General's future one to follow for hints at military's course

[GAP]

General's future one to follow for hints at military's course
Andrew Leslie's assignment as Chief of Transformation could be the final act before achieving ambition of Chief of the Defence Staff
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Campbell Clark and Paul Koring

Ottawa and Washington — From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Jun. 17, 2010 9:52PM EDT Last updated on Friday, Jun. 18, 2010 10:29AM EDT

Few long-haired university students in the late 1970s knew deep down that their flirtation with hippydom was only a boyish interlude before a warrior’s life. Andy Leslie was different.

“When I was slightly younger, I had long hair. And while a student at Ottawa U, I was gloriously happy,” the three-star general reminisced in a recent interview. “But looming in the back of my mind … was the realization that I was going to be a soldier. It was always pretty clear for me.”

Now Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, whose military lineage is unequalled in Canada, will become Chief of Transformation on June 21, charged with remodelling Canada’s military as it withdraws from its mission in Afghanistan – the biggest, most dangerous and most domestically divisive war for Canadian troops since Korea.

His parting shot as chief of the army was a sour one: On Thursday, he sidelined an officer he twice promoted, Brigadier-General Dan Ménard, the Afghanistan commander removed for allegedly having an affair during the mission. Gen. Leslie cancelled Brig-Gen. Ménard’s appointment as army commander in Quebec, and assigned him a desk job overseeing a new personnel database.

Gen. Leslie bucked earlier this year for the tough task of leading 20,000 UN peacekeepers in a troubled mission in the Congo. Instead, starting Monday, he’ll be charged with changing military ways and trimming its bloated HQ.

The assignment could be the final act before Gen. Leslie achieves his long-cherished ambition of taking command of the armed forces as Chief of the Defence Staff. Or it could be a postlude for an officer whose ambition exceeds his grasp. Either way, Andrew Leslie’s future could tell us much about the future of Canada’s armed forces.

Certainly, Gen. Leslie has an impressive pedigree. Both his grandfathers, Brooke Claxton and Gen. Andrew MacNaughton, fought at Vimy Ridge and served as Defence Minister. His father was an artillery colonel in Korea, but he died when he was 60 and didn’t get to see his son rise through the ranks.
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[GAP]

Reshaping military post-Afghanistan starts with command shake-up
By: Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press 20/06/2010
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A pair of Canadian soldiers leapt off one of the army's new Leopard 2A6M battle tanks recently at a forward operating base in the desert west of Kandahar city and landed within sight of their commander.

Behind them the barrels of a pair of gleaming M-777 howitzers were raised skyward.

The soldiers debated, as soldiers often do lately, about the merits of living side-by-side with Afghan troops.

Throughout it all Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, the outgoing commander of the army, simply marvelled at the scene.

This was not the army he inherited four years ago, the army that he will give up commanding on Monday.

"The army's changed more over the last four to five years than over the previous 30-40; building on the good work of everyone who's come before us, those who kept the enthusiasm and warrior's spirit alive," said Leslie, one of the country's more recognizable military figures.

Leslie's long been considered a candidate for the top job of chief of defence staff.

Some would argue that it's in his blood. Brooke Claxton and Gen. Andrew MacNaughton, Leslie's grandfathers, were defence ministers and both fought at Vimy Ridge.

He will hand over command of the army to Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin at a ceremony in Ottawa.

Since 2006 it has been Leslie's job to assemble, train and equip the army for the Afghan war. His new job will be to help shepherd the entire Canadian Forces towards its post-Afghanistan future at a time when the Conservative government is wrestling with an expected $49-billion deficit.

When Leslie took over, there was still a Cold War mindset, where soldiers were prepared to fight on the plains of western Europe against a long vanquished foe.

Instead, the army he led had to learn how to fight among an indifferent population against mountain tribesmen who use plastic jugs full of fertilizer as extremely effective weapons.

Leslie is the new Chief of Transformation.

But the question often asked around Ottawa these days is: The Canadian Forces is being transformed, but into what?

Four years of fighting a counter-insurgency in Afghanistan has given Canada a lean, lethal, little force. It is all dressed up, and post-Afghanistan, has seemingly nowhere to go.
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[daftandbarmy]

What are the odds that the next CDS will be Army too? I'm betting on the Navy!

 

[Infanteer]

"Custom" dictates a revolving hat rack, but in the end it's the government's call, not the Forces, isn't it?  I ask as I am not up to speed on Ottawa politiking - but I'd hope that the best man for the job would be taken regardless of jacket colour.  My choice would be to snap up some 2 Star with a fresh look at things, preferably from somewhere outside of Ottawa....

 

[ltmaverick25]

In my own humble opinion, based on the Generals and Flag Officers available to chose from, Leslie is by far the best choice.  I really hope we dont let something as stupid as uniform color determine the next CDS.

If the CDS were merely a symbolic type of position then maybe a case could be made for revolving uniforms.  Given large deficits and an end to our war in Afghanistan, we are going to need the best person for the job, not the right colour uniform.

 

[daftandbarmy]

In my own humble opinion, based on the Generals and Flag Officers available to chose from, Leslie is by far the best choice.  I really hope we dont let something as stupid as uniform color determine the next CDS.

If the CDS were merely a symbolic type of position then maybe a case could be made for revolving uniforms.  Given large deficits and an end to our war in Afghanistan, we are going to need the best person for the job, not the right colour uniform.

Tsk, tsk... since when has that ever been an important piece of criteria for selecting our Generals?  ;D

 

[Teeps74]

As a reservist... Well, recent history.... Ya, no comment on this story.

I hope for a future that includes the P Res.

 

[ltmaverick25]

Tsk, tsk... since when has that ever been an important piece of criteria for selecting our Generals?  ;D

Good point, were doomed!

 

[Rifleman62]

Don't think so. I think we finally have someone that will reorg the Militia/Army Reserve as it needs to be as discussed elsewhere.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/24381.1365.html

It won't be perfect, but nothing is.

 

[dapaterson]

LGen Leslie sufferes from colourblindness in other than the green spectrum and thus may not be an ideal choice for CDS.

 

[ltmaverick25]

The same thing was said about Hillier too though and he turned out just fine.  Besides, he was the CLS, vigorously fighting for the army was his job, just as the CMS and CAS would have been doing.

 

[aesop081]

he turned out just fine. 

HA !!!!!

 

[Mortar guy]

I would be willing to be large sums of money that Leslie never sits behind the CDS desk. If he did, I would try to win my money back by betting that every air force and navy general/flag officer would resign the next day - and not just because they missed out on the job. Leslie has burned his share of bridges in the CF.

MG

 

[ltmaverick25]

I would be willing to be large sums of money that Leslie never sits behind the CDS desk. If he did, I would try to win my money back by betting that every air force and navy general/flag officer would resign the next day - and not just because they missed out on the job. Leslie has burned his share of bridges in the CF.

MG

What makes you say that?  Bottom feeders like me dont get to hear about these things.  Share!

 

[Infanteer]

Probably not the place to do so....

 

[dapaterson]

The same thing was said about Hillier too though and he turned out just fine.  Besides, he was the CLS, vigorously fighting for the army was his job, just as the CMS and CAS would have been doing.

No, he didn't turn out just fine.  Dot COMs, bad recruiting decisions... once there's the benefit of time, his tenure will be objectively assessed.  Much of what "he accomplished" would have happened regardless of the CDS; his decisions (fat camp for recruits by abandonning standards, ignoring intake quotas by trade and bringing in too many of some at the expense of others, creating uselss staff organizations) will harm the CF for another decade at least.

 

[Infanteer]

I'll disagree.  Sure, he had his visits from the "idea fairy", but at least they started off going in the right direction.  There is much more laudable things to his credit.  The profile of the CF and the vitality he restored was not, in my opinion, a given in 2005.  One only has to look at Hillier's predecessors to get the feeling that he was one of the better Chiefs of Defence Staff.

 

[ltmaverick25]

No, he didn't turn out just fine.  Dot COMs, bad recruiting decisions... once there's the benefit of time, his tenure will be objectively assessed.  Much of what "he accomplished" would have happened regardless of the CDS; his decisions (fat camp for recruits by abandonning standards, ignoring intake quotas by trade and bringing in too many of some at the expense of others, creating uselss staff organizations) will harm the CF for another decade at least.

Ill give you the recruiting side, but, what is the big problem with dot coms?  Have they not streamlined operations?

 

[SeanNewman]

Whatever LGen Leslie does, I am happy that he is still in uniform and making my life in uniform better.

He has done a fantastic job to get us new kit and good training while he was CLS, and not all former CLSs can say that.  Granted the planets were aligned and the Afghan budget allowed for a lot of it, but we now have new trucks, tanks, guns, and soon to be LAVs.

Thank you for not retiring!

 

[dapaterson]

New hypothesis:  The Internet is like Powerpoint:  Everything gets reduced to a single bullet and nuance and subtlety are lost.


Gen Hillier did much good for the CF in presenting a public image that had been sorely ignored for a long time.  He was (and is) a tireless champion for the men & women fof the CF.  I do not argue those points, nor do I think he was ever motivated by any ill will.

That being said, in my opinion, some of his decisions were less than optimal and have repercussions that his successors will have to address.  The HQ bloat introduced by the dot COMs is a drain on resources, and ignores centuries of organizational knowledge - you do not become more agile by spreading out C2; increasing the number of direct reports decreases efficiency.


LGen Leslie also had many strong points as CLS - frankly, as CLS you want someone who bleeds green and will fight in the corridors of power for his troops.  But that does not translate nicely into a "purple" world - there are long memories in the institution, and his every move would be assessed, rightly or wrongly, in that light.  "Plays well with others" is important in a kindergarden report card - it's equally important in DND's corridors of power, lest the system become constipated and unable to advance.

(There's also the question of staff support - I would argue that much of LGen Leslie's success in advancing the Army's acquisition of equipment is attributable to BGen Tremblay's tremendous work behind the scenes.)