A report from a former Lieutenant General in the Canadian Armed Forces seems destined to be ignored…. again.  Apparently, there are as many military personnel in Ottawa’s National Defense HQ as there are on active duty in the navy or regular force army.  During the last six years, Command and Support has grown at four times the rate of actual deployable force.  That seems a tad disproportionate to me.

Andrew Leslie, the author of the report, wants to see that change.  Of course after years inside the Canadian military, he knows the odds against any of his recommendations being adopted.  In the last forty five years, not one plan to reform Canada’s Armed Forces has been fully implemented.  It seems like maybe it’s time for that to change.

When there are more people running the military than there are in it, it represents a really skewed set of priorities.  It’s hard to justify the amount of money we spend on our military knowing most of it stays right here in Ottawa.  The government talks about Force Projection, but the bulk of their personnel don’t seem to project much beyond DNDHQ.

My nephew served three tours in Afghanistan while upwards of twenty-thousand military staff did their best to bring peace and stability to Ottawa.  Recent stimulus spending has fueled a large part of this expansion.  Now that well is running dry, and the deployable forces seem to have been left off the gravy train.  Thirteen billion in awesome new jets is a grand gesture, but it’s meaningless if there’s no actual people to put them in the air.  The same is true of the army, and navy.  When the budget is being drained by a top heavy administration, there’s not much left for actual boots on the ground.

If you think of it from a business perspective, it’s not a good idea to have more staff at head office than you do actually doing whatever it is your company does.  That’s a recipe for disaster in the private sector.  In the Canadian Military, it’s business as usual.  The status quo has been institutionalized in the name of stability and a healthy dose of hidebound leadership.  Case in point, former Chief of Defense Staff Rick Hillier.

Hillier’s take on Leslie’s recommendations: “You try to implement that report as it stands and you destroy the Canadian Military.  You simply can’t take that many people out of Command & Control functions.”  Really?  How many bodies do you need in C&C per deployable person?  Apparently, the idea of a leaner more efficient military has yet to breach the fortifications around Ottawa.  While the deployable forces are tasked to do more and more with less and less, DNDHQ is doing a little bit more with a steadily growing mountain of resources.

Andrew Leslie’s own words seem like an appropriate wrap up.  “If we don’t do something along these lines, battalions will be disbanded, ships will be tied up and aircraft will continue to be grounded while headquarters continues to grow.”

Note to Defense Minister Peter McKay and current Chief of Defense Staff Walt Natynczyk: YOU SORTA NEED SOMEONE TO COMMAND & CONTROL!

Cheers, Winston