Gen. Rick Hillier steps down as Chief of Defence Staff

[HockeyNut30]

For all of my dislikes of the Conservative Government I do agree with them when it comes to our military strength (but not deployment!). General Rick Hillier did a commendable job at re-equipping our Armed Forces after years of cutbacks and red tape. I was a little uneasy with his steadfast vision for Afghanistan but admire the about face he's done when it comes to public opinion. Here's the full story:

Hillier to step down as Canada's military chief

Don Martin and Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service

Published: Tuesday, April 15, 2008OTTAWA - His personal military mission accomplished, Gen. Rick Hillier will step aside as Canada's top soldier this summer.

As news of Hillier's retirement spread Tuesday, Hillier released a statement to the Canadian Forces saying he would end his tenure July 1.

He explained that he has achieved his key objectives and reached the "critical milestones" that he set out for the Forces to reach by the end of his tenure.

Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier.

"We have moulded our culture to one which recognizes that operations are our raison d'etre; that our efforts, all of them, must concentrate on achieving the missions and tasks given to us by the government of Canada, on behalf of all Canadians," Hillier said in his message. He said the Forces have transformed how they recruit, train, deploy and care for its members."We have done so while growing the Canadian Forces, re-equipping it, and while carrying out intense combat and peace support operations overseas and demanding, essential security tasks here at home," Hillier's statement said.

The top soldier said he will continue in his role "until relieved of my duties by my successor, to be named in due course by our prime minister."

Hillier was expected to meet Prime Minister Stephen Harper to formally declare his retirement plans after three years as the colourful chief of defence staff.

Known for speaking his mind, often in politically incorrect terms, Hillier insists his departure is entirely voluntary.

"If anything, the pressure was the other way to keep me around," he said in an interview.

With the Kandahar mission extended until 2011 and the purchase of heavy-lift planes, upgraded tanks and helicopters, Hillier says it was a good time to go because it allows him to claim a legacy of reinforced pride inside the military.

"We've achieved the irreversible momentum that I wanted to have," Hillier told Canwest News Service. "It's a transition to a whole different mode and I'm quite comfortable that I can leave on a high and leave hopefully enabling Canadian Forces to carry on to much greater things."

In the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon, Harper called Hillier a "great Canadian."

"Gen. Hillier has worked very well with the government, he has done an excellent job in rebuilding Canada's armed forces. He is a great Canadian and we are very proud to have worked with him."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay also had kind words for the retiring soldier.

"We want to say thank you to Gen. Hillier for the great service he has given to our country," MacKay told the House of Commons.

The general, appointed by then-prime minister Paul Martin in 2005, says recent governments have refunded the military government adequately and put Canada on the road to serving as a global power.

"I can only repeat what one my commanders once said when he noted we're not trying to be one of the big boys, we are one of the big boys and we have to start acting like it," Hillier recalled. "That's a very good comment because that reflects our place in the world. Canada has had a significant reprofiling in the world. We're one of the big boys now."

Hillier insists he has no political ambitions.

"I have no idea what I'll do, but I'm sure I'll work for another 10, 15 years," Hillier said. "I don't want to sit on the couch scratching my belly in my underwear watching the soaps."

By tradition, the highest post in the military usually rotates among the army, air force and navy. According to this logic, it should be the navy's turn. It is widely thought, however, that because so much of the focus remains on the army in Afghanistan, the three front-runners to succeed Hillier must be from that service. But Harper could choose to name an admiral or an air force general precisely to wrest attention away from the army and/or Afghanistan. An additional consideration: he may want a less charismatic and political chief of defence staff than Hillier.

Among the leading candidates to succeed Hillier are:

Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier: Responsible for all troops overseas as head of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command since September 2005. Sublimely bilingual combat engineer with UN peacekeeping tours in Croatia and Bosnia. Was previously attached to CENTCOM, which directs the U.S. war on terror. Also headed military intelligence. Praised for Canada's Kandahar mission by General Dan McNeill, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan. Kept a low profile until recently, when he began to promote what Canadian troops were achieving in South Asia.

Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie: Commander of the army. Artillery gunner with an infantry background. His father and grandfathers have served at the top of Canada's military/political establishment. Peacekeeping stints in Cyprus, Croatia and Afghanistan, where he was the deputy commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Highly educated. Polished public performer, at ease with the media and politicians as well as with the troops, who admire his willingness to go in harm's way to get an understanding of the battle space.

Lt.-Gen. Walt Natynczyk: Vice-chief of defence staff. An armoured officer and a westerner. Peacekeeping assignments in Cyprus, Bosnia (twice) and Croatia. As an exchange officer, served as deputy commander of the U.S. army's III Corps. Deployed to Iraq for one year, where he held a senior position in plans and was deputy commanding general of the Multinational Corps. Highly respected by Americans he served with there. Popular with the troops because of his affability and magnetism. Currently helps with some of the most ticklish files, such as helicopter procurement.

Lt.-Gen. Angus Watt: Commander of the air force. A helicopter pilot with several graduate degrees. Worked closely for much of his career with the navy. Has held senior staff jobs with NATO and NORAD. Served for a year in Kabul as commander of NATO's complex air war in Afghanistan. Like almost everyone in the air force, he advocates giving it a bigger role in South Asia.

Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson: commander of the navy. A graduate in engineering physics and a surface warfare specialist with numerous commands of warships. As a commodore after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, assembled the largest Canadian fleet since Korea and took it to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea in support of operations in Afghanistan. Regarded as modest, reserved and cerebral with an ability to nourish collegial relations.