Royal Military College of Canada - Review Yearbook (Kingston, Ontario Canada)

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F OR UZIRD It has been suggested that a short discussion of the future of the Regular Officer Training Plan and the Canadian Military Colleges might be an appropriate topic for the RMC Review. This, to me, is a most im- portant subject and one, which I believe, is of great interest to all officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. Let me begin by saying that the Canadian Armed Forces have a definite and continuing requirement for qualified professional military officers. To fulfil this specialized requirement we must provide those who wish to enter the profession with an education that is particular to the military segment of our society. At the same time, however, we must ensure that their education is not devoid of those subjects which are taught in the civilian academic institutions. Our military academic institutions have two goals. The first is to provide a professional military educa- tion - something which only they are equipped to do. The second goal is to provide a general education comparable to that provided by civilian academic in- stitutions. If these two goals are satisfactorily achieved, the graduate of our Service College then becomes a well educated junior officer, highly qual'ified to under- take the twin responsibilities of rank and command. Equally important, the graduate of our Military College has been given the knowledge of other fields of academic pursuit so that he may communicate with others outside his military profession over a wide spectrum of human endeavour. It 'is not enough to be well qualified military professional. Each day the in- teraction between various disciplines and professional groups grows 'in intensity and in scope. The service officer must have at least an understanding of such widely diversified but specialized fields as sociology and space technology. As a result, our demands on the cadets will continue to grow as we try to keep pace with the expansion of knowledge. I look upon the Canadian Armed Forces as a spec- ialized segment of the Canadian society. They must be prepared to undertake tasks which only they are equipped and trained to do. As such they have their own particular expertise. On the other hand, with'in the military segment we find all of the needs and re- quirements that exist in the whole society. Therefore, we must have doctors, lawyers, engineers, social work- ers, accountants, policemen and so on. We are, in effect, a miniature society within a larger society. I believe that the demands that are, and will con- tinue to be placed upon those entering the profession are becoming more 'intense for at least two reasons. First, our military knowledge has grown as we acqui- re new and more complex weaponry. In the same vein, we are covering a wide spectrum of conflict ranging from peace-keeping in foreign lands to maintaining a complex military contribution in NATO and NORAD. Secondly, in order to understand and keep pace with advances made in other professions we must train and educate ourselves to take advantage of those gains when they can help us to advance the military profession. To do so, we must continue to make available to our officer a continuing professional education which will give him an opportunity to continually demon- strate his competence and enable the Defence Staff to judge and award him further responsibility and rank. As most of you know, a team of officers has been set up to study this very extensive and important prob- lem. Theirs is a challenging task but one which I be- lieve will be successfully accomplished. Their recom- mendations will receive careful consideration by all of us who are charged with the responsibility of provid- ing our officers with the best of military education and training. I am sure that their recommendations will enable the Canadian Armed Forces to continue to maintain their standing among the leaders of the mil- itary profession the world over. In conclusion, I want to offer my congratulations to the staff and officer cadets at RMC and the other Military Coll.eges. Each of you have accepted 'a certain measure of rank and responsibility within our Canad- ian Armed Forces. I have been very much impressed by the graduates of RMC and it 'is my intention to ensure that the highest standards of professional devel- opment are continued in the Canadian Armed Forces. -Minister of National Defence

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