# Change of VCDS, with messages to government and to CAF



## McG (5 Aug 2016)

The change of VCDS came with some good messages to our political leadership (from the outgoing) and to those CAF leaders who would be wasteful of organizational resources (from in coming).



> Give military the tools and 'get out of the way,' senior officer rails in last speech
> Lee Berthiaume , The Canadian Press
> 05 Aug 2016
> 
> ...


http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/give-military-the-tools-and-get-out-of-the-way-senior-officer-rails-in-last-speech-1.3017195


----------



## Rifleman62 (5 Aug 2016)

> "I give you fair warning: You will receive no quarter with me," he said. "I intend to root out unnecessary and non-value added bureaucracy and process inside our own lines here at National Defence."



Sure.


----------



## PuckChaser (5 Aug 2016)

Shame Gen Thibaut is retiring, fantastic officer.


----------



## cavalryman (5 Aug 2016)

PuckChaser said:
			
		

> Shame Gen Thibaut is retiring, fantastic officer.


+100%  :goodpost:


----------



## Halifax Tar (6 Aug 2016)

PuckChaser said:
			
		

> Shame Gen Thibaut is retiring, fantastic officer.



Removed. If I don't have anything nice to say I shouldn't say anything at all.


----------



## Edward Campbell (6 Aug 2016)

Popularity does not equate to competence. LGen Thibault was not always popular but he was, much more often than not, on the "right" side of issues. The fact that he is a genuine "nice guy" helps, but it's not a critical factor in his success.


----------



## Halifax Tar (6 Aug 2016)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> Popularity does not equate to competence. LGen Thibault was not always popular but he was, much more often than not, on the "right" side of issues. The fact that he is a genuine "nice guy" helps, but it's not a critical factor in his success.



Fair enough.  Having sailed with him when he was CO of St. John's and experiencing his command of the RCN I guess I may be standing a little close to the fire.  

The age old saying comes to mind though, "you get more with sugar than you do with vinegar" ...


----------



## PuckChaser (6 Aug 2016)

Halifax Tar said:
			
		

> Fair enough.  Having sailed with him when he was CO of St. John's and experiencing his command of the RCN I guess I may be standing a little close to the fire.
> 
> The age old saying comes to mind though, "you get more with sugar than you do with vinegar" ...


LGen Thibault was an Army Signals Officer, do you have the same guy, or did he lead a double life?


----------



## Halifax Tar (6 Aug 2016)

I was not referring to the Gen.


----------



## PuckChaser (6 Aug 2016)

Gotcha, you removed the original post and I got confused there for a second. Definitely need coffee.


----------



## SeaKingTacco (6 Aug 2016)

Good for LGen Thibault. Well said.


----------



## daftandbarmy (6 Aug 2016)

SeaKingTacco said:
			
		

> Good for LGen Thibault. Well said.



Now we just need some serving Officers to do the same thing.


----------



## Edward Campbell (6 Aug 2016)

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> Now we just need some serving Officers to do the same thing.



_*No*_, we need the _government_ to think about what Guy Thibault said ... about clear direction and stable funding. It is the civilian government's responsibility and _right_ to manage the nation's defences ... soldiers do what they can with what they're given, and they do it silently ... until the day they retire.


----------



## FSTO (6 Aug 2016)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> _*No*_, we need the _government_ to think about what Guy Thibault said ... about clear direction and stable funding. It is the civilian government's responsibility and _right_ to manage the nation's defences ... soldiers do what they can with what they're given, and they do it silently ... until the day they retire.



Totally agree. Without clear direction from the government we get all sorts of "special projects" coming up from the bottom. The most dangerous officer is a bored officer and we seem to have a bunch of them right now.

Now I hope and pray that after this round of consultations there will be a clear white paper on defence that all parties in the HoC can agree upon and we in the military can get on with the job of equipping, training and employing our Navy, Army and Airforce in roles that make sense for a country our size.

Not holding my breath though.


----------



## Jarnhamar (6 Aug 2016)

daftandbarmy said:
			
		

> Now we just need some serving Officers to do the same thing.



I was thinking along the same lines.
It would be nice if this speech was given on the way in instead of on the way out.


----------



## Oldgateboatdriver (6 Aug 2016)

Unfortunately:

A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.


----------



## jollyjacktar (6 Aug 2016)

Honestly though, do our political masters even pay more than scant attention to exit speeches like this, nevermind act upon them?


----------



## Eye In The Sky (6 Aug 2016)

FSTO said:
			
		

> Now I hope and pray that after this round of consultations there will be a clear white paper on defence that all parties in the HoC can agree upon and...


----------



## FSTO (6 Aug 2016)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> Unfortunately:
> 
> A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.



It would be quite impressive for a new CDS or VCDS to say this in their assumption of command speech with the full knowledge that they could have the shortest tour in that slot ever. But I would assume that there would be a day or two of noise on the news cycle (at best) while the government finds someone more than willing to follow direction to get that position. Just like the General/Flag Officers revolt over unification, the Liberals were able to find someone who would do the job they wanted them to do.


----------



## FSTO (6 Aug 2016)

Eye In The Sky said:
			
		

>



Yes I know.


----------



## daftandbarmy (6 Aug 2016)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> Unfortunately:
> 
> A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.



#8 & #14 

Colonel Glover Johns
 Basic Philosophy of Soldiering 


1. Strive to do small things well.

 2. Be a doer and a self-starter-aggressiveness and initiative are two most admired qualities in a leader-but you must also put your feet up and THINK.

 3. Strive for self-improvement through constant self-evaluation.

 4. Never be satisfied. Ask of any project, How can it be done better?

 5. Don't over-inspect or over-supervise. Allow your leaders to make mistakes in training, so they can profit from the errors and not make them in combat.

 6. Keep the troops informed; telling them "what, how, and why" builds their confidence.

 7. The harder the training, the more troops will brag.

 8. Enthusiasm, fairness, and moral and physical courage - four of the most important aspects of leadership.

 9. Showmanship-a vital technique of leadership.

 10. The ability to speak and write well-two essential tools of leadership.

 11. There is a salient difference between profanity and obscenity; while a leader employs profanity (tempered with discretion), he never uses obscenities.

 12. Have consideration for others.

 13. Yelling detracts from your dignity; take men aside to counsel them.

 14. Understand and use judgement; know when to stop fighting for something you believe is right. Discuss and argue your point of view until a decision is made, and then support the decision wholeheartedly.

 15. Stay ahead of your boss.


----------



## Jarnhamar (6 Aug 2016)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> Unfortunately:
> 
> A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.


Oh without a doubt you're right.
It's not lost on me that it's easy for me to sit here and gamble with someone elses career and paycheck.  Still when I read about retiring generals (or any service member really) spending 20 or 30 years in uniform and blasting the system when they're wrapping up I can't help but think "so what".  It sounds bold but it's not going to change a thing. We need those people on the way in to speak up and start changing things  20 years before the goodbye speech. Know what I mean?


----------



## McG (6 Aug 2016)

There are a lot of things that senior leaders do to fix or improve the system that we do not see.  If those senior leaders made practice of burning all bridges going into jobs, they would never get a chance to do all the good things that we never directly see.


----------

