Section 1: Introduction

Chapter One explained military professionalism as a theoretical construct made up of four attributes—responsibility, expertise, identity and military ethos—operating within the boundaries assigned by the government. The special role of the military ethos was described as an idealized binding force or spirit. Chapter Two described that ethos in light of its three components: beliefs and expectations about military service; Canadian values; and core Canadian military values. This chapter will flesh out how military professionalism is understood and practised in Canada.

Section 2 describes the nature of the country’s civil-military relations, which are conditioned by the functional imperative to achieve the highest level of professional effectiveness and the societal imperative to remain responsive to the community the profession is sworn to protect. Section 3 then discusses each of the four major attributes in terms of how these imperatives affect them. Section 4 concludes with some thoughts on sustaining the profession in Canada.