Honour-less & Rewards
With all the efforts currently underway within the Canadian Armed Forces to address culture change, perhaps now would be a good time to revaluate the Honours & Recognition system… because it’s broken.
The foundational document for Honours & Recognition (H&R) in the Canadian Force is the Honours Policy Manual which is published with/by the authority of the Chief of Military Personnel (CMP). It outlines all honours policy and is only trumped by the KR&O’s, specifically Chapter 18.
Actual oversight of H&R within the CAF is headed up by the Directorate of Honours & Recognition. They are provided with recommendations for individual and collective awards through the various L1 representatives.
Those who have taken the initiative and time to write up an individual for any type of H&R knows that it is an extremely frustrating endeavour. Each submission often requires numerous rounds of nonsensical revisions and are reviewed by individuals who could never dream of facing similar circumstances. Some nominations are subjected to nearly impossible standards for attaining the benchmark for an award, while others are seemingly rubber stamped. Looking at the Departmental Awards Announcement messages, it would appear at first glance that getting recognition has a lot has a lot more to do with the rank of the nominee than the actual deed.
Using the CDS Commendation as the prime example, there are, on occasion, often double the number of officers who receive one, compared to non-commissioned members. What’s particularly interesting about this is how many are senior officers, such as Colonels, Lieutenant-Colonels, Majors. But that’s just at first glance, when you dive into the citations the disparity between rank and the act that warranted the recognition are even more stark.
Upon review of multiple Departmental Award Announcement over a span of several years there was a definite delineation between what was required for the CDS commendation based on rank. The senior officers were for the most part recognized for doing their job, to a high standard albeit, but mostly just doing their job. Comparatively, the citations for most of the non-commissioned members were acts of bravery, self-sacrifice and compassion. I’m not exaggerating, nor am I quoting actual citations, but it’s not uncommon to see a Colonel get a CDS Commendation for exceptional leadership in XYZ, while near the bottom of the list is a Corporal who broke into a burning vehicle to rescue an unconscious accident victim. They’re not on the same level, and the incongruity hurts the value and significance of the award.
Why is it you see Senior Officers with CDS commendations for being outstanding at their jobs in Ottawa procuring this or that, but not the Master Sailor who was running that Supply Section on the base for the past year while the Warrant was deployed? It’s because the way the system is currently setup, it’s not about recognition, its about rewards.
There is a significant element of nepotism and scepticism involved in the H&R process which starts at the unit level and is furthered exacerbated at each successive and progressive H&R board. I have an example of this that I will share because it’s burned into my memory as one of the seminal moments where I decided it was time for me to begin to detach from the CAF.
It was mid-summer 2020, I received a phone call that my CDS Commendation nomination was supported at the regional level but denied at HQ and was sent back with no substitute/or lesser award recommended. The reason, I was told, “the selection process is stringent so as not to water down the significance of the award.”
The nomination in question was for the Med Tech who responded to the crash of the CT-114 Tutor on 17 May 2020 in Kamloops, BC. Normally a Med Tech isn’t on the road with the team but was that year, to assist with COVID related ungrounding’s. When he saw the ejection, he commandeered a vehicle and rushed to the scene, climbed a roof and rendered medical treatment to the surviving crew member. Then he spent the next several days attending to that member, coordinating their care between the hospital, the Canadian Forces Health Services and the Chain of Command.
These actions were felt by all who contributed to the nomination as having met the criteria set out for the CDS Commendation, “to recognize deeds or activities beyond the demands of normal duty” but wasn’t selected. However, the people who organized a BBQ or spoke with confidence to a group of Chief Warrant Officers were.
As difficult as I found that situation to stomach, it is just one case, there are countless others. It’s why I stand by my statement that the system needs an overhaul.
The Canadian Forces Decorations Advisory Committee the Governor General and our Parliamentarians couldn’t even agree to review Jess Larochelle’s heroic actions in Afghanistan, to say nothing of those who should have been recognized but weren’t because of overt or latent racism and misogyny towards Indigenous people, visible minorities, or those in the LGBTQ community.
While I don’t mean to undermine or devalue the efforts and sacrifice of those who are being recognized under the current system, (congrats!) but until past wrongs are righted through a non-political, non-biased entity, and the CAF takes corrective measures, it will remain the Honour-less & Rewards system.