Tarnished Brass

As an ex-soldier I must admit that I had little time for Scott Taylor and his endless self promotion (usually at the expense of the military's reputation). However I finally got around to reading this book.....And I have changed my mind (or perhaps I should start reading more books by Brian Nolan). While those of us in uniform could follow a lot of the scandals and see from our own perspective the corruption in the Forces, Tarnished Brass takes the reader through all the background and reveals the true rot at the top. What we only suspected, Taylor & Nolan reveal in a very disturbing amount of detail. I don't believe that much has changed since this book was first published in 1996....And perhaps that explains why morale is so low, and so many soldiers (myself included) simply walked away.An excellent read.

Taylor and Nolan reveal a Canadian Military hierarchy that has rotted from the top down. Their well researched and detailed expose illustrates the systemic corruption through a myriad of individual cases. The power and controlling influence of the normally invisible bureaucrats is shocking, but even more repugnant is the manner in which the Senior serving Officers have broken faith with the rank and file. Tarnished Brass is a very disturbing read, but it is a work that should not be ignored.

I've read Tarnished Brass once and am now reading it for a second time. The information given in this book is really shocking. In the pages of this book I have seen the Canadain Forces go from a proud, post world war two, army, to a low moral 'corporation.' I was appaled to find out that officers who have sworn loyalty, truth and courage to Canada, have all but forgotten these virtues, there only intrest being themselves. This book is an amazing look at the underbelly of the once proud Canadian Forces.