Posted by Reggie Millar from Canada on May 26, 2021 at 14:41:59:
In Reply to: Re: Non-starter posted by Greg on May 25, 2021 at 15:35:22:
Remember too, that we often say we should train as we intend to fight. Given that, military commanders should exercise their legal powers and authority in peace as in war (given recognition of different circumstances of the day). I don't think the issue here is one of cost effectiveness. It's all about discipline, operational effectiveness and cohesion.
He also correctly pointed out that the Queen is not our "boss". To be legally correct, the Commander in Chief of the CF is the Governor General (remember the fancy duds?). In my note I used the term "boss" (small "b") to infer that in practice, the CDS responds to direction from the MND. That, I think, is reality. Admittedly, most significant decisions and direction are run through the Cabinet and MND executes such Government decisions...but we're getting technical here.
Finally, I think your logic by which all officers are responsible for everything wrong is a bit of a stretch. One other post below follows the same route. If we explored that route, it would ultimately conclude that the Governor General is responsble for all the problems...so let's just fire him and start over. The problem with your logic is that it does not allow for rational fixing of blame at the appropriate level. As was pointed out in the example below, surely there is some executive responsibility to be assumed by the immediate supervisosr of the folks who transgressed. An NCO leader is just as responsible for the acts of subordinates as an officer leader.
The trick comes in determining what was done about the problem. If the immediate supervisor discovered the sin and acted to correct it then it hardly seems fair to blame him for the problem (presuming he did nothing negligent that caused it in the first place). If he did not do anything about it, then he becomes part of the problem, and so on with leaders up the chain until one of them does something about it. If this is an Army problem, again it hardly seems fair to assume naval officers are imcompetent too. All this to say, I think your complaint is simply too broad brush and ignores the reality of detail.
Good discussion though...Reggie