Vanguard Magazine

The recent Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada on the Royal Mili- tary College of Canada (RMC), concludes that unless National Defence resolves issues highlighted in its report, the RMC "risks becoming just another university and not providing the Canadian Armed Forces with the leaders it requires." Founded in 1874, the RMC is operated by National Defence in educat- ing and training officer cadets and commissioned officers for effective military service and leadership roles. The recent audit examined whether the RMC is producing the quality of officers for the Canadian Armed Forces at a "reasonable cost." It also looked at the conduct of officer cadets and staff at the Royal Military College of Canada. Auditor General's Report: "The Royal Military College of Canada risks becoming just another university" Naval Group and Fincantieri submit bid for CSC The report concludes: "6.107 We concluded that the Royal Military College of Canada could not demonstrate that it produced officers at a reasonable cost, and we concluded that there were weaknesses in military training. In addition, for most of their careers, there was no significant difference in career progression between graduates of the Royal Military College of Canada and officers who entered the Canadian Armed Forces through other en- try plans. The Royal Military College of Canada emphasized academic education over military training, and the academic environment did not consistently support military training objectives. While the quality of its academic programs was good, the cost per student was signifi- cantly higher than other universities and other officer entry plans. "6.108 We also concluded that, while the Royal Military College of Canada took action when serious incidents were reported, the number of investigations and incidents of misconduct involving senior Officer Cadets showed that it needed to improve military training. "6.109 The primary role of the Royal Military College of Canada is to be a military institution. Unless National Defence can resolve the is- sues identified in this report and the Special Staff Assistance Visit re- port, the Royal Military College of Canada risks becoming just another university and not providing the Canadian Armed Forces with the lead- ers it requires." In response, Minister of National Defence Harjit S. Sajjan issued a state- ment that reads, "As the Auditor General has indicated, the cost per stu- dent of an RMC education is higher than that of other civilian universities. It should be noted that RMC is the only degree-granting institution in Can- ada where graduates must not only complete academic work, but mili- tary, physical fitness, and bilingualism components as well. The unique nature of the Military College program adds to its costs. That said, I agree with the Auditor General that more can be done to improve efficiencies while maintaining the excellent programs delivered by RMC." 8 DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com sit rep Naval Group and Fincantieri presented a bid to the Government of Canada for an "off-the-shelf" design for the future Canadian Surface Combatant. The French and Italian world-class shipbuilders are supported by both their governments in providing a "sea-proven solution based on the FREMM frigate design" for CSC for the Royal Canadian Navy. If selected, the ships would be built in Canada at Irving Shipbuilding in "maximizing Canadian industrial participation and job creation locally," according to a press release. This would include a "dedicated and com- prehensive transfer of technology" while working with Canadian suppli- ers to provide the CSC solution to the RCN. Both companies have previously worked on various major naval proj- ects, including the joint development of the FREMM frigate. According to the release, the FREMM frigate is a versatile vessel and is highly regarded as a world leader in her class. The frigate is "able to exe- cute any type of missions encompassing all warfare domains" including AAW, ASW, ASuW, Land Attack, Command Ship, and others. Two modifications of this ship – the general purpose and anti-subma- rine warfare variants – are already in service in two leading NATO navies.

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