Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada’s high-profile chief of defence staff, will be stepping down as leader of the Armed Forces, CTV News has learned.
Robert Fife, CTV’s Ottawa bureau chief, told Canada AM on Tuesday that Hillier has reportedly decided that he wants to move on.
Fife said there is no policy disagreement or other troubles with the government.
CTV News reported in October 2007 that Hillier would be replaced when his three-year term expired in February.
(I’d watch the Torch (sorry, link fixed) in the coming hours for the useful and informed commentary.)
Who in Canada can believe what Robert Fife ( the knuckledragger ? newsbuster) or CTV report on Hillier?
Could well be nuanced as usual.
I will be sad to see Hillier go. He has done an outstanding job in Afghanistan and he seems to have raised the morale, and profile, of the armed forces back here in Canada.
“Fife said there is no policy disagreement or other troubles with the government” That better be true. If Hillier is being pushed out, and not moving on, there will be hell to pay and rightfully so.
This is sad news. Hillier was a fantastic leader and a wonderful commander, and brought about much needed changes in the Canadian Forces (including securing much needed funding increases)
He will certainly be missed.
I’ll wait for Hillier to make a statement,too bad though,on both counts.Too bad Hillier’s retiring,and too bad I don’t trust the media to believe anything they say.
Yeah and I’m sure Hillier called Fife up personally to announce it!
Here’s my post at “The Torch”:
“Breaking: CDS Gen. Hillier to step down”
Mark
Ottawa
There is but one thing to say,
Fair winds and following seas Sir!
I read a couple of comments on CBC from readers and stopped after the second one. The reader was glad to see Hillier go because he was always in favour of war-war-war.
Go figure, eh? A soldier who sees the need for armed conflict.
“There are none so blind who WILL NOT see”
CBC Radio2 News at noon seems to spin this: it said that Hillier, appointed by Liberal PM Paul Martin, is now more allied with the Conservatives re the war in Afghanistan. Duh . . .
What crap, as usual. All hype to lies and anti-Conservative, all the time.
Hillier has been the strongest leader DND has had in twenty years, after 12 years of Liberal neglect and contempt he brought pride back to the forces’ members. Tiss a sad day indeed, I’m sure Harper has found some spineless little yes man to replace him with.
No Lookout,
Hillier politicized (before the election) the post he is occupying and it was never a question of “If” but “When”.
He, like other civil servants, can seamlessly be replaced.
And LS shows a complete and utter lack of understanding of the military.
Anyone else catch little Bobbie Fife’s ‘scoop’ on Gen. Hillier’s announcement where he
said he had expected the general to step down in February, but it is now March…
CTV spin again? Here it is the middle of April and Fife is still stuck on stupid.
Fife never used the word knuckledragger so it can’t be true. Still waiting for a reply from him to my e-mail demanding a retraction.
At least PMSH will have the opportunity to name his replacement and not Dion.
Also pay attention to the spin in the media re the search warrant issued by election canada.
Actually, Alienated, I heard RUMINT last week that Hillier might be stepping down as soon as this week, and I discounted it at the time as wild rumour. Now, given the other places I’ve heard confirmation, I’m guessing that Fife has it right.
What I’m also hearing is that Natynczyk is the next CDS, which is a surprise to me. I’ve tagged into Mark’s post at The Torch to discuss the potential consequences in more detail.
AtlanticJim,
I served – did you?
What the Armed forces need is not a talking head!
Served? No past tense for me. Still serving after 17 years and an IPS signed last month.
Good enough you are gone if you consider ANY member of the Forces to be a civil servant because you obviously never understood what it was you were doing.
On cbc,Nancy Wilson asked defence critic Wilfert for the Libs,if any communication between Libs/Hillier re chances of the General running for them! Dawn Black then interviewed,said to Nancy..’I notice you didn’t ask me,about Hillier in talks with NDP about running’…Julie van Hairdo chased Gen.to try and get scoop,but he politely declined comment.
I don’t know about Hillier. I have heard servicemen rave about him and others have had nothing but contempt for him.
I remember him sticking his nose up Paul Martin’s butt, proudly proclaiming ‘Mission Accomplished’ a couple years back as he postured for his masters and for the cameras.
My personal take on this is that Harper had much more to do with restoring the military than Hillier did. I don’t think his loss will be all that big myself. I have no doubt that our military is filled with much better men than he was.
Rose
Re “spineless little yes man to replace him with”:
There are only eight (8) serving officers from whom the government can select based upon qualification:
VAdm Davidson (NATO HQ)
VAdm Robertson (Navy Commander)
LGen Bouchard (NORAD HQ)
LGen Dumais (Canada Command)
LGen Gauthier (CEFCOM)
LGen Leslie (Army Commander)
LGen Natynczyk (VCDS)
LGen Watt (Air Force Commander)
Trust me this is a different generation of General Officers and there is not a spineless yes man amongst the group.
“AtlanticJim,
I served – did you?
What the Armed forces need is not a talking head!
Posted by: The LS from SK at April 15, 2008 1:28 PM ”
What you need is a head period.
There hasn’t been a CDS in Canada since WW2 that has done as much for the Canadian Forces as General Hillier.
His reorganization of the forces is helping to pull it out of the 1960’s where it has been stuck since True-dope and the Lieberals fu
I would echo some of the comments above. Unless you have actually served, you are really only exposed to the portrait of General Hillier as observed through the lense of our ever so biased media. You can have your opinion of him…and that’s a good thing.
In my opinion, he has done a great deal of good “PR” work for the men and women in uniform. I am proud to see our military members walking the streets in CADPAT [I remember a time not long ago that you couldn’t even get out of your car if you were wearing “combats”].
But I would estimate that the “popularity rating” on Hillier by currently serving troops is about 50%
my two cents.
I would hazard to say that a fair proportion of the troops who don’t like Hillier are the larda$$es who really object to actually making an effort to get more solider-like, you know, the civil servants in uniform who don’t like to be jacked-up by a soldier’s general. Met enough of them in my time that I can only feel contempt. Sounds like there are a few out there… including on SDA.
As to the civvies who don’t like him, screw ’em – their opinion is about as valuable as a fart in a hurricane.
28 years in the army and still serving, proudly. Hillier was the best CDS in generations.
Hillier was the best CDS in generations.
I have a lot of respect for John de Chastelain, and I’d still concur with that assessment of Hillier.
I salute you General Hillier. Job well done…
Hillier had more leadership in his little finger than that insipid puke Gen. Jean Boyle who was chief of defence at the time of the Somolia inquiry. what a page turning, delaying , selective memoried crap liar he was.
Hillier’s farewell to the troops has been posted at the DND website.
[quote]I don’t know about Hillier. I have heard servicemen rave about him and others have had nothing but contempt for him.[/quote]
Jim
The press (MSM) always damage the best of the Military. They have a childish comic book view of what makes a good General.
I am reminded of 60 minutes “Andy Rooney’s” role re: Stars & Strips, rallying to Fire George Patten during WWII. Andy never had a brain to die!
A pox on the Press! We can use Hellier in the US!
Watching the horrid Julie V.D. do her schtick reminds me of the hag Sheila Copps crawling over the HOC tables…cripes, what a piece of work.
Best quote before retiring:
“I don’t want to sit on the couch scratching my belly in my underwear watching the soaps,” he smirks. “At most I’ll take two or three days off.”
I’m sure General Hillier’s wife Joyce didn’t want to see that disturbing image either. I actually have a hard time picturing the CDS scratching his belly in his skivvies.
Never at a loss for a good zinger.
Carry on soldier, and keep kicking those keesters!
The motto for every armour bearer:
“Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.”
Well done.
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht BGS, PDP, CFP
Commander in Chief
Frankenstein Battalion
2nd Squadron: Ulanen-(Lancers) Regiment Großherzog Friedrich von Baden(Rheinisches) Nr.7(Saarbrucken)
Knecht Rupprecht Division
Hans Corps
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
Through the Mud and the Blood, to the Green fields beyond Hans…
Hillier was a great CDS and he will be missed. I hope he has some input on his replacement.
Robert Fife’s report, as usual, made me want to vomit and then take a shower to get the BS off.
Maybe Canada’s no 1 soldier Warman is involved.
I’m sorry to see Gen Hillier go as well. He was a great CDS and we won’t see another with his style for some time.
My own pref of the probable candidates is LGen Natynczyk, who actually served in Iraq, of all places, as Deputy Comd of the 3ID.
(On a side note, I signed my own release forms today, leaving the Forces after 23 years, retirng as a Major) The handle I use here I’ve had as a nickname since high school.
Thanks for your service, Sarge.
Apparently the only knocks on Uncle Walt are 1) he speaks a bit too much like an American (hardly a fault in my book, but it could grate on some in Ottawa), 2) his last few jobs have been either staff or deputy (not enough higher-formation command experience), and 3) he might wear the wrong coloured uniform, if the politicians don’t want another Army officer in Hillier’s mould running the show for the next few years.
With all that, he’s still the front-runner.