I had Grade 12 education.
I joined.
It was a great opportunity.
I come from a small
little town where you were
either going to be a logger
or potentially seasonal work.
But for me, I've been motivated
to join the Forces
since I've been 13-14.
The generation of children
from my age until today,
they're well more versed with
respect to how they use the IT
in the Information Age and that,
so they are a data type of
person, probably a lot smarter
than I was when I first
joined, and they're very...
They really like to know the why
we're doing the business
and we owe them that.
And that's important because
the why gives you a purpose.
And when you have a purpose,
you are more focused
on doing your job.
In my former job,
I used to see a lot of men
and women on operations.
And I would argue
they're just as dedicated
if not more today with respect
to how to do the business.
And a lot of times,
that really resolves around
having good leadership
around them
to actually show them
the way to give them purpose.
To show them what it actually
is to lead people
and especially on operations.
My name is Chief Petty Officer
Gilles Grégoire.
Last name is G-R-E-G-O-I-R-E.
So I'm currently
the 14th serving Canadian Armed
Forces Chief Warrant Officer.
I could say that when I became
a Petty Officer 2nd class
is when I started seeing some
of the young ordinary seamen
that I had who had started
to become sailors 1st class,
but that's when I actually had
them start asking me questions
about careers.
So that's when I kind of saw
how important it is
to be the lead
by example leader.
Because it does go a long way
and people who you think are not
really paying attention to you,
they're actually paying
attention to you,
and what you do,
and what you're not doing.
And it's about making sure
that that person is
at a 100% ready to go
and that's by good supervisors
and understanding
the human domain.
So for me, what is critical
with respect to good leadership.
Good leadership is also tied
with good culture.
You cannot have good leadership
without good culture.
They go hand in hand,
they're intermeshed.
And senior NCOs play
a critical role in maintaining
good culture
and good leadership.
Of taking charge,
of taking ownership,
of being responsible,
of being accountable.
It all falls on that,
good culture and
that good leadership piece.
So physical fitness,
I would argue with anyone.
If you're even planning
on doing this for a long time,
it is an important part
of your regime.
It will give you more stamina,
especially
when you're working hard
and you're trying to make
some of these hard decisions
that we do have
sometimes to make.