Vanguard Magazine

24 APRIL/MAY 2022 www.vanguardcanada.com INTERVIEW integration, but also be actively contribut- ing sensors and shooters to the wider coali- tion fight. Most of your readers will know there's lots behind this level of ambition and I'm certainly not trying to wish away the complexity. This is why efforts to improve our innovation and experimentation, raise the floor on pan-Army digital understand- ing and literacy, and have the implementa- tion of our future digital roadmap endure as the top priority are paramount to realizing our modernization ambitions. Q What has and could the Canadian Army learn from allies' capability fielding? We are very fortunate to work with an amazing group of allies through organi- zations such as NATO and ABCANZ. As the Canadian Army's National Director for ABCANZ, I focus some of my time of advancing the objectives of this program which have many linkages to our force development and modernization efforts. Through these partnerships, we work with our allies to share best practices, establish standards, and look for opportunities to exercise together to find out what works and what still needs attention to get as close to fully integrated as possible. The objective is to get better every day in some way so we can be as prepared as possible for the next fight. The Canadian Army may be trailing our allies on digital trans- formation, but this does present an oppor- tunity to learn from them and follow a more certain path in addressing many of the practical challenges associated with realizing a digital army. Closing thoughts as outgoing COS(Strat) As I prepare to leave my role as COS Army Strategy, I have reflected on what I have observed over the last two years and my hopes for the future of the Army. I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with an amazing team charged with the massive task of building the Digital Army espoused in the modernization strategy. This is important work that rarely gets the attention it requires as we tend to be consumed by the tyranny of the now. It's not an easy thing for commanders to carve out time to think about the future, espe- cially when there are so few career oppor- tunities to work in force development and understand this part of our profession. Of all the force development issues, and it will be no surprise as I wrap up this interview, I believe digital transformation will be the defining effort of the Army over the next several decades. Any success in digital transformation requires successive commanders to make digital transforma- tion not simply a priority, but the prior- ity. As the saying goes, "if it interests the commander, it fascinates everyone else." It is my hope that our soon to be released Digital Strategy will help empower commanders with a framework to drive the digital journey. Since commanders' days are consumed with the crisis of the day, meeting after meeting, and an endless stream of admin- istration to keep the trains running, they need to find change agents to implement their digital transformation agenda. This is where the Army could greatly benefit from allocating a small number of people and resources to a full-time digital effort. This team (or teams) could do the heavy lifting and guide the Army into the digi- tal future. This could also serve as a start point to better understand how the Army can improve on innovation and experimen- tation that will fuel a much more efficient modernization effort. Since digital is not intuitive to most, this type of approach requires trust and an acceptance that the path will not be straight nor smooth. Innovation requires the expenditure of resources where the only result maybe an understanding how not to do something. This will be uncom- fortable for some leaders, but we need to have a pool of resources for innovation and experimentation that will lead to long term efficiency in modernization. The Army has proven countless times over the years that a small team of Canadian soldiers with clear intent and some resources can deliver dispropor- tionate results, especially when dealing with ambiguous situations. If we apply this proven approach to this new prob- lem set, I'm confident the Army will grow into a formidable digital fighting force. We simply need to step into the digital unknown with a singular focus of building the best Army possible for our soldiers and our fellow Canadians. To read the first part of BGen Ayotte's interview from Vanguard's June/July 2021 issue, scan this QR code: ABCANZ Annual Meeting 2017 (AM17). Photo: DND We are very fortunate to work with an amazing group of allies through organizations such as NATO and ABCANZ. As the Canadian Army's National Director for ABCANZ, I focus some of my time of advancing the objectives of this program which have many linkages to our force development and modernization efforts.

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