Vanguard Magazine

20 APRIL/MAY 2026 www.vanguardcanada.com F E AT U R E F ifty-seven days into his com- mand, Lieutenant-General Darcy Molstad stood before the C4ISR and Beyond conference in Ot- tawa and laid out what the Cana- dian Joint Forces Command (CJFC) is for, what it will build, and how fast he intends to move. As the inaugural commander of CJFC, LGen Molstad spoke to an audience of operators, industry partners, and officials about the path from concept to fielded joint capability. He opened with a direct assessment of where Canada stands. "The notion of Canada as a fireproof house far from flammable material and in- sulated from conflict is behind us. Now is the time to stand on our own two feet and build an agile, self-reliant, and fully inte- grated joint force." A decade in the making The Canadian Joint Forces Command (CJFC) has been on the agenda of defence planners for close to ten years. The Cana- dian Armed Forces (CAF) has functions that don't belong to any single service but are essential to all of them. These capabili- ties existed across the institution, but no single organization owned them end-to- end or held clear accountability for their readiness. When the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) needed to generate force, the first calls went to the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. CJOC is Canada's operational command, the organization that plans and runs deployed missions. Joint capabilities were assembled around each mission as needed. LGen Molstad's job is to change that. CJFC is designed to be one of those first calls: a standing joint capability that is ready before the mission, not assembled for it. The structure came together quickly once the decision was made. Seven months from ministerial order to operational com- mand. Minister McGuinty signed the order just seven months after an initial briefing to the Chief of the Defence Staff. CJFC currently brings together roughly 10,000 personnel: Joint Logistics, Health Services, the Canadian Joint Warfare Cen- tre, the Joint Information and Intelligence Fusion Centre, the Chief of Joint Capa- bility Integration, and the Military Police Group, which is completing its transition into the command. Better over bigger LGen Molstad's operating philosophy comes down to a few phrases he returned to throughout his address: better over big- ger, outcomes over process, governing over governance. That last one is worth unpacking. Gov- erning means making decisions, setting di- rection, and holding people accountable. Governance means committees, documen- tation, and reporting structures. CJFC is focused on the former. He is also clear about what the com- mand is not. It does not replace CJOC as the force employer. Deployed operations run through the same command chain they always have. What CJFC changes is the quality and readiness of what those de- ployed forces can draw on. A JOINT COMMAND TAKES SHAPE UNDER CANADA'S FIRST JOINT FORCES COMMANDER LGen Darcy Molstad has the mandate, the budget, and a deadline. A new era of integrated capability is underway

• Cover