Re: Chief of the Defence Staff

by **Victor** Thu 03 Jun 2021, 5:02 pm

'Cracks' appearing as Canadian military faces confluence of challenges: defence chief

The Canadian Press
JUNE 3, 2021

https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/cracks-appearing-as-canadian-military-faces-confluence-of-challenges-defence-chief-1.24326300

by Callvery Thu 23 Sep 2021, 1:47 pm

2021 National Veterans’ Week Speakers Program: Message from the A/CDS

September 22, 2021 - Defence Stories

Defence Stories

by **Diesel** Thu 25 Nov 2021, 4:30 pm

Gen. Wayne Eyre becomes permanent chief of the defence staff

Published Thursday, November 25, 2021

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/gen-wayne-eyre-becomes-permanent-chief-of-the-defence-staff-1.5681317

by **Falcon** Sun 28 Nov 2021, 4:37 pm

11.28.2021

by **Diesel** Fri 17 Dec 2021, 4:51 pm

End of Year Message from the Chief of the Defence Staff and Canadian Armed Forces Chief Warrant Officer

December 17, 2021

Defence Stories

by **Spider** Tue 21 Dec 2021, 9:51 am

Top soldier retreats on criticism of military exodus

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date:Dec 20, 2021

Defence Watch

by **Replica** Fri 11 Mar 2022, 6:43 am

Military readiness 'one of the things that keeps me awake at night,' says Canada's top soldier

Ashley Burke · CBC News · Posted: Mar 10, 2022

Chief of the Defence Staff - Page 4 Army-command-20190820

CBC News

by **Spider** Sat 19 Mar 2022, 9:53 am

Top military leader calls for 'accelerated' defence investments in response to Russian aggression

Nick Boisvert · CBC · Posted: Mar 19, 2022

CBC News

by Covert Thu 05 May 2022, 8:34 am

Canada's top soldier says defence industry needs to ramp up production to 'wartime footing'

Peter Zimonjic · CBC News · Posted: May 04, 2022

Chief of the Defence Staff - Page 4 Digital-eyre_7000kbps_1280x720_2030005315854.jpg?crop=1

CBC News

by Covert Wed 29 Jun 2022, 6:50 am

Military to look at cutting capabilities, using public servants to handle more jobs, says directive from top general and deputy minister

David Pugliese • Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Jun 28, 2022

The Canadian Forces will get rid of some capabilities as well as examine having public servants and contractors take on roles now handled by military personnel, according to a new defence directive obtained by this newspaper.

The 49-page directive from Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre and National Defence deputy minister Bill Matthews outlines the plan designed to prepare the military for the future as well as “overcome deficiencies that are hampering the composition and readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces.”

The directive for “CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) Reconstitution” was sent out in early June to senior leaders.

“Assess what capabilities and projects can be divested, paused, or re-scoped to generate capacity savings,” Eyre and Matthews told the leaders.

“Assess what tasks/capabilities must be retained by Defence and can be transferred from CAF to DND employee or contractor responsibility.”

Eyre and Matthews noted the “directive will set in motion a significant body of work that will provide direction on the course corrections” that are needed.

Getting rid of old capabilities will free up staff and resources to concentrate on bringing in new capabilities. A review of capabilities will allow the military to “reduce/divest capabilities that are nearing end of life and invest in new capabilities that will be coming online,” the document noted.

The directive noted the need for reconstitution of the armed forces because of the ongoing problems the military has had attracting new recruits and retaining skilled personnel. The pandemic has significantly reduced recruiting and the failure by military leaders to take care of their personnel has led to retention problems. The sexual misconduct crisis, which has once again engulfed the Canadian Forces, has also harmed retention and recruitment, according to the directive.

The directive noted there has been a “significant loss of experience and expertise with the CAF, creating a requirement to recover and rebuild the organization.”

It also stated the military has to “reduce staffing processes and cease activities and tasks that do not directly contribute to the growth of the CAF, operations and modernization.”

In addition, excessive costs and delays in military procurement have become major problems. Military spending has increased and Canada is ranked sixth in NATO in terms of actual dollars spent on defence. But there are concerns that some of that increased spending is being wasted on out of control procurement programs, according to defence insiders.

There are growing worries the Canadian Surface Combatant project to build 15 new warships will drain significant funding away from other equipment priorities in the future. Parliamentarians have heard that the surface combatant project, originally estimated to cost $26 billion, could soon have a price tag of $100 billion.

The directive noted that in the area of military procurement the approval process for projects needs to be accelerated or streamlined.

In addition, the pandemic has hindered military training. The directive noted that commanders “where possible (will) reduce collective training to prioritize individual training.”

There will also be an examination of whether to contract out the administrative work at the military recruiting centres.

Some of the directive focuses on the need to improve life for military personnel.

Changes are needed to moving and housing policies to enhance retention, the document noted.

In April, Eyre said a lack of affordable housing was continually being raised by troops. “The number one issue that comes up as I travel around the country is cost of living and the challenges our people are facing in terms of finding affordable accommodations,” Eyre said during an event hosted by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson.

Military bases do have their own housing but problems with accommodations are further fuelled by a shortage of those units, Eyre noted. He said there is a shortage of between 4,000 and 6,000 units.

Personnel policies also have to be modernized to improve quality of life which, in turn, will help retain skilled military staff, the directive noted.

Eyre and Matthews pointed out that the Canadian Forces “will experience higher than normal attrition and lower than normal recruiting unless appropriate professional culture and personnel management modifications are implemented. As a result, CAF effective strength will likely continue to shrink over the very short term.”

The Canadian military currently has around 68,000 regular force personnel and 27,000 reserve force members. It wants to increase that to 71,500 and 30,000 respectively.

Defence Watch

by Covert Tue 09 Aug 2022, 7:26 am

Top soldier says he won't confirm or deny that Canadians troops are on the ground in Ukraine

CBC News · Posted: Aug 08, 2022

Chief of the Defence Staff - Page 4 North-american-defences-20220620

CBC News

by Covert Tue 09 Aug 2022, 7:37 am

Covert wrote:
Top soldier says he won't confirm or deny that Canadians troops are on the ground in Ukraine

CBC News · Posted: Aug 08, 2022

CBC News

09.08.2022

by **Kizzer** Sun 02 Oct 2022, 4:49 pm

Facing foreign conflicts, domestic disasters, Canada's top soldier worries about readiness

Christian Paas-Lang · CBC News · Posted: Oct 02, 2022

Chief of the Defence Staff - Page 4 Military-misconduct-20220530

CBC News

by Zodiac Thu 06 Oct 2022, 11:38 am

Canadian Armed Forces chief orders halt to non-essential activities amid personnel crisis

By Lee Berthiaume . The Canadian Press
Posted October 6, 2022

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre is ordering an immediate halt to all non-essential activities in favour of boosting military recruitment and retention, with the Canadian Armed Forces facing an unprecedented personnel crisis.

Eyre issued the sweeping order to senior commanders across the country on Thursday, saying dramatic action is needed to ensure the military has the troops it needs to respond to growing demands and threats at home and abroad.

The reconstitution order sets a completely new direction for the military after years of high-tempo deployments and operations in Canada and overseas by making the recruitment and retention of personnel its top priority.

“The interim goal is to address shortcomings that are preventing the CAF more specifically from being in the position it needs to (be) in order to excel as a modern and combat-ready military force,” the order reads.

It later adds: “The rebuilding process needs to occur on an accelerated timeline given the geopolitical environment that we find ourselves operating within, especially in light of the invasion of Ukraine.”

Expected for several months, the order follows a period of unprecedented activity by the military. That includes large-scale deployments to Iraq, Mali, Ukraine and Latvia as well as helping with the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in Canada.

It also coincides with lagging recruitment rates and a shortage of experienced personnel to train new recruits and lead actual missions, which Eyre said “continue to imperil our ability to recruit, train, employ and retain diverse Canadian talent, thus jeopardizing the readiness and long-term health of Canada’s defence capabilities.”

The Armed Forces is supposed to be adding about 5,000 troops to the regular and reserve forces to meet a growing list of demands, but is instead short more than 10,000 trained members – meaning about one in 10 positions are currently vacant.

The problem has become so acute that some senior offers have started using the word “crisis” in interviews with The Canadian Press, including the commander of the navy and the officer responsible for military recruitment and training.

Eyre’s order reflects on the seriousness of the situation, saying: “Owing to personnel and staffing levels that have been compounded by the CAF’s heavy commitment to operations, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a culture crisis, National Defence continues to lose its ability to deliver and sustain concurrent operations at the scope and scale necessary.”

To that end, the order directs commanders to prioritize fully staffing recruiting centres and training schools and calls for a complete reassessment of the military’s current structure and composition.

Military commanders will take a closer look at what missions and other activities are no longer critical, whether certain positions in their units are no longer needed, and even whether certain recruitment targets are still realistic.

Eyre also opens the door to more flexible working arrangements for service members while emphasizing the continued need to change the military’s culture to better attract and retain women, Indigenous people and other under-represented groups.

“Culture change will remain the top departmental priority throughout the reconstitution process,” the order reads. “This endeavour will require significant resources and a willingness to embrace recommendations from external review authorities.”

The new approach won’t come without risks, which Eyre acknowledged in directing a reduction of large-scale training exercises in favour of more individualized classes as the military focuses on getting enough troops with basic skills into the ranks.

While military commanders have previously underscored the importance of large-scale exercises, the order says Eyre “will be ready to accept the associated reduction in readiness levels using a risk-based approach.”

And while many Armed Forces members join to serve on missions, the defence chief ordered commanders to “strike a balance between providing deployment opportunities to junior members and the need to rebuild our mid-level leader capacity.”

The defence chief indicated the reconstitution effort will take up to eight years, with the immediate goal of growing the force, and working toward the broader objective of ensuring the military’s size and structure are lined up with future needs and missions.

“External events such as major domestic emergencies caused by climate change, economic crises impacting the federal government’s fiscal flexibility, and widespread disinformation campaigns creating a lack of public confidence in national institutions could impede efforts to reconstitute,” he added.

The Canadian Press

by **Luxray** Sat 26 Nov 2022, 5:26 pm

Canadian military would be 'challenged' to launch a large scale operation: chief of the defence staff

Published Nov. 26, 2022

Spencer Van Dyk CTV News

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