New CAF Ethos reflects changes in Canadian society

June 10, 2022 -  Defence Stories

By 2 Lt Meghan Baxter, PLS PA and Maj André Berdais, PAO CDA

A Master Corporal newly posted to your unit wears a T-shirt to the gym depicting what some view as a hate organization. What action, if any, do you take? You overhear your Platoon Commander, in a conversation with his superior, taking credit for a major initiative that was largely attributable to your hard work. What do you do?

The CAF ethos is founded on core Canadian values and professional expectations, and is the basis for our judgement, decision-making, and conduct in the profession of arms. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is pleased to present The CAF Ethos: Trusted to Serve. A revision and expansion of part of the 2009 publication Duty with Honour: The Profession of Arms, Trusted to Serve represents our renewed commitment to professionalism within the CAF, and is a roadmap for the growth necessary and change required to improve our culture and rebuild trust. It is intended to be an operational guide and many may note a change in tone from academic to plain language to better connect with those in uniform.

Trusted to Serve incorporates the entire Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Code of Values and Ethics so that one publication contains all professional military behaviour, conduct and performance expectations. The rest of Duty with Honour: The Profession of Arms will remain current until next year, when a new version will be published.

Trusted to Serve is a 60-page guide on how to best put the renewed ethos to use in daily military service. It is a renewed commitment to professionalism within the profession of arms. Recent consultations with serving members revealed that the language and presentation of Duty with Honour no longer resonated with CAF members.

" The new manual emphasizes principled character combined with professional excellence as the starting point for progress toward strengthening trust between the CAF and Canadians,"

Commander Canadian Defence Academy.

Concepts of character, competence, and trust have been added to the new CAF Ethos. The original military values, beliefs, and expectations were rearranged to align with these new concepts. Two new values and two new expectations have also been added:

• inclusion (accept and value who you are);
• accountability (responsibility for one’s own decisions and actions, regardless of outcome);
• leadership (responsibility for inclusive and cohesive team-building for professional effectiveness);
• and readiness (physical, mental and spiritual fitness of our people and professional readiness of our teams).

CAF members are highly encouraged to read the CAF Ethos: Trusted to Serve and to have frank but professional discussions with their chain of command on a regular basis.

" Briefing and checklist methods are not acceptable approaches to reach and inform all rank levels about how to live the CAF ethos. Open discussions about ethical practices and issues between leaders and their team members is the aim here,"

Senior Staff Officer Professional Concepts and Leader Development at the Canadian Defence Academy, who was responsible for the creation of the new publication.

Trusted to Serve outlines the CAF’s desired professional values system. Every CAF member, regardless of rank level, has a role to play, and will be expected to take ownership of the renewed principles, values and expectations. This means taking time to develop them individually, making decisions and behaving in a manner consistent with the CAF Ethos. Prepared learning material will help CAF leadership facilitate discussions within their units.

Trusted to Serve will be published and available in various formats: hard copy booklet, digitally on the DWAN (DND Intranet), and Canada.ca, with digital learning content accessible autumn 2022 via a multimedia website. The Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) will provide each L1 Command assistance in the development of content such as scenarios, case studies and/or podcasts to raise awareness and help leaders engage in discussions with their subordinates year-round.

To assist with content development, the CDA is seeking stories that illustrate how elements of the Ethos, such as character, competence, commitment or trust operate within unit lines and across teams. Stories submitted will be anonymous to respect all individuals’ privacy and will become part of a continuously refreshed bank of learning content. Members of the Defence Team are encouraged to play an active part and to submit your stories directly to: PCLD-CPDL@forces.gc.ca. This publication is only part of a continuous learning process to evolve our professional culture to bring it more closely in line with our CAF ethos.