"Towards a New Model Army? The Benefit of Direct Entry Senior Officers"

[Journeyman]

The remainder will take a pay cut to fly Mach 1 and blow shit up.

      ???

Personally, I have never, ever  seen a CF-18 on any of my deployments (which is why I stepped out of the F-35 as CAS 'discussion').  Given our government's priority focus on percentage of females deployed in Mali, and saying "we're back" in Pavlovian form whenever "UN" is mentioned, I doubt "blowing shit up" will proceed far beyond sites like this.

Cynicism off, please carry on with 'WalMart CEO as next CDS' debate.

 

[SupersonicMax]

      ???

Personally, I have never, ever  seen a CF-18 on any of my deployments (which is why I stepped out of the F-35 as CAS 'discussion').  Given our government's priority focus on percentage of females deployed in Mali, and saying "we're back" in Pavlovian form whenever "UN" is mentioned, I doubt "blowing crap up" will proceed far beyond sites like this.

Cynicism off, please carry on with 'WalMart CEO as next CDS' debate.

Bitter much?

For the record, I haven't seen anyone advocating for an outsider as the CDS but to fill senior appointments with outsiders when appropriate. 

 

[Journeyman]

Bitter much?

Not in the slightest;  my most recent deployment was supported by A-10s and F-15Es.

If you want to discuss why we bother having an RCAF that doesn't deploy (unless the aircraft are green or Trenton-based) I'll weigh in, but not interested in further derailing a British thread.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Bitter much?

For the record, I haven't seen anyone advocating for an outsider as the CDS but to fill senior appointments with outsiders when appropriate.

Okay, so there are limits?  What senior appointments are appropriate?  The L1s?  Probably not, because they should have a detailed understanding of "warfighting" in their particular spheres.  Their deputies or chiefs of staff?  Though COs (LCols) are not "senior executive equivalent", could that be the entry level for "outsiders"?  What would an employment competition for the CO of an infantry battalion consider as "equivalent education and experience"?  (yes, I'm being deliberately facetious - my apologies)  There seems to be a disconnect between what some think is the purpose of this proposal and what others think?  And is it appropriate in the Canadian context - specifically the small, small world of the CAF?

If, as I understand it (as in the linked article and others similar), the intent is to provide an appropriate recognition of the education and experience of mid-career level civilians who wish to transition to military service without having to start as a subaltern, then, yes it is workable.  It should be relatively easy to provide a mechanism that can start someone off as a senior Captain or (in exceptional cases) junior Major - in other words the equivalent mid-career point for the majority of officers.  If the individual is a "rock star" in his civilian career with remuneration to match and he wants a rank that has a salary to match, well he should just f**k off at the high port.

Or if, as some here seem to postulate, that the organization could benefit from some fresh thinking, high performing executives with outstanding records of change in their civilian career, then it's another matter.  Where would they start?  At what level does "leading change" transform from a box to be checked on an evaluation to being in a position to actually implement change organization wide?  And in what sphere could someone without any prior military experience (or the need for it) be parachuted in to affect such change?  Since the common complaint usually points to piss poor equipment and the procurement of same, then many will point to the logistics world.  But how much of the problem with procurement is actually within the CAF?  The department maybe to an extent, and probably including some uniformed types but most of it is the rules imposed from outside the organization.  So, does the parachuted-in rock star have to be in uniform?  It's not like he would be expected to command a task force on an international operation after he managed to establish a workable standard for boots or project managed a boat that wouldn't sink.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Okay, so there are limits?  What senior appointments are appropriate? 

Anything that does not involve leading troops in battle, or supporting troops in battle, or requires them to sentence soldiers to be 'shot at dawn' if required to ensure national survival/ national interest achievement etc.

You know, 'Commissioning Scroll' stuff ....  :nod:

 

[Blackadder1916]

Anything that does not involve leading troops in battle, or supporting troops in battle, or requires them to sentence soldiers to be 'shot at dawn' if required to ensure national survival/ national interest achievement etc.

You know, 'Commissioning Scroll' stuff ....  :nod:

So, a whole whack of current GOFO positions.  :

 

[SupersonicMax]

I’d say anything on the Mat side would be fair game...

 

[Avail]

This may be comparing apples and oranges to a degree, but the Metropolitan Police have a direct entry program for Inspectors and Superintendents. According to them it seems to be doing well.

http://www.metpolicecareers.co.uk/directentry/
http://www.metpolicecareers.co.uk/superintendents/

 

[a_majoor]

If, as I understand it (as in the linked article and others similar), the intent is to provide an appropriate recognition of the education and experience of mid-career level civilians who wish to transition to military service without having to start as a subaltern, then, yes it is workable.  It should be relatively easy to provide a mechanism that can start someone off as a senior Captain or (in exceptional cases) junior Major - in other words the equivalent mid-career point for the majority of officers.  If the individual is a "rock star" in his civilian career with remuneration to match and he wants a rank that has a salary to match, well he should just f**k off at the high port.

Or if, as some here seem to postulate, that the organization could benefit from some fresh thinking, high performing executives with outstanding records of change in their civilian career, then it's another matter.  Where would they start?  At what level does "leading change" transform from a box to be checked on an evaluation to being in a position to actually implement change organization wide?  And in what sphere could someone without any prior military experience (or the need for it) be parachuted in to affect such change?  Since the common complaint usually points to piss poor equipment and the procurement of same, then many will point to the logistics world.  But how much of the problem with procurement is actually within the CAF?  The department maybe to an extent, and probably including some uniformed types but most of it is the rules imposed from outside the organization.  So, does the parachuted-in rock star have to be in uniform?  It's not like he would be expected to command a task force on an international operation after he managed to establish a workable standard for boots or project managed a boat that wouldn't sink.

Which is why I had advocated upthread to invert the process: send our "Rock stars" into the civilian world for experience in dealing with large, complex and cutting edge organizations to take back to the Forces.

 

[Navy_Pete]

Which is why I had advocated upthread to invert the process: send our "Rock stars" into the civilian world for experience in dealing with large, complex and cutting edge organizations to take back to the Forces.

They used to do it on the Mat side; you would basically get farmed out to a company that we do a lot of work with to develop 'business acumen' and then come back into the fold.  Being able to understand the business side is a really useful skillset if you are working on any kind of contract, RFP development etc.

As an aside, our 'process driven business plans' are awful from an actual business process/ lean perspective, but that is because of the amount of 'oversight' and corporate reporting required that drives it to be micromanaged.  Having seen a bit into other departments it is a pain in the ass, but we do large procurement far better than most other departments. They are called 'complex procurements' for a good reason, and there is a ludicrous amount of internal government BS completely external to DND as well that we are slaves to.

 

[MarkOttawa]

Meanwhile USN and USMC:

Navy Secretary: Cyber Officers May Be Allowed in at Higher Ranks

To recruit and retain the best cyber officers, the sea services need to pull them in as mid-grade officers, rather than ensigns and second lieutenants, and allow them to move fluidly between military and civilian careers, the secretary of the Navy said this week.

The Navy and Marine Corps need to attract the right "brain power" when it comes to cybersecurity professionals, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday. To do that, the service secretaries could adopt new authorities recently granted by Congress that allow the military to bring in more officers at higher ranks.

"[We need] the ability -- when we talk about cyber -- to bring people in and say, much like during World War II, 'You are an amazing expert, you can come in as an O-4 or O-5,' " Spencer said.

Offering that rank and better pay might help in recruiting cyber officers, but getting them to stay is just as important. In hyper-technical fields like cyber, he said, officers need the flexibility to move between the Navy or Marine Corps and the private sector without hurting their chances of promotion.

"You have to have an active offense to have a great defense," Spencer said. "Cyber is not one or the other. It's a continuum and it's a process because, to stay current in defense, you have to know what's going on in offense."

Existing officer promotion rules saw some service members moved out of the military if they weren't promoted within a certain timeframe. Now the NDAA allows for the easing of those requirements and allows for outstanding officers to be promoted faster than their peers, regardless of time in grade.

Those changes could make it easier for the Navy and Marine Corps to send people into the private sector to refresh their skills and then bring them back into the military...
https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/08/08/navy-secretary-cyber-officers-may-be-allowed-higher-ranks.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[daftandbarmy]

Which is why I had advocated upthread to invert the process: send our "Rock stars" into the civilian world for experience in dealing with large, complex and cutting edge organizations to take back to the Forces.

I know we love to beat up the military but, believe me, the civilian world does not have all the answers.

I think it's a complete red herring to think that you can send a Regular Force Senior Officer into a private Corporation for months (or years) at a time and expect them to bring back anything novel that can be immediately deployed.

OTOH, we have thousands of currently serving, and retired, Reservists who bridge both worlds. I believe they are an untapped resource we could easily engage to broaden wider CAF competencies.

Why not mobilize these 'world bridgers' to pass on knowledge to their CAF peers through mentoring/ coaching/limited work experience options?