Military Waste - Worthington Article
- Thread starter kcdist
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I doubt that there's any debate that academic education makes for better, more rounded officers.
I do think Worthington (and I'm not usually a fan of his) has a point, to a degree. There seems to be little thought into who gets these qualifications and when in their career they get them.
The example he uses is likely extreme - but still, why does a JAG officer, at the end of his career, need an advanced degree from Cambridge?
I took a quick look at the bio's for senior officers on the DND page (by no means an exhaustive search) and found little evidence that the CF invests education into senior commanders - at least the ones who make it high level command. The CDS didn't benefit from these advanced education programs - so who did?
A family friend (and this is an example my mother constantly brings up when discussing military careers) started as an Combats Arms NCM, and then had the CF pay for his BA and then an MA, and then a PhD - all in English Literature. He now teaches English Lit at RMC, and I don't think saw the field or a deployment in the last fifteen years of his career, or paid for a cent of his education. Probably another extreme example, but they seem to exist - or maybe the rumour mill keeps bringing then to the fore.
I'll second the call for a Canadian GI Bill - easily solve recruitment issues, and give us keen youngin's on 3 yr BE's.
I say degrees for all, and degrees as an incentive to join - and then more degrees as incentives to stay.
Then again... (If I Ruled the World Rant) I'd also shut down RMC as an undergrad institution, have it specialize in advanced studies, send the RMC cadets to civvie uni's and have them parade with local reserve units, and offer Bachelor's and Master's like candy to all levels of the military and as pre-req's to command levels.
I do think Worthington (and I'm not usually a fan of his) has a point, to a degree. There seems to be little thought into who gets these qualifications and when in their career they get them.
The example he uses is likely extreme - but still, why does a JAG officer, at the end of his career, need an advanced degree from Cambridge?
I took a quick look at the bio's for senior officers on the DND page (by no means an exhaustive search) and found little evidence that the CF invests education into senior commanders - at least the ones who make it high level command. The CDS didn't benefit from these advanced education programs - so who did?
A family friend (and this is an example my mother constantly brings up when discussing military careers) started as an Combats Arms NCM, and then had the CF pay for his BA and then an MA, and then a PhD - all in English Literature. He now teaches English Lit at RMC, and I don't think saw the field or a deployment in the last fifteen years of his career, or paid for a cent of his education. Probably another extreme example, but they seem to exist - or maybe the rumour mill keeps bringing then to the fore.
I'll second the call for a Canadian GI Bill - easily solve recruitment issues, and give us keen youngin's on 3 yr BE's.
I say degrees for all, and degrees as an incentive to join - and then more degrees as incentives to stay.
Then again... (If I Ruled the World Rant) I'd also shut down RMC as an undergrad institution, have it specialize in advanced studies, send the RMC cadets to civvie uni's and have them parade with local reserve units, and offer Bachelor's and Master's like candy to all levels of the military and as pre-req's to command levels.
Brad Sallows
Army.ca Legend
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"Military lawyers deal with military law and law of armed conflicts."
Exactly so. And in today's politically charged international affairs climate, and given the very apparent ethical standards of our politicians, I think any Canadian in a command position who came afoul of the law would be hung out to dry if it suited political exigencies. That being likely, our people in command positions, and for that matter the staffs at various levels as a whole, deserve absolutely the top tier of legal advice. Good lawyers are worth what you pay them and what you pay to train them.
Exactly so. And in today's politically charged international affairs climate, and given the very apparent ethical standards of our politicians, I think any Canadian in a command position who came afoul of the law would be hung out to dry if it suited political exigencies. That being likely, our people in command positions, and for that matter the staffs at various levels as a whole, deserve absolutely the top tier of legal advice. Good lawyers are worth what you pay them and what you pay to train them.
regarding the military's wasteful practices - while I can think of a few - most of these were politically motivated - the closing down of CFB Chilliwack for one... But it all pales in comaprison to government waste in general. My last few years in the military were spent with the Mapping and Charting Establishment - one product produced was the Military City Map. To make these someone has to go check a few things out. Some of the things I discovered at the time - A: The government rents the best suites in most major cities just in case the GG or the PM shows up - at the time - the deposit was $25000 for a suite in the Hotel Vancouver. B: The government rents space in buildings that don't exist - like in Calgary. C: the local authorities don't even know where embassies and such are located. D: Local authorities don't know anything about the location of pipelines and shut-off valves (Sarnia). By the way -this was in the eighties under the Malroney regime. For the most part I'd say the military was much less wasteful in comparison to the rest of the government - although you do have to question such acts as selling off the Chinooks and possibly the CF 105s.... and the current attitude towards the Leopard tanks...
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The process for recruit testing seem's very wasteful. Why not create a system like the US MEPS, where an applicant can be given all his medical/written testing and reserving MOS schooling on one day ? A streamlined process is critical to manning the force.
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tomahawk: good idea. Unfortunately, our problem is that our Recruiting and initial entry-training system(ie: pre-MOC training) does not answer to any operational commander, or any commander with direct responsibility for force generation in support of ops. It is a "purple" creature that works for NDHQ. As a result, it has its own institutional agenda and interests to serve, which it tends to guard jealously. I have watched the Army (in particular the Army) struggle with this beast for years now. Maybe our new CDS will tackle this beast as part of our Transformation.
Cheers
Cheers
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I completely understand about the "purple" issue. However, our MEPS is also a joint services command. A recruiter drives his charges to the closest MEPS, there is usually one per state but some large state's have additional stations. I remember when I first
enlisted I went through the entire process in one day culminating with my swearing in [my dad did the honors] and then I was on a bus to the airport followed by the flight that took me to BCT at Ft Jackson. I think the reason the US system expedites the recruit process so that no one has a chance to change their mind ;D.
The system doesnt work as quickly should an applicant requires a waiver to enlist. Medical waivers usually have to go to Recruiting Command. The local station commander has some waiver authority and for more serious problems have to go to recruiting command. This is usually the only slowdown to the process, unless an applicant wants an MOS that is not available.
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/visitor-info.asp
enlisted I went through the entire process in one day culminating with my swearing in [my dad did the honors] and then I was on a bus to the airport followed by the flight that took me to BCT at Ft Jackson. I think the reason the US system expedites the recruit process so that no one has a chance to change their mind ;D.
The system doesnt work as quickly should an applicant requires a waiver to enlist. Medical waivers usually have to go to Recruiting Command. The local station commander has some waiver authority and for more serious problems have to go to recruiting command. This is usually the only slowdown to the process, unless an applicant wants an MOS that is not available.
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/
http://www.mepcom.army.mil/visitor-info.asp
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