Friction in NDHQ & "Canada First" policy?

[McG]

Showdown over military's direction rankles top general
Don Martin,
CnWest News Service;
Calgary Herald
Published: Saturday, February 17, 2007

OTTAWA -- A debilitating bout of double vision hit Canada's top soldier when he was handed new marching orders after last January's cabinet shuffle.

Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier looked down a long list of fresh government priorities on the revamped "mandate letter," costed out the demands in his head and told his political master it couldn't be done without a helluva lot more troops, or billions more dollars.

Hillier, you see, won't accept assignments he cannot deliver. But equally headstrong Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor won't take no for an answer. And that's why some sources insist there's a cold war raging atop Canada's military.

It's fair to say the two men don't get along personally. Big brass egos rarely do, particularly when there's history in their relationship.

Retired general O'Connor used to be Hillier's boss, but fell just short in his dream of reaching the top spot in the military's command. And there's understandable jealousy breaking out as the media-savvy Hillier attracts rock-star billing and his troops' adoration while crusty O'Connor delivers the equipment and gets written up as a belligerent blowhard.

Besides, Hillier is toying with a post-military career in politics, perhaps in his native Newfoundland and Labrador, where there's already giddy speculation swirling he'll eventually become the Rock's premier.

But Canada's at a critical point in balancing its defence obligations domestically and internationally that demands a clear and focused vision as a re-emerging military middle power. The last thing it needs is a five-star battle raging internally while a strategic plan is lacking.

So, how serious is the bad blood?

Well, sources say O'Connor has prohibited Hillier from talking to the Prime Minister's Office without his permission, something Liberals insist is a new way of doing business between supreme leaders.

By most accounts, there was a very acrimonious showdown last month when O'Connor rolled out a six-page attachment to the mandate letter that diverted soldiers to protect Arctic sovereignty and put them in position around a dozen cities as emergency responders.

It's a prohibitively costly exercise that will lay claim to thousands of already scarce troops who are needed on international fronts, particularly with the Taliban on the rise. The way some military brass see it, a domestic priority is admirable, but those soldiers just train for eventualities that may never come.

Still, O'Connor is adamant that his Canada First defence policy is critical and has infuriated the brass by demanding Hillier plan for the questionable deployment of a rapid-reaction battalion to Goose Bay, N.L., and the relocation of the Joint Task Force 2 to Trenton, Ont., which seems more to do with electioneering than legitimate military manoeuvres.

It all came to a head a few weeks ago when a top-level military meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper was scrubbed at the last minute because officials felt no consensus was possible.

Perhaps Hillier has cause to be confused. He keeps hearing the prime minister rattle Canada's sabre with talk of reasserting our place on a global scale, a view Hillier wholeheartedly supports, yet he keeps getting a domestic push from his minister.

To be fair, others close to the top insist the two men have patched things up. The minister's office acknowledges, in its usual not-for-attribution style, that Hillier had initially balked at the ambitious list of demands, but was pacified when he was promised the resources to deliver on both fronts.

That olive branch seemed to be on display Friday when Hillier went decidedly partisan in a speech to the Conference of Defence Associations, insisting the Conservatives have brought the military out from a "decade of darkness."

But Hillier's on-side words don't mask the looming showdown over insufficient budgets to stretch over divided priorities.

The rumbles from inside Finance are not encouraging. After the environment takes a hefty slice of the surplus, and billions more are diverted to Quebec and Ontario to resolve the fiscal imbalance, the military seems unlikely to be a windfall winner.

That sets up a showdown in a military trying to appease two politicians who could splinter the department into ineffective forces on both fronts.

Hillier sees the military as a growing international peacemaking force. O'Connor wants to put soldiers into Coast Guard and RCMP roles for national sovereignty and security.

Canada's military brass needs to see clearly into a focused and effective future. That won't happen if double vision, blinded by conflicting personalities, clouds the military's judgment.

 

[peaches]

The saga continues, good post, thanks....

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Hillier sees the military as a growing international peacemaking force. O'Connor wants to put soldiers into Coast Guard and RCMP roles for national sovereignty and security.

Mr. O'Connor, If i wanted to become a cop i would have joined the RCMP or the OPP, not the military!

Hillier, you see, won't accept assignments he cannot deliver. But equally headstrong Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor won't take no for an answer. And that's why some sources insist there's a cold war raging atop Canada's military.

Mr. O'Connor what's Gen Hillier to do, pull some money out from his arse and maybe fart up a few new soldiers, while he's at it. Even though we Newfoundlanders are told from a young age, about the money fairy granting our wishes, its still only a myth, or maybe you believe it to be true, if so let me tell you the one about the money tree i planted last year in me backyard... ;D

Well it's quite obvious why O'Connor didn't make the top soldier position, he acts like a spoiled child. Now as a politician, its becoming obvious that he feels threatened by Hilliers public speaking. Maybe if he did his own job, there wouldn't be a need for this petty behaviour.

The only reason he won't give Hillier access to the PM is because Hillier has some very good ideas and may do his job for him, making him look incomepatent in front of his boss.

Grow up Mr. O'Connor, you were on the otherside of the fence once, or have you forgotten what it feels like, now that your a politician! If this is what you call leadership, no wonder you didn't make it to the CDS chair. Quit this petty behavior and let the CDS do his job and stop your wining.  :crybaby:

 

[warspite]

Excellent article. Thanks very much for posting it.

 

[Mike Baker]

Very good. Kudos to Gen. Hillier, a true Newfoundlander 

 

[3rd Herd]

Excellent Post.
Again we see the attempted management of the military for political gain. Speaking off money, why not regress historically back to a Canadian Military Headquarters run by a CDS, staffed by military personal. Looking at the difference between civil service salaries and benefits and those of the troops there would tremendous savings. Thank you to General Hillier for finally standing up and deciding what the military can do and what it cannot. Now at least I feel more comfortable seeing the tax deduction every two weeks. In closing we could also bring back another time honoured tradition that of "MPs going off to war with the troops." Been awhile since that happened too.

 

[Signalman150]

I find this distressing for one very specific reason; it brings to mind the catastrophes of an earlier time.

Not very long ago I read the Report of the Somalia Enquiry (it's on the DND website http://www.dnd.ca/somalia/somaliae.htm). One of the major failures cited in the report was the unwillingness of CF commanders to admit that their units and subunits were unprepared for the mission. They felt that doing so would make them look bad as individual leaders, and would reflect badly on their units. In the aftermath of Somalia, many of the politicos in the DND lambasted the CF leadership for not being honest about the limitations of their units/soldiers.

Now we have a CDS who recognizes the limitations the CF is faced with (personnel and equipment-wise), and he is being challenged by a MND who doesn't want to hear the facts. The MND--a former officer--seems to me to be still clinging to the "careerist" mentality that crippled the CF's Officer Corps in the early '90s.

The CF of the 90s was very poorly served by the government of the day. I would hate to see the current MND act in such a way that the soldiers, sailors and airmen of today saw a return of those onerous times. The MND better be thinking about how we can carry out our missions, rather than trying to use the CF as his own personal conveyance to higner political office.

I'm purposely avoiding using names and units here; the Somalia Enquiry is a very emotional issue for many people.  In my own case I have a small connection with the unit at the center of it all, and recall that connection fondly. I just had a few thoughts I had to get off my chest.

 

[Brad Sallows]

>Retired general O'Connor used to be Hillier's boss, but fell just short in his dream of reaching the top spot in the military's command.

Pardon me while I giggle uncontrollably.  O'Connor retired as a brigadier general, yes?

 

[ArmyRick]

When did Hillier ever hint or say our military was to be a peacemaking force?

I thought he told us we are going to kill the scumbags (Combat).

I do not see anything in that article that clearly indicates friction between the CDS and the MND. Its a lot of innuendo and implying there is something going on.

Facts not fiction, man.

Media must be bored again.