The Thursday, October 22, 2015, issue of the ChronicleHerald (Metro Edition) carried an article by Andrea Gunn (Ottawa Bureau) entitled "Rough Seas Ahead" (p.1) that has caused some confusion about my contributions to it. I wish to correct one key issue. The Report on Transformation 2011, does not, in fact, […]
Report on Transformation 2011
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The latest revelation in the F-35 saga came last week when Lee Berthiaume reported that the military would be unable to refuel the new fighter while in flight using existing equipment. More stunning yet was the finding in the KPMG report that the government and the military intend to “rely […]
All this week, reports have been coming out from the federal government about closures and reductions in federal service programs. Up until the various announcements, Defence Department spokespersons repeatedly declined to comment where the anticipated 1,000 jobs would be cut, citing the ‘rights’ of ‘Defence Team members’ to be advised […]
*Moderator’s Note: This article was originally published in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald on 01 October 2011. It is reprinted here with the permission of the author. Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, DND’s outgoing Chief of Transformation, submitted his “Report on Transformation 2011” at an interesting nexus: there are recurring fiscal crises in the […]
An article in the January 2012 issue of Proceedings by Senior Chief Jim Murphy, USN (ret.), proposes an interesting approach to meeting budgetary cuts that will inevitably need to be made among the American sea services. It is available free to non-subscribers here. Murphy suggests a true top-to-bottom ‘zero-based’ review […]
Commentary on this site and others have suggested that General Leslie’s report was not transformational enough in that it has not set the course for a recasting of the Canadian Forces to deal with future challenges. I believe these comments to have also missed the mark. General Leslie has provided […]
Here are some impressions from my analysis of the Report on Transformation 2011. This report is not about transformation. It is too narrowly focused on headquarters organization to be a serious transformational plan. The only really meaningful recommendation it comes up with is combining the four national-level headquarters (Domestic, Expeditionary, […]
One of my favourite definitions about the meaning of military transformation comes from General Peter J. Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 01 August 2003 to 10 April 2007. This is how he defined transformation in a speech made on 11 April 2005: “Transformation is a journey. It […]
Rumours have been swirling ever since Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie submitted his report on transformation to the CDS that there was big trouble brewing. John Ibbitsen writes in today’s Globe and Mail, in an article entitled “Discord over cuts leaves direction of Canadian military up in the air,” that “Senior officers […]