out an out of context Aussie officer to the kids, staggering around town on a blizzardly winter day in uniform.