The General Hillier Years. The Merged Superthread

[leroi]

U of G  stands by it's decision.  Here's a small video  from CTV of  (Ret'd) General Rick Hillier and one lone activist who has deluded himself into thinking he's speaking for the majority:

http://www.southwesternontario.ctv.ca/news.php?id=3652&PHPSESSID=5d7e9a22540ae07ec538e440ccd1dcc0

 

[Greymatters]

And U of G's nutty left wing morons weigh in...

http://www.thecannon.ca/viewpoint_details.php?id=7723

That link doesnt seem to work any more, or at least the content has been moved or removed - what was the title of the article?

Edit - edited after leroi's post below, question answered, saw title on another thread...

 

[leroi]

Greymattters,

The controversy and title of the article you are wondering about is now on the army.ca homepage: last time I looked it was about the third article from the top.

I'm guessing, out of respect for (Ret'd) General Rick Hillier someone wisely decided it would be preferable to start a new thread and keep the controversy away from this thread where many of us have shown our appreciation for this wonderful man.

Sorry, I can't even bring myself to repeat the title ... here.

 

[leroi]

(Ret'd) General Hillier receiving his award:

http://www.southwesternontario.ctv.ca/news.php?id=3677&PHPSESSID=617880fd8a38aa7c171fdd482831ce12

Updated Tue. Jan. 13 2009 8:42 PM ET

Retired Canadian General and Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier was honoured by the University of Guelph on Tuesday.

The award had stirred up controversy among some students last week; however the ceremony went smoothly.

Hillier was presented with the Lincoln Alexander Outstanding Leader Award for his role as Canada's military front man from 2005 to 2008.

 

[Edward Campbell]

And see here for some pot stirring, by Lawrence Martin - a columnist not famous for admiring Gen. (ret'd) Hillier - about his (Hillier's) rumoured political future.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if he went into politics - not because he couldn't do a good job, but because I think he might be less than comfortable following a party leader he may not necessarily fully agree with.  He'd have to believe in the boss pretty big time to put up with party discipline.. Then again, if he WAS the leader....  I think that would take some time, though, if he really was interested in order to build party presence.

My two cents...

 

[dapaterson]

I don't think Martin has spoken with Gen(ret'd) Hillier, as my impression from one address to the masses that he gave was quite clear; he endorsed (implicitly) the government of the day - and they weren't Tories.

(Indeed, given that at the time there was an election campaign ongoing, his implied endorsement of a government that was "doing such good things for us" was highly inappropriate; not that such a consideration ever stopped him in the past)

 

[The Bread Guy]

The official news release:  "Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP (Gowlings) is pleased to announce that General R.J. Hillier (former Chief of the Defence Staff) has officially joined the firm in the capacity of Strategic Advisor. General Hillier will assist Gowlings with client initiatives, business development and related strategic matters ...." (An aside:  how much can he "do" given lobbying rules for former government types?  or do the rules only deal with political/Ministerial staff?

And a denial:  "The tattle that retired General Rick Hillier is being lined up to replace Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative party travelled across Canada before the truth had time to get its boots on.  Had anyone troubled to ask the general, they would quickly have realized that any attempt to draft him is a non-starter.  "There's nothing to it. I'm not and am not going to be a politician," he told me. Colleagues say he is more inclined to do some long-term business work around leadership development and training...."

 

[helpup]

Isnt there an old Saw about the best leaders ( of a nation ) are the ones who dont want to be leaders.

Too bad The Codfather isnt interested in Politics, I personally think we need him less for getting everything right, but more for a breath of fresh air of saying what you mean and doing what you say.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Isnt there an old Saw about the best leaders ( of a nation ) are the ones who dont want to be leaders.

I've heard (and I stand to be corrected) that in Mohawk culture, although the traditional Chiefs are men, the women select them.  And who gets cut from the short list first?  Those who want to be Chief.  Could be a lesson there...

 

[Journeyman]

Sounds like another General:

"If nominated I will not run; if elected, I will not serve."
                           General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1884



Obviously, over the years, Sherman had learned the benefits of more succinct quotes. In 1871 he said, "I hereby state, and mean all that I say, that I never have been and never will be a candidate for President; that if nominated by either party, I should peremptorily decline; and even if unanimously elected I should decline to serve."

 

[leroi]

Here's an audio podcast of Rick Hillier's award ceremony.  It's a bit dry to start with but picks up about one-third of the way through.

Lincoln Alexander is in attendance and says a few words of congrats.

Link's 87-years-old and not in good health; I'm surprised he came out at all considering the weather.

Senator Pamela Wallin gives a good introduction but the real star is Hillier himself.

Remarkable speaker. He casts a spell over the audience with tales of Afghanistan; he singles out by name some of the members who served under him as he presents the audience with a slide show and weaves his magic.

Still passionate in his advocacy for the Afghan mission, CF members and their families.

University of Guelph, February 2009

http://www.uoguelph.ca/