I was pretty sure that Stephen Harper would not pick Lt.Gen Jonathan Vance to be the next Chief of the Defence Staff. Why? Because Vance seemed to be closer to Rick Hillier than Tom Lawson in terms of speaking his mind and setting his own course. Vance had his own ideas of how to run the mission in Afghanistan and bucked the civilians who preferred to stick to old maps and objectives.
Why does this choice surprise me? Because I have viewed message management, along with balancing the budget, as the two keys to my understanding of this government's defence policy stances. So, I am going to have to figure out a new rosetta stone/key to the enigma machine.
On the other hand, I think Vance is the right guy for the job--was very capable in Afghanistan, has served in key NATO posts, and was willing to talk to me (always a good job qualification in my world) about his time in Afghanistan.
So, I congratulate General Vance on getting the new job, I salute Harper for making a good decision, and now I must find someplace to buy some crow to eat.
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