Conclusion
The coming decades will present challenges to Canada unlike any the country has seen before. Successfully navigating these will require a military that is, inter alia, cognitively superior, more operationally effective and better equipped than our adversaries. It will also require the public support of Canadians, who will need to trust and believe in the integrity of its leaders, the calibre of its officers and the capabilities of its soldiers, sailors and aviators.
In many regards, this starts with the Canadian Military Colleges, which contribute in countless ways to the success of the Canadian Armed Forces and of Canada. Once reformed and properly financed, the Canadian Military Colleges (CMCs) have the potential to help increase recruitment into the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), to produce exceptional officers who can excel in various facets of military and civilian life, and to be a force for positive cultural change within the armed forces and beyond.
By taking a more integrated and streamlined approach to the key elements of its program that have long stood the Colleges in good stead, and by centring the military identity of the CMCs more prominently at their core, the Colleges would be positioned to demonstrate their deep value to Canadians as highly regarded, effective and prestigious institutions with a singularity of purpose that cannot be replicated elsewhere. This is critical in a time of overall reduced government spending; as Canadians take a more active interest in, and recognize the value of, investment in defence and security, the Colleges must be able to draw a clear and cogent line between what happens at the CMCs, its relevance to the CAF and its contribution to broader national interests.
In turn, the Department of National Defence (DND)/CAF must invest more in the Military Colleges in terms of time, resources and attention. Comparative analysis highlights the fact that CMC graduates, compared to their peers from other officer entry streams, exhibit higher promotion rates, superior second language proficiency and lower attrition rates. In this and other ways, the Regular Officer Training Plan - Canadian Military Colleges is of great value to the CAF, and the people who go through the program deserve to be treated with attention and care. It is shameful that those who have chosen to serve our country have experienced harm in the very places where they have come to join the Profession of Arms, and disappointing that one of the consequences of this reality is that Canadians may have lost awareness of and pride in these important institutions. Naval and Officer Cadets (N/OCdts) deserve better, members of the CAF deserve better, and Canadians deserve better; the CMCs are too important to the success of the country to be allowed to flounder.
In seeking to ameliorate the CMCs, differences in views between male and female N/OCdts regarding their Military College experience cannot be overlooked. This points to a need to keep pressing forward with positive change; for the Military Colleges to fulfill their unique function, they must ensure that all N/OCdts who move through their halls feel seen, safe and supported.
The Board’s recommendations aim to preserve the core strengths of the CMCs while addressing their shortcomings. The proposed reforms are designed to enhance the CMCs’ contributions to the CAF and to Canada, ensuring that they remain vital components of the nation’s defence and security framework. These are not piecemeal proposals; it is the amalgam of these recommendations that is critical to creating systemic change at the Military Colleges and to assuring the CMCs’ ongoing success. Failing to implement them risks letting the Colleges slide into costly irrelevance.
The Board is deeply cognizant of the negative impact that the implementation of some of these recommendations may have on people who have dedicated their careers to teaching at and supporting the CMCs, and it wishes to recognize their contributions and commitment. Their dedication and engagement, and the extent to which they care for the Naval and Officer Cadets and for the institution is reflected in the many positive elements of the CMCs, which inevitably get short shrift in a report such as this.
Change is difficult and can often feel painful. But change is also critical to the survival of the CMCs, and it lies at the heart of their ability to adapt and evolve to meet the needs of the CAF and of Canadians. Fortunately, the calibre of the leadership at the CMCs, at all levels, instills great confidence in the ability of the Colleges to support the complex and daunting task of implementing this Report’s recommendations and effecting this necessary change.
To return to Madame Arbour’s foundational point, that “the entire raison-d’être of the Military Colleges has to rest on the assumption that it is the best way to form and educate tomorrow’s military leaders,” the Canadian Military Colleges Review Board (CMCRB) believes that the CMCs are invaluable institutions. Historically, graduates of Canada’s Military Colleges have gone on to earn Victoria Crosses and to become Rhodes Scholars, Olympians, astronauts, Chiefs of the Defence Staff and leaders in both the military and within civilian society. Through targeted reforms to address existing issues and optimize their potential, the CMCs can continue to produce exemplary officers who embody the highest standards of leadership, integrity, and service.
The path to renewed success will not be easy. Long-term, multifaceted effort, organizational agility, courageous leadership, openness to doing things differently, and renewed investment in defence will all be required to meet this moment. So too will public support. Canadians from across the country, including institutional and community leaders, elected officials and members, both past and present, at all levels of the Canadian Armed Forces must rally behind their Military Colleges, demanding excellence, yes, but also celebrating what they stand for, what they contribute and what they can achieve.