Annex H List of Recommendations - Withers Report

Report of the RMC Board of Governors By the Withers' Study Group
Balanced Excellence Leading Canada's Armed Forces In The New Millenium
4500-240 (ADM (HR-Mil))
24 September 1998

Recommendation 1:

Implement the Balanced Excellence Model.

Comment: A suggested implementation plan which also addresses the transition phase is found on pages 59-63. The CF is a Total Force integrating regular and reserve components. The Balanced Excellence Model accommodates both aspects and the contribution of the Reserve Force to the life of the College is considered in the main Report.

Recommendation 2:

Strengthen military pillar staff resources.

1. Review staffing priorities for employment at RMC. Selected officers must want to be there, provide exemplary role models and view the job as a career plus. The Board must ensure that the Commandant's veto over proposed staff is an effective one. The Commandant must not have to choose the least weak, but rather the best of the strong;
2. Develop a clear comprehensive Terms of Reference Document on the role and responsibilities of a RMC squadron commander. Comment: This document should include desired qualifications and attributes, together with selection criteria and recommendations for pre-training. The Board should ensure these TORs are accepted and applied by ADM(Per).

Recommendation 3:

Fully integrate RMC into the regular command structure of the CF.

1. Communicate CF requirements on a routine basis to RMC. Comment: This begins with a clear statement of the strategic context and the roles and missions of the CF. Beyond this, recommendations with regard to specific programs and military training objectives need to be communicated to the College on a regular basis. Conversely, RMC's concerns need to be communicated to the highest levels of the Senior Leadership. To achieve this goal Armed Forces Council should schedule regular meetings with the Board and senior leadership at RMC. This schedule should include visits of AFC to the College at least once per year;
2. Establish a coherent, regular and focused visit program starting with the MND and CDS/DM on down. Visitors and speakers must include Chiefs of Staff of the three services, senior NDHQ staff officers and a range of operational commanders of all ranks. Comment: The visitor/speaker program must target the Cadet Wing as a whole. For reasons of time and space, this might be organised by year group or service as appropriate. These visits must be fully integrated into the academic and military pillars.

Recommendation 4:

Ensure that inter-service boundaries and parochial concerns do not unduly erode the capability of RMC to develop officers whose military ethos reflects their primary responsibility as professional CF officers.

Recommendation 5:

Seek through the MND and the Armed Forces Council to increase the percentage of RMC graduates in the CF officer corps from the current 25% to approximately 35-40%. Comment: Accomplish this goal by fixing the first year intake at approximately 1.6 times its present level.

Recommendation 6:

Apply the "Total Force" principle by increasing the number graduating to primary reserve service and making beneficial use of CF Reserves assets in staffing. Comment: Accomplish this by increasing the slots assigned for cadets, revising RETP conditions of service and employing qualified reservists on the staff.

Recommendation 7:

Develop the concept of a CF University structure.

1. Utilise the embryonic structure already in place in CFRETS to create a CF University;
2. Seek to create an educational specialist officer classification.

Recommendation 8:

Attract more of the most suitable high quality candidates.

1. The theme of all recruiting for RMC should be "apply here to embark on a career as a real leader" rather than free education;
2. Encourage the CF to increase the specialisation of resources devoted to officer recruiting;
3. Separate the officer recruiting process from that for all other CF intakes;
4. Establish as was done in the past, a program of community and high school visits by select officers, RMC faculty members and cadets. Comment: This exposure of appropriate role models to potential candidates from the outset provides up to date information, and demonstrates a proactive attitude by the CF in their quest for the highest quality members;
5. Establish a "volunteer recruiting and mentoring system" across the Country. Comment: When suitable candidates are identified they would be put in contact with knowledgeable volunteers. Mentors would receive appropriate training to maximise their effectiveness;
6. Decentralise overall authority for recruiting advertising for RMC to CFRETS and RMC, including the RMC Board of Governors;
7. Establish a committee of the Board on the recruiting and selection process. Comment: This committee would determine the parameters by which potential candidates are approached, informed, screened and selected. The committee would have a continuing role in monitoring the overall process by which young women and men enter RMC;
8. There should be a Dean of Admissions at RMC;
9. Establish a RMC Selection Board for final screening of potential candidates. Comment: This Board would consist of military and civilian faculty, as well as representatives from ADM(Per) and/or the three environmental services;
10. Ensure that officer cadets are matched with MOCs in a fashion which better meets the needs of the CF and the individual. Comment: MOC selection must not be made at the recruiting centre. It should be an assignment based upon both preference and suitability, and should not occur until after an officer cadet has been exposed to some training and a variety of MOCs. There should be an allocation of MOC slots to RMC each year which would accord with the developed projections for critical officer needs 3.5 years after the allocation date. The CF should preferentially allocate MOC slots most likely to create full career tracks for the officers who fill them. RMC officer cadets would be selected for these allocated MOC slots on a competitive basis, in which both a candidate's overall performance and a candidate's suitability for a given MOC would influence the likelihood of getting his/her first choice;
11. Assign responsibility and authority for MOC management of RMC cadets to the Commandant. Comment: Such a MOC flow management system, controlled by the Commandant, will expedite MOC reassignment of RMC cadets required due to failure, or other exigencies of the Service. The Commandant would have authority to authorise all OTs.

Recommendation 9:

Take all appropriate measures to ensure that the highest standards possible are maintained in the academic staff. Comment: This will require reassurance that the institution's well being is not threatened and even that growth is foreseen. Clearly, appropriate measures must be undertaken to ensure that compensation comparable to equivalent academic institutions across Canada is achieved and maintained.

Recommendation 10:

Appoint the Principal of RMC for a term of five years, perhaps renewable once, at the discretion of the Board.

Recommendation 11:

Establish a process of academic review.

1. Mandate a continuous process of academic program review to be executed on a recurring cycle not to exceed seven years. Draft reports should be submitted to the Board on recommendation of the Senate;
2. Conduct an academic review of the engineering program at RMC with a view to achieving modest savings in class time. This available course time would be allocated to the improvement necessary in the new "core" curriculum.

Recommendation 12:

Employ post-graduate students more effectively in the undergraduate program. Comment: These students can be employed in team teaching, as teaching assistants and as seminar leaders. To achieve this a more organised, disciplined post-graduate regime will need to be put in place. This should be done by the relevant Deans under the overall co-ordinating authority of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Post-graduate students should be employed on academic or other duties normally for five hours per week.

Recommendation 13:

Establish a working group to develop and implement a rigorous militarily relevant "core" curriculum. The core curriculum should constitute approximately 30% of a typical degree program. Comment: The result will be a selection of mandatory subjects which all cadets will receive in equal measure. The core curriculum will span all four academic years. This curriculum will be progressive in nature, span four years and cover topics such as international affairs, leadership, military history, military theory, information technology, emerging technology and strategy. Mathematics and science subjects must be well represented. The objective is a cohort of graduate officers, all of whom share a common, professional body of knowledge in addition to their specialist degree. A possible list of subjects one might consider in a core curriculum and an indication of where they might fit over four years is at Annex F.

Recommendation 14:

Restructure the academic program such that all cadets undertake a first year curriculum well balanced among arts, science and core courses. In this program first year will consist largely of core courses. Comment: In some cases cadets will take an initial preparatory course to give them the necessary background to succeed in the required core course and allow them ultimately to graduate having achieved the required standard.

Recommendation 15:

Specifically include the subject of defining, understanding and developing the appropriate military ethos in the military pillar. Comment: This program must be fully informed by the concept of facilitating success.

Recommendation16:

Ensure that all uniformed officers on campus serve as role models. However, it is fundamentally important that squadron commanders be selected for their qualities as role models. In addition, cadet exposure to as many post-graduates, in as many fora as possible, must be increased.

Recommendation 17:

Require a comprehensive Training Plan from the Commandant which defines objectives and outlines training methods and resources, including those from the academic pillar and post-graduate students. This Plan should be monitored on a regular basis.

Recommendation 18:

Appoint the Commandant for a period of five years. Comment: This is a most critical appointment, for the Commandant is in full command just as in any unit or formation of the CF. Care should be taken to ensure continuity by staging the appointments of the Commandant and the Principal. Consideration should be given to appointing a distinguished officer at the end of his/her career. In fact, the Board should consider, in collaboration with the MND and CDS, the concept of appointing a very recently retired officer for a fixed term of office.

Recommendation 19:

Review the senior rank structure of RMC. The Study Group endorses the idea of increasing the rank of the Director of Cadets to a full Colonel with the position of Commandant remaining as that of a Flag/General Officer.

Recommendation 20:

Seek to establish a better staff to student ratio in the military pillar through the employment of post-graduate students and fourth year students as mentors and trainers.

Recommendation 21:

Increase the number of Senior NCMs at RMC. Comment: Assign high quality training NCMs in the rank of Warrant Officer or Master Warrant Officer to each squadron.

Recommendation 22:

Increase and intensify leadership training at RMC.

1. Investigate the advantages of achieving this objective by establishing a Leadership Institute within RMC. This institute would have broad responsibilities for research on the subject of leadership as well as teaching and mentoring;
2. Establish RMC as the "centre of excellence" for all of the CF on the subject of leadership.

Recommendation 23:

Strengthen oral and written communications in the military pillar. Comment: Raise the expected standard of oral and written communications by placing additional emphasis on them in the military pillar. This would include public speaking and media relations.

Recommendation 24:

Utilise the "core" curriculum recommended in the academic pillar to bridge the two pillars. Comment: Appropriate military examples for relevant courses given in the academic pillar should be derived from activities taking place in the military pillar.

Recommendation 25:

Make bilingualism more effective in the life of the College.

1. Transfer summer SLT for all Francophone cadets and other officer candidates to RMC. Establish a more rigorous language program to be completed in 8 weeks versus the current 10, with no reduction in contact hours;
2. Conduct all summer SLT for Anglophone RMC cadets at Laval University;
3. Teach all fourth year courses in one language only, with no duplication. Approximately half should be taught in French and the other half in English. Comment: Students taking final year courses in their second language, would have the right to write major exams and major projects in their first language;
4. Require all incumbent faculty to become bilingual within five years. Comment: New faculty need not necessarily be bilingual when first hired, but in cases where bilingualism is not needed at the outset would have five years to become bilingual;
5. Grant academic credit for cadets exceeding language standards through the use of challenge examinations.

Recommendation 26:

Communicate physical education standards to potential candidates early in the selection process. Include in this package instructions with regard to self-testing.

Recommendation 27:

Firmly establish physical fitness as a necessary component of leadership. Since the third and fourth years at RMC are the most focused on applied leadership, physical fitness standards for all cadets must be achieved by the end of second year before proceeding to MOC training.

Recommendation 28:

Utilise civilian faculty in support of military training activities. Comment: Many civilians are extremely knowledgeable about military matters and many are former officers of the CF. Faculty could, and wish, to conduct non-credit seminars and workshops on military subjects such as leadership, ethics and the application of technology to contemporary operations and many others. Faculty could provide background; political, historical and scientific, to military weekend programs. Faculty can be of great assistance in the development of essential communications skills; both written and oral.

Recommendation 29:

Increase somewhat the number of qualified military officers in the classroom in the academic pillar. Comment: Wherever possible and appropriate, employ "team teaching" techniques to provide additional role models, demonstrate validity of high quality education to officership, and provide relevant military examples of the subject at hand.

Recommendation 30:

Utilise more military examples more frequently and consistently in the course of academic teaching. Comment: A complex example of economic analysis is the optimisation of equipment procurement; information technology issues abound in advanced battlefield management systems.

Recommendation 31:

Exploit more fully the large number of excellent conferences and symposia to which the academic faculty already send cadets or organise themselves. Comment: Many of these are internationally attended high level gatherings in military affairs and security studies. The military pillar should welcome this shared activity as part of putting the "M" back into RMC.

Recommendation 32:

Devote more attention in the physical education pillar to develop leadership and other militarily applicable skills. Officer cadets should learn how to coach, referee and create physical training programs for both small and large groups.

Recommendation 33:

Require officer cadets to use both French and English in most activities in all four pillars.

Recommendation 34:

Require that the Commandant prepare an annual report to the Board specifically on progress related to integration of the four pillars. The Board should assume the ultimate responsibility for fostering integration of the four pillars at RMC.