Who'll be the next CDS? Speculation here, please!!

[Scoobie Newbie]

Toronto Star is reported that he is the front runner. Nothing about clinching it.

 

[PanaEng]

Nothing confirmed yet but CTV is reporting it as well.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/jonathan-vance-to-be-named-chief-of-defence-staff-1.2310799

 

[OldSolduer]

I dare say that attempting to persuade three bureaucrats would be much harder than campaigning against the Taliban.


Good luck to him.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Nothing confirmed yet but CTV is reporting it as well.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/jonathan-vance-to-be-named-chief-of-defence-staff-1.2310799

More of the same from the Globe:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/top-soldier-in-islamic-state-mission-poised-to-be-new-chief-of-defence-staff/article23796023/

 

[Edward Campbell]

I dare say that attempting to persuade three bureaucrats would be much harder than campaigning against the Taliban.


Good luck to him.

I refer you back several years to this discussion. In my view the issue still stands, unaltered: the (policy) centre (PCO, Finance and Treasury) do not believe that admirals and generals are competent, top level, managers.

 

[Pieman]

Having worked close with Vance in Afghanistan I can say he knows how to play the political game. He has built up a strong relationship with Harper over the years, and Harper likely trusts him. The man is half General half politician. He knows how to convince people to try new ideas by gently leading the horse to water, so to speak. He is a hands down 'Mission before the Man' mentality. It shows in how he does everything.

I'm curious what the priorities he is going to focus on when taking the position. Within the Forces I am hoping he will seek to specialize our forces rather than having a wide spread, diverse, and IMHO a thinly spread Force. He often talked about how we are a small Army so we must be a quality Army.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Perhaps you can ask him to cut the bloated HQ by 3/4

 

[dapaterson]

In the 1970s, 15% of the Reg F was officers.  Today it's 25%.  That's a big part of the problem.

 

[tomahawk6]

Having worked close with Vance in Afghanistan I can say he knows how to play the political game. He has built up a strong relationship with Harper over the years, and Harper likely trusts him. The man is half General half politician. He knows how to convince people to try new ideas by gently leading the horse to water, so to speak. He is a hands down 'Mission before the Man' mentality. It shows in how he does everything.

I'm curious what the priorities he is going to focus on when taking the position. Within the Forces I am hoping he will seek to specialize our forces rather than having a wide spread, diverse, and IMHO a thinly spread Force. He often talked about how we are a small Army so we must be a quality Army.

The battlefield will be the budget and the budget will dictate the force.Rocky times ahead I'm afraid.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Having worked close with Vance in Afghanistan I can say he knows how to play the political game. He has built up a strong relationship with Harper over the years, and Harper likely trusts him. The man is half General half politician. He knows how to convince people to try new ideas by gently leading the horse to water, so to speak. He is a hands down 'Mission before the Man' mentality. It shows in how he does everything.

I'm curious what the priorities he is going to focus on when taking the position. Within the Forces I am hoping he will seek to specialize our forces rather than having a wide spread, diverse, and IMHO a thinly spread Force. He often talked about how we are a small Army so we must be a quality Army.

Well I guess we can get ready for the introduction of conscription then, right?  ;D

http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2015/04/is-stephen-harper-planning-to-conscript.html

 

[PuckChaser]

We can't afford the Army we have, why would we need more soldiers?

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Well I guess we can get ready for the introduction of conscription then, right?  ;D

http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2015/04/is-stephen-harper-planning-to-conscript.html

Really?? We are supposed to take some rants from a left-wing conspiracy website seriously??

 

[PuckChaser]

Really?? We are supposed to take some rants from a left-wing conspiracy website seriously??

It was on Canadian Veterans Advocacy site too, which I guess completely lines up with your statement.

 

[McG]

Perhaps you can ask him to cut the bloated HQ by 3/4

The PM specifically directed, during the change of command for present CDS, that HQ and tail baggage was to be cut while teeth preserved.  I don't hold too much hope that the same direction might achieve substantially better results this time.

 

[PuckChaser]

And yet:

http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=establishment-of-the-canadian-forces-intelligence-command/hlrp4gs7

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

So I guess the military gets to choose which battles it will fight.

 

[Haggis]

Why not just leave the post vacant?  Let the Minister take direction from the PMO and disseminate it to the DND and the CAF via the DM and VCDS.

 

[PuckChaser]

If we have a VCDS with no actual CDS, isn't that like being appointed the 2iC of a 1-man det?

 

[Edward Campbell]

Regardless of which of the generally excellent officers is chosen he (and the DM and the MND) need to understand that the prime minister told them (back in 2012) that he wanted cuts to the defence superstructure. Prime Minster Harper singled out "corporate and institutional support and services," which is not very secret code for headquarters and real estate. In other words Prime Minister Harper told his MND (and through him the DM and CDS) that he wanted cuts to admirals and colonels and office buildings, not to combat units; but at least some of Peter MacKay, Rob Nicholson, Robert Fonberg, Richard Fadden, John Forster, Walt Natynczyk and Tom Lawson (and their subordinates) thought they knew better and they tied up ships and cut vehicle fleets instead ... they were wrong.

The new CDS needs to be smarter. He doesn't own the CF, the country does, he administers the CF on behalf of the Government of Canada (Stephen Harper, Prop.)

 

[OldSolduer]

Cutting the C2 bloat, trimming HQs, lowering staff ranks to much more reasonable levels and so on should have been, and still should be, priorities for MNDs, DMs and CDSs. That those simple steps, encouraged - even directed - by the head of government, were not taken is inexcusable, in my opinion.

    The CF has too many officers.

          The CF has far, far too many flag and general officers.

              The CF has too many HQs.

                    Too many staff officers carry too much rank - it muddies the command/control relationship which should be clear and can be clear.

None of those problem, and they are, I suggest, very real problems that do material, measurable harm to the CF, are too hard to solve. They are all within the CDS' power to correct.

If my immediate superior gives me an order, I obey. If I don't I could find myself on the outside looking in. Why should the CDS and DM be exempt?