Being a Warrior Is More Than a Role — It’s a Calling

Follow @SkillsGapTrain

@nationalpost “Canadian Forces need to recruit warriors, not DEI hires: retired major” https://x.com/nationalpost/status/1858170777536717238

1. The Essence of a True Warrior

The essence of a true warrior transcends mere physical prowess; it resides in their spirit, values, and commitment to a cause greater than themselves. This timeless truth has been echoed throughout history, from the disciplined phalanxes of ancient Sparta to the elite forces of modern militaries. A warrior’s strength is forged not only through skill but also through virtues like courage, discipline, loyalty, and sacrifice.

In the context of Canada’s Armed Forces, recruiting warriors — not mere employees or quota-fillers — is critical. As retired Major Barbara Krasij-Maisonneuve rightly observes, a military’s strength is rooted in its people, and those people must embody the warrior ethos. Anything less weakens the very foundation of the force that defends the nation.

2. Warrior vs. Worker

As Aristotle noted, excellence is not an act but a habit. A true warrior does not simply perform the duties of their role; they embody it. The distinction between a warrior and a worker lies in their internal drive and sense of purpose:

The Warrior Sees Service as a Vocation: They understand their duty transcends personal gain, aligning with a higher purpose — whether defending their nation, preserving justice, or protecting the vulnerable.
The Worker Views Service as a Job: Lacking the spirit of sacrifice, they may falter when the stakes demand more than technical proficiency or compliance with orders.

The warrior is prepared to endure suffering, make sacrifices, and persevere in their duty even when the path is hardest. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 2:3, “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” The warrior’s resilience, rooted in their commitment to their cause, is what distinguishes them on the battlefield.

3. Meritocracy: A Proven Path to Excellence

History consistently shows that militaries prioritizing merit over quotas or political agendas outperform their counterparts. Consider these examples:

The Roman Legion: Renowned for its discipline and merit-based promotions, its structure enabled centuries of dominance.
The British Navy: By valuing skill over social status, it commanded the seas during pivotal conflicts like the Napoleonic Wars.
Modern Special Forces: Units like Canada’s JTF-2 uphold rigorous standards, ensuring only the most capable serve in their ranks.

When meritocracy is replaced with artificial quotas, the consequences are clear: diminished morale, eroded trust in leadership, and a weakened military. A force built on true merit fosters unity, confidence, and capability — qualities no amount of bureaucracy can replace.

4. The Role of Women in a Warrior Culture

History also demonstrates that women excel as warriors when they rise through merit and dedication:

Boudica: The fearless Celtic queen who led a revolt against Roman oppression.
Joan of Arc: A visionary leader whose faith and courage inspired armies to victory.
Modern Trailblazers: Female pilots, combat engineers, and intelligence officers prove that gender is no barrier when excellence is the standard.

However, promoting individuals solely based on demographics undermines both men and women, eroding confidence in their abilities and sowing division. True equality arises when all recruits are held to the same high standards, ensuring that those who serve are ready to meet the demands of the role.

kills and determination align with the demands of the battlefield. These examples underscore that gender is not inherently a barrier to excellence but rather one factor among many in assessing capability and role fit.

4.1. Performance Standards and Operational Realities

The warrior ethos demands uncompromising performance standards. In physically demanding and high-stakes environments, such as infantry combat or special operations, the ability to meet these standards is non-negotiable. This is not about exclusion but about ensuring operational effectiveness:

Physical Requirements: Certain military roles, particularly in frontline combat, require extraordinary physical strength, endurance, and resilience. These roles should be open to women who can meet or exceed the established benchmarks. Lowering standards for inclusivity undermines both morale and mission success, creating risks for all personnel.
Cognitive and Strategic Contributions: Women often excel in areas where cognitive sharpness, leadership, and adaptability are paramount. These include intelligence, logistics, medical services, and command roles. These contributions are essential to the overall effectiveness of the military and highlight the diverse ways in which women can embody the warrior ethos.

4.2. Preserving Meritocracy

A merit-based approach ensures that all service members, regardless of gender, are evaluated solely on their abilities and performance. When women meet the rigorous standards required of any warrior, their inclusion strengthens the force. Conversely, imposing quotas or artificially adjusting expectations erodes trust within the ranks and devalues the contributions of those who have genuinely earned their place.

4.3. The Psychological and Team-Oriented Aspects of Warriorhood

Beyond physicality, the warrior ethos encompasses psychological resilience, teamwork, and a strong moral compass. Women have consistently demonstrated these qualities, particularly in leadership roles and crisis situations. In areas such as peacekeeping, civil-military operations, and counterinsurgency, women often bring unique perspectives that enhance mission outcomes and strengthen cohesion within diverse teams.

4.4. Defining Boundaries with Integrity

Acknowledging differences in physical capabilities between men and women is not discriminatory but practical. Certain roles may remain predominantly male due to their physical demands, but this does not preclude women from excelling in other capacities. Upholding this distinction ensures that the military remains focused on effectiveness while honouring the contributions of all warriors.

4.5. Conclusion: A Unified Warrior Ethos

The integration of women into the warrior model must be guided by principles of merit and operational effectiveness, not by political agendas. When performance and values are the criteria, women who meet the high standards required of any warrior can serve with distinction, contributing to the strength and unity of the armed forces. This approach not only respects the essence of the warrior ethos but also ensures that every member of the military, regardless of gender, is prepared to uphold the sacred duty of defending the nation.

5. The Psychology of a Warrior

From a psychological perspective, warriors possess three critical attributes:

Mental Toughness: The resilience to face fear, adversity, and uncertainty without breaking.
A Team-Oriented Mindset: A focus on collective success over individual recognition, ensuring the mission always comes first.
A Strong Moral Compass: A deep sense of right and wrong, rooted in a commitment to a higher purpose.

These qualities are vital to maintaining cohesion and effectiveness in high-stakes environments. Diluting them with ideological agendas or arbitrary quotas undermines the core of what makes a military strong.

6. The Spiritual and Cultural Dimensions of Warriorhood

In Christian tradition, the warrior’s role is deeply spiritual. Warriors are called to protect the innocent, resist evil, and strive for peace. Biblical figures like David and Joshua exemplify this ethos, chosen for their courage, faith, and readiness to lead — not their external qualifications or status.

Modern military recruitment must embrace the same principles. Warriors must be chosen for their capabilities, values, and readiness to serve — not as tokens of political movements or symbols of academic origin or corporate origin or political origin diversity politics for its own sake.

7. A Call to Action

Canada’s Armed Forces face pressing challenges, from recruiting shortages to global instability. To overcome these hurdles and uphold the nation’s defense, the military must:

Return to Meritocracy: Recruit based on skill, character, and potential — regardless of gender, race, or background.
Restore the Warrior Ethos: Celebrate the nobility of service and the sacrifices it entails, ensuring that those who serve are proud to wear the uniform.
Lead with Integrity: Ensure leaders inspire trust by upholding timeless values, not pandering to transient agendas.

As retired Major Krasij-Maisonneuve eloquently states, “We need to recruit warriors.” True warriors are forged through rigorous training, unshakable standards, and a shared commitment to defending the nation. They are not the product of quotas or bureaucracy but of excellence and integrity.

Let us honour the warrior spirit by rejecting mediocrity, embracing merit, and building a military that stands as a testament to the values it protects. The defense of a nation demands nothing less.

Me Myself and I: Canada is a land of IMMMIGRANTS … stop this DEI nonsense …

SGT: Why bring up immigrants, Indigenous people, and DEI in this discussion? Hasn’t PM Trudeau done that enough?

Our team proudly includes three immigrants, and we do not advocate for exclusion. Your comments are exclusion, not ours.

Suggesting that our approach is about DEI is not only misleading — it amounts to ostracism what you do. Our focus is not on issues like immigration, deportation, or DEI, but rather on the qualities that define true character, nobility, courage, bravery..

Maybe YOU are the one talking about DEI political activities !!! This is called “projection” of personal assessments and viewing them on others.

Our article is centered on the strength of character, strong person principles, and the professional codes that guide those who fight. Often similar in nature to warrior philosophy and warrior code we sometimes see in historical movies.

It celebrates the resilience, merit, and dedication of individuals — qualities that matter far more than labels or political agendas.

Our goal with this article is to challenge the prevailing notion that military service can be reduced to a mere job or a box-checking exercise.

We argue that being a warrior goes far beyond fulfilling duties — it is about embracing a deep, almost sacred commitment to a cause that is greater than oneself.

Like we do at Team SGT HQ and our tech and our sports shooting colleagues do the same.

We emphasize that the true strength of a military force is built on the character, discipline, and resolve of its members, not just on fulfilling quotas or meeting politically motivated diversity targets.

The fact that you didn’t let us make this point, shows a DEI like political agenda here. ‘To not let us show our honour and our strength and our points about why this philosophy is so important. This is censorship, a DEI like quality.’

Our article is about regular society operation, and does not promote DEI and does not analyze DEI, but the regular standard society operation in military contexts and the beauty of strength of military context as applicable and useful to citizens.

We delve into the heart of what it means to be a warrior by contrasting two mindsets: one that views service as a vocation and another that treats it as just another job.

A true warrior lives by values such as courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, consistently striving for excellence even in the face of adversity.

This mindset is essential because the challenges of modern warfare and national defense demand more than technical proficiency…

— they require an inner drive and a moral compass that guides decisions on and off the battlefield.

This light, character, ethic and deep moral compass, is the strength behind the soldier capabilities and STEM capabilities of Team SGT, and that is why we share it here.

Another central theme in our article is the importance of meritocracy in military recruitment.

By looking back at historical examples.. the guiding principle of Team SGT members since 1990 to 1999 inception time of these principles…

— from examples of disciplined Roman legions to today’s elite special joint task forces JTF of Canada —

...we make the case that recruiting individuals based solely on their abilities, character, and proven performance is the only way to build a resilient and effective military.

When recruitment policies shift to favour diversity for its own sake, it risks compromising the high standards that are vital for operational success, ultimately weakening the force’s integrity and capability.

We also address the evolving role of women within this warrior culture. History is replete with examples of women who have demonstrated exceptional valour and leadership.

However, we stress that true inclusion means holding all recruits to the same high standards. Whether male or female, every candidate must meet the rigorous benchmarks that define a warrior.

This approach ensures that gender, or any other demographic factor, does not undermine the essential qualities of courage, physical ability, and mental toughness required to serve effectively.

Ultimately, our call to action is clear: to meet the challenges of an uncertain global landscape, our armed forces must return to a merit-based recruitment model that prioritizes the timeless warrior ethos.

In doing so, we honour the legacy of those who have defended our nation with unwavering dedication and prepare our military for the future…

— built not on bureaucratic quotas, but on the enduring values of honour, excellence, and sacrifice.

Last Note: It’s disheartening to witness the deep, soulful essence of a true warrior being reduced to nothing more than a DEI persona. That is what you try to do here. A dishonourable attack on the sou of the warrior.

This shallow perspective undermines the richness of the human spirit and dismisses the strength and valour that warriors embody.

True warriors exist all around us, yet this narrow view of yours prevents the recognition of their enduring presence. Even the battle-tested spirit of Team SGT — proven and refined online from 2000 to 2025 — remains unseen by those fixated on superficial labels.

Last Last Note:A compelling starting point for exploring warrior identity is to observe Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

As a Klingon, Worf embodies timeless values of nobility, honour, and chivalry — virtues that resonate not only within the realm of science fiction but also across 20 centuries of human history.

By examining characters like Worf alongside historical examples, we see that the essence of true nobility is not rooted in modern political agendas or superficial metrics such as DEI.

Instead, it is defined by merit, performance, and the enduring spirit of excellence.

Humanity has always been capable of remarkable valour and integrity, qualities that have shaped the warrior tradition through the ages.

It is unfortunate when discussions of human potential are reduced to political frameworks rather than celebrating the rich legacy of merit and achievement.

True warrior identity is about upholding standards of excellence and honour— principles that continue to inspire and guide us today.

But it does not guide you. You even use the picture of warrior to dishonour the idea of warriors in today’s age! Shameful.

Maybe it’s good idea to read again the article and the supplemental post, this one, and enjoy the society of warriors a bit more. It’s good thing.

Jeezus. Immigrants. What does that have to do with anything. It’s like talking about ice cream. Has to happen every Friday throughout your entire life.