Military Ethos.

In 1990 a seminar group convened by the Associate Minister of National Defence produced a "Canadian Military Ethos," defined as "a distinctive or characteristic set of beliefs held by the military community or culture." It was derived from "the military virtues of truth, duty, valour, integrity, loyalty, courage and commitment." Sadly, in the intervening years many of these admirable traits have been lacking, often at senior levels.

The Canadian Forces Leadership Institute has now produced a booklet Duty with Honour (pictured), which attempts to explain the expectations of the military profession and its place in Canada on the whole. It is well produced, however, I feel that the shorter 1990 version is more appropriate. One area mentioned, albeit briefly, in the current publication is the responsibility and loyalty of senior officers to those under their command, both during and after their service. Happily, reports from Afghanistan and other "hot" areas seem to indicate that, at least in the field, commanders usually have the welfare of their troops at heart. One paragraph, I was pleased to see, recognizes that decisions by leaders at lower levels, including junior NCOs, may well influence overall operations.

To view the manual, you are invited to visit www.cda-acd.forces.gc.ca. The manual itself, an attractive publication, is currently unavailable but should, hopefully, be obtainable shortly. To obtain a copy, write to PofA-cfli@forces.gc.ca.

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Title Annotation:	The old guard update: veterans' news and views
Author:	Peate, Les
Publication:	Esprit de Corps
Date:	Feb 1, 2004
Words:	231
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