Condom Usage Stats by Canadian Soldiers

Canadian military leaders have clearly decided that preventing disease is more important than being overly judgemental about sexual activity.

Condom usage by Canadian military personnel has increased dramatically since 2002. More than 2300 Canadian troops are deployed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

In 1999, Canadian soldiers used 295,200 condoms supplied free of charge, no questions asked, by National Defence. That number fell to 25,355 condoms in 2002, but has been increasing ever since, and reached more than 300,000 in 2005.

Canadian military authorities give no explanation for the fluctuating numbers, but the increases may appear more dramatic than they really are. Year over year condom distribution to the Canadian military looks like this:

-1998: 219,312 condoms

-1999: 295,200 condoms

-2000: 158,991 condoms

-2001: 84,684 condoms

-2002: 25,355 condoms

-2003: 173,769 condoms

-2004: 285,751 condoms

-2005-March 2006: 306,522 condoms

In other words, there were more condoms purchased for distribution in 1999 than in 2004. Although Canadian military authorities offer no explanation, the lower numbers in 2001 and 2002 look like aberrations, possibly explained by differences in reporting methods.

In the Canadian forces sex between military personnel is strictly forbidden, as is sex between military and non-military personnel such as journalists, interpreters and other support staff.

But sexual activity between soldiers and either other soldiers or support and ancillary staff must certainly go on, given the consistent number of condoms handed out by the military. The attitude tends to be "Sexual activity is against the rules, and if two people decide to break those rules it's their decision."

In fact, it is well-known that soldiers have often used visual cues to indicate "Do not disturb." For example, at the now-closed Camp Julien base, when a white T-shirt was draped over the back of a light armoured vehicle it was understood this meant sexual activity was going on inside the vehicle. Signals like this are as old as military activity itself.

Canadian military leaders have clearly decided that preventing disease is more important than being overly judgemental about sexual activity. As one spokesperson has said, "Our (role) isn't to be judgmental. It's to keep people safe."

This underlines the official policy position of the Canadian military. They distribute free condoms to help keep soldiers safe and healthy. Both at home and abroad the official policy is "Don't ask, don't tell."

Even among the general public there seems to be a recognition that young men and women will be sexually active when confined in a typical military environment. While there may be concerns about the influence this could have on the family life of soldiers, or the possibility of strained relations between military personnel, health concerns generally take precedence.

About the Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces (French: Forces canadiennes), abbreviated as CF (French: FC), are the unified armed forces of Canada.

The environmental commands of the Canadian Forces are:

1. Maritime Command (MARCOM), or the Navy;

2. Land Force Command (LFC) or the Army;

3. Air Command (AIRCOM), or the Air Force.

The operational commands of the Canadian Forces are: Canada Command (CANCOM), responsible for all operations within Canada; Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM), responsible for operations outside of Canada; and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), responsible for special forces.

The Canadian Forces are governed by the National Defence Act, which states:

consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces. (National Defence Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. N-4, s.14)

The Canadian Forces was formed on February 1, 1968, when the Canadian government merged the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force into a unified structure. Canada remains one of the few developed countries in the world using this model for organizing its military forces.

At that time the newly integrated force was organized along mission-specific operational commands with no environmental commands per se (with the exception being the Navy). The following commands were formed on February 1, 1968: Air Defence Command, responsible for defending Canada's air space under NORAD; Air Transport Command, responsible for strategic and tactical airlift; Mobile Command (later renamed Force Mobile Command), an integrated force of land and tactical air units; Materiel Command, consolidating all logistics operations; Training Command, consolidating all training operations; and Maritime Command, responsible for defending Canada's territorial waters and contributing to NATO obligations in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The newly integrated armed forces were subsequently modified with Communication Command forming on September 1, 1970 to handle all communications and signalling requirements. On September 2, 1975, Air Defence Command, Air Transport Command and Training Command were disbanded and realigned when the environmental command AIRCOM was formed. Materiel Command was disbanded during the 1980s and Communication Command was disbanded in the mid-1990s at the same time as Force Mobile Command was renamed to Land Force Command, the third environmental command.

New operational commands were established when Canada Command was formed on January 31, 2006, followed by Canadian Expeditionary Force Command and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command being formed on February 1, 2006.

By the Canadian Constitution, the Command-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces is vested in Queen Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada. However, since 1904 the Monarch has allowed the Canadian viceroy to exercise the duties ascribed to that post, and since 1905 to hold the title Commander-in-Chief. The current Governor General and Commander-in-Chief is Michaëlle Jean. Under the Westminster system's parliamentary custom and practice, however, the Prime Minister of Canada holds de facto decision-making power over the deployment and disposition of Canadian forces. The military head of the Canadian Forces is the Chief of Defence Staff. The Cabinet officer in charge of the Canadian Forces is the Minister of National Defence (MND), who answers to the Prime Minister. Declarations of War must be signed by the Canadian Monarch or Governor General. A number of other members of the Canadian Royal Family act as Colonels-in-Chief of Canadian Forces regiments.