Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/1479207
22 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 www.vanguardcanada.com lished. Then, to ensure the devised policies have the intended effect, they should be closely monitored based on the above ap- proach. Conclusion The past two years have created a need for a defence policy review that makes person- nel issues an integral part of the imple- mentation of the CAF's core missions. While the ideas listed above could provide a roadmap for rethinking how personnel management is done within DND/CAF, it is a lot to ask for a defence policy re- view. The purpose of defence policies is more about expressing government intent and commitment to certain issues, and less about giving the CAF a detailed roadmap on how to manage its activities from the top down. Also, expecting the CAF to get all the complexities of personnel manage- ment right is unrealistic, especially given how understaffed and overstretched it is. However, at a time when the CAF has acknowledged being under existential threat and in need of a culture change, the defence policy can harness the momentum already in place to offer clear direction for the CAF. The revised ethos, the Directives on Inclusive Behaviour, the Total Health and Wellness Strategy, the upcoming Re- constitution Plan and the Arbour review signal that the moment is here for the DND and the CAF to rethink what "peo- ple first, mission always" practically means in an environment where attrition is high and recruitment is low. Integrating a holistic personnel strategy that looks at all aspects of the military hu- man resources management at the centre of the CAF's core missions can help seize this moment and offer CAF members, their families, and the civilian members of the defence team the stability and direc- tion they need for mission success. Reprinted with permission, The Global Affairs Institute, May 2022 References 1. Allan English, "'Comprehensive Culture Change' and Diversity in the Canadian Armed Forces: An Assess- ment of Operation Honour after Three Years and Implications for the Latest CAF 'Diversity Strategy,'" Paper presented at the IUS Canada Conference, Ottawa, October 2018. 2. Author's own observation from at- tending external stakeholder briefings organized by the Department of Na- tional Defence. The announcement that CPCC would not implement the Path took place on May 12, 2022. Charlotte Duval-Lantoine is the Ottawa operations manager and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. She completed a master's in military history at Queen's University, during which she started researching the toxic culture of leadership in the Canadian Armed Forces during the 1990s and its impact on gender integration, which had begun in 1989. POLICY Innovative systems and support for mission-critical applications J-Squared has a proven ability to deliver product design, development, environmental testing and long term maintenance & in-service support. A global leader in computer systems for use in land, sea, & air. inforequest@jsquared.com JSQUARED.COM