5027-0 Honours and Recognition Program

Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers Group Order (CJCR Gp O)

On this page

1. Identification
2. Abbreviations
3. Definitions
4. Policy
5. Preparing the Nomination File
6. Call for Nominations
7. Review of Nominations
8. Committee Composition
9. Publication
10. References
11. Forms

1. Identification

Date of Issue: 2017-06-20

Date of Verification: n/a

Application: This is an order that applies to members of the Canadian Armed Forces and a directive that applies to employees of the Department of National Defence within the Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers.

Supersession: 5400-1 (D Cdts & JCR 2-2) Honours and Recognition – CAF Members dated 29 June 2015

Approval Authority: This order is issued under the authority of the Comd CJCR Gp.

Office of Primary Interest (OPI): CJCR Gp HQ J1

2. Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Complete Word or Phrase
H&R	Honours and Recognition
DM	Deputy Minister

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3. Definitions

Celebrating Excellence Awards. Celebrating Excellence Awards include the following:

• Deputy Minister Award of Excellence; 
• The Deputy Minister/Chief of the Defence Staff Innovation Award; 
• The Deputy Minister/Chief of the Defence Staff Renewal Award; 
• The Deputy Minister Emerging Leader Award; 
• The Deputy Minister Sustained Contribution to Defence Award; 
• DM/CDS Award for Management Excellence – Leadership Category; 
• DM/CDS Award for Management Excellence – People Management Category; 
• The General Tom Lawson Team Builder Award; 
• The Deputy Minister Unsung Hero Award; 
• The Deputy Minister Diversity Ambassador Award; and 
• The Deputy Minister/Chief of Defence Staff Workplace Wellness Award. 

Departmental Awards. Departmental awards include the following: 

• Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation;
• Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service; 
• VCDS Commendation; and 
• CJCR Gp Commander’s Commendation. 

Employee. An employee is a public service employee working for the Department of National Defence.

H&R Committee. H&R Committee refers to the CJCR Gp Honours and Recognition Committee.

National Honours and Awards. The following National individual and unit awards are available under the CAF Decorations and Honours program: 

• Order of Canada; 
• Order of Military Merit;
• Military Valour Decorations;
• Canadian Bravery Decorations;
• Meritorious Service Decorations; 
• Mention in Dispatches; 
• Commander-In-Chief Unit Commendation; 
• Canadian Forces Commendation; and 
• CF Medallion for Distinguished Service. 

Sports Awards. Sports Awards include the following: 

• CAF Sports Hall of Fame;
• CAF Sports Honour Roll;
• Dedication to CAF Sports Award; and
• CAF Sports Achievement Award.

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4. Policy

Context

4.1 The CJCR Gp H&R Program has been instituted to recognize meritorious acts, deeds, achievements and dedicated service by CAF members, employees and civilian instructors serving or employed within the CJCR Gp.

4.2 The meritorious acts, deeds and achievements of cadets are recognized through the Canadian Cadet Organizations (CCO) National H&R Program.

Policy

4.3 The CJCR Gp is committed to recognizing the significant contribution that CAF members, employees, and civilian instructors make to Canadian society through:

1. the excellence of their work;
2. their exemplary behaviour; and
3. the positive results they achieve.

Requirements

4.4 It is important that acts, deeds or achievements be recognized in a timely fashion. In the case of CAF members, the honour or recognition should be presented while they are still a serving or employed member.

4.5 At no time will the staffing process be accelerated or shortened to consider a nomination submitted after a communicated deadline. Nominations that miss the promulgated submission deadline will be reviewed at the next H&R Committee meeting.

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5. Preparing the Nomination File

5.1 The nominator shall refer to VCDS Gp Order 5027-1 or other applicable OPI information source to determine the most appropriate honour or award to nominate a CAF member, employee, or civilian instructor. The nominator must prepare the file in accordance with direction provided by the VCDS or the applicable OPI. All nominations are to be designated as “CAN PROTECTED B – Honours in Confidence”. Incomplete files will be returned for additional preparation.

5.2 The H&R Committee can either elevate, or lower, the level of honour or award as appropriate. If a nomination is not considered appropriate for any recognition the Commanding Officer will be advised.

5.3 The DND 2448 form is included in the nomination package and will be signed as follows:

If the nominee is…	And his/her home unit is…	The Commanding Officer is...	The Intermediate Officer is always…	The Commander of a Command is always the…
CAF member, employee, or civilian instructor	RCSU	RCSU CO	Comd CJCR Gp	VCDS
CAF member, employee, or civilian instructor	CJCR Gp HQ	CJCR Gp HQ CO	Comd CJCR Gp	VCDS
RCSU CO	RCSU	DComd CJCR Gp	Comd CJCR Gp	VCDS

Staffing of Nominations

5.4 For consideration by the H&R Committee or the Comd CJCR Gp, the nomination must be staffed as follows:

Nominee	Home Unit	Submitted by	Submitted to	Reviewed by
Maj/LCdr or below, employee, or CI	CJCR Gp HQ	CJCR Gp HQ CO	CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator	H&R Committee
Maj/LCdr or below, employee, or CI	RCSU	RCSU CO	CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator	H&R Committee
LCol/Cdr other than the RCSU CO	CJCR Gp HQ	CJCR Gp HQ CO	CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator	Comd CJCR Gp
LCol/Cdr other than the RCSU CO	RCSU	RCSU CO	CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator	Comd CJCR Gp
RCSU CO	RCSU	DComd CJCR Gp	CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator	Comd CJCR Gp

CJCR Gp Commander’s Commendation 

5.5 Eligibility Criteria – Awarded by Comd CJCR Gp, this commendation is designed to officially commend and recognize military or civilian members of the CJCR Gp for acts that do not qualify for higher awards, but which are deserving of formal recognition. The CJCR Gp Comd’s Commendation recognizes achievements of members who have contributed to the CJCR Gp, the CAF, and DND by personal effort and example. This award indicates a significant contribution and is always signed by Comd CJCR Gp.

5.6 Nomination packages for the CJCR Gp Comd’s Commendation must contain the following signed documents:

1. covering letter addressed to the Comd CJCR Gp;
2. DND 4362 – Comd, CJCR Gp Commendation nomination form;
3. updated MPRR; and
4. other supporting documents and/or witness statements if applicable.

5.7 The nomination form will be signed as follows:

If the nominee is…	And his/her home unit is…	The Commanding Officer is…
CAF Member, employee, or civilian instructor	RCSU	RCSU CO
CAF Member, employee, or civilian instructor	CJCR Gp HQ	CJCR Gp HQ CO
RCSU CO	RCSU	DComd CJCR Gp HQ CO

Submitting Nomination Package

5.8 Nomination packages may be submitted by regular mail or by encrypted email. If submitting by email, do not include any personal information of the nominee in the subject line as this information is not encrypted. The subject line must include the words “H&R Nomination” and the type of award, e.g. “H&R Nomination – CDS Commendation”. The contents of the nomination package shall be provided in a PDF format.

5.9 Nominations shall all be submitted to the H&R Committee Coordinator.

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6. Call for Nominations

6.1 Individual call for nomination messages will be promulgated for honours and awards throughout the year to meet the applicable nomination deadline.

7. Review of Nominations

Nomination Files

7.1 H&R Committee members shall receive the nomination files ten working days in advance of the H&R Committee meeting. Files will include the following information:

1. a list of nominees in order of appearance;
2. an electronic voting spreadsheet listing nominees in order of appearance;
3. award criteria, to allow H&R Committee members to select the most appropriate award;
4. nomination files, in order of appearance as follows:
   (1) National Honours;
   (2) Departmental Awards;
   (3) Celebrating Excellence Awards;
   (4) Sports Awards; and
   (5) other awards.

7.2 H&R Committee members shall return their votes via encrypted email, no later than three working days before the scheduled H&R Committee meeting. Results will be consolidated before the scheduled meeting with the final H&R Committee review to take place at the scheduled meeting.

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8. Committee Composition

8.1 The Composition of the H&R Committee is as follows:

Committee Title	Personnel
Chair	DComd CJCR Gp
Advisor	DCOS Support CJCR Gp HQ
H&R Coordinator	CJCR Gp J1 Career
Permanent Member	COS CJCR Gp HQ RCSU Atlantic CO RCSU Eastern CO RCSU Central CO RCSU Northwest CO RCSU Pacific CO CWO/CPO1 CJCR Gp

Roles and Responsibilities

8.2 The H&R Committee responsibilities include the following: 

Title	Responsibilities
Chair	Convene the H&R Committee meetings Recommend approval of nominations in absence of the Comd CJCR Gp Provide direction to the members of the H&R Committee In the case of a tie, provide direction to the members in order to achieve a majority vote Provide the H&R Coordinator with the support and required resources Designate a member of the H&R Committee to act as Chair if unable to attend
Advisor	Provide voting results to the Chair ahead of H&R Committee meetings Review voting results by members during H&R Committee meetings Provide policy and procedural advice on H&R matters
H&R Coordinator	Serve as secretary for the H&R Committee. Receive H&R nominations for honours and awards and prepare them for consideration by the H&R Committee or Comd CJCR Gp Provide dates, time, etc to all those concerned for upcoming meetings Prepare a Record of Decision (RoD) for the Chair’s signature following each meeting Liaise with and advise RCSU H&R Coordinators on all matters pertaining to H&R Prepare all honour and award nominations for Comd CJCR Gp sign-off to higher level as applicable Follow up with the individual who submitted the nomination to advise them of the final results of the nomination (accepted or denied) and the current status of the nomination Prepare all Comd CJCR Gp Commendations and Comd CJCR Gp congratulatory letters for signature and presentation Serve as the POC for the VCDS H&R Coordinator on all H&R matters
Permanent Member	Attend all meetings at the call of the Chair. In the event that a Permanent Member cannot be present for a meeting, the Member shall advise the CJCR Gp H&R Coordinator of the name of the replacement Provide individual voting results to the H&R Coordinator In the case of Level 3 Permanent Members; develop their own H&R process at the Level 3 level In the case of Level 3 Permanent Members; appoint an OPI to be the single POC for the H&R Coordinator on all H&R matters In the case of Level 3 Permanent Members; provide their H&R OPI with the support and resources required to function effectively

Voting Procedure

8.3 The H&R Committee Advisor will present voting results of each nomination. After each nomination, members will be required to confirm the outcome of the voting. If a nomination is neither clearly endorsed nor rejected by a majority of members, the nominating RCSU CO or COS CJCR Gp HQ will present arguments in favour of the nominee without introducing items not already included in the original nomination package.

8.4 The H&R Committee must achieve a majority endorsement for a nomination to be considered successful and eligible to be forwarded to the Comd CJCR Gp for consideration.

8.5 If there is a tie, the Chair will provide direction to the members in order to achieve a majority endorsement.

9. Publication

Frequency of Publication

9.1 Annual or more frequent review and updates, as required.

Errors/Omissions or Suggestions

9.2 Users of CJCR Gp Orders are encouraged to bring any errors, omissions or suggested orders to the attention of CJCR Gp HQ J1 Policy.

10. References

Source References

• DAOD 5027-0, Recognition
• DAOD 5027-1, Awards and Recognition
• National Honours System
• Queen’s Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces
• VCDS Gp Order 5027-1, Honours and Recognition Program

Related References

• A-SJ-100-001/AS-000, National Defence Security Policy
• DND 2448, Recommendation for Individual and Unit Awards
• DND 4362, Commander, CJCR Gp Commendation nomination form

11. Forms

DND 2448, Recommendation for Individual and Unit Awards
DND 4362, Commander, CJCR Gp Commendation nomination form

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