20 January 2020. Quite often, military people end up talking to other military people. They speak the same language and know the same acronyms. It’s just easier to talk to someone who knows the lingo and the issues. That’s great for day-to-day interactions and for operational reasons. But it’s not great if you want to build knowledge and support among the ordinary citizens who foot the bill for the military. And it’s particularly necessary for navies to talk to people – after all, their work is conducted far from people’s view. This leads me to a great project by the Naval Association of Canada. They’ve produced a series of Briefing Notes – 24 so far – which discuss various matters that relate to navies in general and the Royal Canadian Navy in particular. These Briefing Notes are short (2-3 pages) and are written in clear concise and simple language. They cover everything from Canada as a maritime state, to what navies do, to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, to why it takes so long and costs so much to build navy ships. These Briefing Notes should be required reading for every Canadian. Help spread the word. They are available at https://www.navalassoc.ca/naval-affairs/briefing-notes/