Now comes the heavy lifting for Canada’s chief of defence staff

General Wayne Eyre is leaving his post as Canada’s chief of defence staff (CDS). He self-describes as an “accidental CDS” following the turmoil of his predecessor. He inherited some considerable challenges, and he leaves some considerable challenges. His efforts to improve morale and culture in the Canadian Armed Forces are a work in progress. The analogy he drew at the House Defence Committee was of going to the gym once or twice and expecting amazing results: it doesn’t happen in life, and will be slow to happen in the Forces. Nevertheless, he leaves behind some significant challenges that his successor is going to have to deal with and show demonstrable progress. To extend the gym analogy, now comes the heavy lifting. The first is personnel, the second is procurement. The Defence Committee has identified and made recommendations on recruitment and retention. The shortfalls are so serious as to arguably compromise our national security. New strategies to recruit and retain personnel. Same old, same old won’t cut it. Tap into a wider talent pool by aggressively partnering with post-secondary institutions. A break on the cost of post-secondary education along with an opportunity for adventure and service expands the pool. Aggressive presence on social media hits your main demographic. Pushing recruitment into high schools where the recruiter looks like the kids in the school also gets to targeted and underrepresented groups with opportunities to be practicing citizens. Artificial intelligence and robotics have the potential to reduce the risk and grunt work of combat. The Russian war on Ukraine has demonstrated the need for highly skilled combat soldiers with the intelligence to use and expand technology for ingenious uses. Canada has a natural advantage as one of the most diverse nations in the world. Use it. Expedite the process of recruitment for those who have permanent resident status, and want to become citizens. The most important unit in the military is the family unit. An unhappy, stressed-out spouse makes for an unhappy, stressed-out soldier. The issues of mental health, work-life balance, access to health care, housing, etc., if not addressed sabotage any success in recruitment as personnel leak out the back door. Liberal MP John McKay is chair of the House of Commons Committee on National Defence. Photograph courtesy of John McKay While this less-than-exhaustive description of the recruitment and retention problems is relatively easy, effective solutions are going to be the No. 1 challenge of the new CDS. His or her success will determine the viability and the readiness of the CAF to defend our nation. After recruitment and retention comes “procurement hell.” Witnesses at the Defence Committee described military procurement as “broken and in a state of crisis”; “too complicated, politicized, bureaucratic and slow”; “time of crisis”; “risk averse”; and more. The quotes and description of the problems will be reflected in the committee’s forthcoming report. A number of recommendations will be included that hopefully the new CDS will find to be useful. Defence Minister Bill Blair has tried to break out of procurement hell by advancing or completing a number of long-standing needs and bringing them to signed contracts. That includes $44-billion in the last 12 months on aircraft, including unmanned drones, 88 F-35s, and 16 P-8s. Four of the six Arctic offshore patrol vessels have been delivered. Updating the pool of equipment available will enhance recruitment. No one wants to train on obsolete equipment in the last stages of its serviceable life. The new CDS could contribute by reducing the excessive information requirement in requests for information and requests for proposal, and by standing-up specialized personnel whose only task is to accelerate the procurement decision process. The CDS needs to be ruthless about endless requests for add-ons and special requirements. Many of the other recommendations made by the witnesses are to the government itself, and are beyond the control of any CDS. Finally, wedged between personnel and equipment is the emerging and unique cyber domain. Highly dependent upon state-of-the-art satellite equipment that is sometimes owned by DND and sometimes leased, personnel are the very leading edge of electronic warfare. No nation can pretend to be able to defend itself without an effective web of connections that may seldom be kinetic, but are nevertheless critical. Eyre was dealt a difficult hand. During his watch, Russian President Vladimir Putin started the Ukraine war; China declared itself to be a near Arctic nation, and started to act like one; NATO expanded, and so did the expectations of the alliance; United States politics have gotten a whole lot more complicated; and post-COVID misinformation and disinformation leave a Canadian public confused, mistrustful, and at times belligerent. Navigating the Canadian Armed Forces through this mishmash of incoherence is very tough, and Canada should thank Eyre for his steady hand. Simultaneously, we should wish the new CDS every good fortune in navigating both the demands on personnel, and the streamlining of procurement. Hon. John McKay is the Liberal Member of Parliament for Scarborough–Guildwood, Ont., chair of the House of Commons Committee on National Defence, and the Canadian co-chair of the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defence. The Hill Times