Vanguard Magazine

14 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com IntervIew I Q: Operations today are completely different… Yes, absolutely! We may also be enabling UN operations, which are totally differ- ent. We are now, as a nation, a tier one military in the world. We're enabling oth- ers to be successful as opposed to being a principal war fighter; we are enabling the Peshmurga, we are enabling the Iraqis, we are going to be potentially enabling UN contingency missions. Now, an enabler just doesn't mean hardware and high technology. I think an infantry battalion is an enabler. A Canadian infantry battal- ion or any part of it is an enabler because we can just bring a lot of energy and ex- pertise to a situation that allows for the framework to get better. So I'm proud of that. Now it's just the matter of how we are going to actually account for that. But I do believe that we will be in this globally dispersed, highly-connected world and everything that we are contemplating in terms of our structure needs to account for that. Then look at cyber, then look at social media and look at space, all of these new domains. We've got to put horsepow- er onto that. Q: In terms of acquisitions, what do you think is the greatest need in the Cana- dian Forces right now; obviously, that is going to flow from the Defence Policy Review, but is there something right now that you think is at the forefront? I think that all of the things that are in process right now are valid. Replacing the ships, replacing the CF-18s, replacing the "B" fleet of army land vehicles, it all counts. I guess the most important thing for the Armed Force is that that process continues to work without delay and that we get the equipment that is in the pipe. Good work has been done with the due diligence required, looking at the future security environment. We have in the pipe- line what we need to have into the future. So I'm satisfied. There is nothing new; we've added some emphasis on UAVs, just because it's the nature of where we are at. I think all the projects that we need to have loaded into our investment plan are there; there is nothing missing. But the process has to deliver. To me, that's the thing that is most important, it is delivery that is key; but I'm optimistic. The areas of growth that we have not yet identified down to the project level, we are working on, in some respects, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years down range. For example, in the army the ability to actually produce light forces that are not just unequipped mecha- nized forces; working on making sure that we have that agility. There are some things that we are going to need to get on the books because some of our fleets are going to peter out, for example, the Airbus fleet, we've got to replace that at some point. We are going to have to get refuellers in place, North Warning System moderniza- tion, etc. We know what we need, or rather we know the effect that we want to have but we don't know with what that is go- ing to be. There are other questions being posed in public consultations about North American defence including BMD so, any decision-making around that are a whole other area. But Michel I have confidence; we can work out how to get a project in the pipeline but I want to be sure that the pipeline continues to deliver. The process has been challenged but at the same time I think it's been sometimes overstated: we spend billions every year and we get stuff all the time. Of course, the big marquis ac- quisitions that make it into the press are challenging and involve a huge sum of public money. Q: So, how about your family life, how much time do you spend in Ottawa, and how are you finding the pressure? I'm committed to certainly supporting the first year while the government gets its feet under it and we're doing a pretty heavy Cabinet schedule. Through the summer I'll be doing a lot of traveling, I try to limit it, to shorten trips to see the Forces or overseas but there's also a heavy workload here in town., there is important work get- ting the CDS signature on stuff, that tells people this is important and you are ac- countable. That's the most vital work. and the time that needs to be spent with the Government to provide the advice that is required. So, I front-end loaded here this year, until the Policy Review is done, so I expect sometime next year maybe that pace will just slow down a little bit. Q: And you are getting a whole new slate of leaders as well now? Yes; Guy [LGen Thibault – Vice-Chief of Defence Staff] is going to leave, Mark [VAdm Norman] is going to come in, Mar- quis [LGen Hainse – Commander of Cana- dian Army] is leaving, Paul [LGen Wynnyk] taking over, and I think it's a great team. I look around at that bench strength; I mean I went to school with a lot of those guys! Everybody has their part to play and it doesn't run by itself; you need them. I'm confident about the future! Thanks for your time. Lieutenant-general (retd) J.o. michel maisonneuve, cmm, msc, cd, is Academic Director of Royal Military Col- lege Saint-Jean. He completed 35 years of service in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2007 culminating in the position of Chief of Staff of NATO's Supreme Allied Com- mand Transformation in Norfolk, USA. He also held the position of Assistant Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in Ottawa. An Armour officer from 12e Régiment blindé du Canada, Lt. Gen.(Retd) Maisonneuve distinguished himself in progressive leader- ship and staff positions in Canada and abroad at every level.

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