Living vicariously

I was there the day it all began...

The year was either 1977 or 1978, I can't remember for sure. I had recently been divorced, and was angry. Very angry. I figured the best thing I could do that was legal was to join the army and learn to kill people. To join the regular army would be foolish. I didn't want to die myself, I only wanted an outlet for my aggression. So, I decided to join the reserves. Living in Ottawa at the time, I had two choices: the army reserve or the navy reserve. I chose the army because I had discovered during my teen years at summer camp that I had a knack for shooting rifles accurately. I also didn't want to take the chance that I would become sea-sick on a ship somewhere in the ocean.

I found out very early in my training that the army is not a place for wusses. The guys who join these units are very gung-ho, and many come here as the first step in a planned military career progression. I was not cut of that cloth. Although I enjoyed marching, drilling, shooting, and learning all I could about the history of the forces and the tasks to be performed by members of the army, there was something I absolutely did NOT like doing - still don't like doing - and that is walking out front of a large group of people and taking command.

During the five years I served in the reserves as a junior officer, there was NOT ONE TIME when I led the parade procession. It was not by accident that I either scheduled other activities, or simply played hookie on the nights when I knew I would be called upon to lead the parade. Yes, I was embarassed. Yes, there were probably many soldiers who snickered behind my back for these antics, but I didn't care. I wasn't there to learn to lead an army. I was there to shoot stuff.

One day, a young (20 years old, I think) university student walked into the officer's mess and was introduced to us. He said his name was Andrew, and he quickly became the focus of the entire regiment. Andrew was a lad of many stories, all of them about the military. Within weeks of his arrival, we all knew that he was the son of a general, and whose father was also the son of a general. He told us that he would continue the family tradition and eventually become a general. Despite the gung-ho nature of his audience, there were probably less than a half-dozen people in the room who had aspirations to be fighting soldiers. We listened to his prediction with a large grain of salt.

During my tenure with the 30th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, I saw Andrew leapfrog me and several other more-dedicated officers in his ravenous quest for knowledge. Yet, he remained very personable - never making anyone feel like he had "climbed over" them. Rather, we watched him with the growing knowledge that this young man was destined for greatness.

Anyway, I left the reserves in 1981 and didn't really keep track of any of my ex-buddies until about six years ago. Using the power of the internet, I had decided to look up my old commanding officer. I actually managed to locate him (he was a government employee, but a civilian reserve officer - not regular forces) and we reminisced about old times. I then tried to recall as many names as I could and asked what had happened to them. When Andrew's name came up, I was told that he was a general in the Canadian Armed Forces.

A general at age 43? Could that be possible? I have continued to follow Andrew's career since then. In six short years, he has progressed from Brig-General to Maj-General and now to Lt-General (the equivalent to the American 3-star general). Typically in the Canadian Forces, you need a minimum of four years TIR (time in rank) to progress to the next step. And as you get to the top of the pyramid, your progression typically slows down, because there just aren't that many places ahead of you to grow into. In the years since I began following his career, Andrew has been the commanding officer of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan (among other postings), second-in-command of all NATO forces, and has seen much combat. He also has progressed through the highest levels of military college strategy training - arguably attaining a level of military thinking that rivals the best of today's commanders anywhere in the world.

So we come to today's newspaper, featuring Lt-General Andrew Leslie taking over control as the leader of the entire Canadian Army. At age 49, he finds himself in the second-most-senior position in the armed forces. I imagine he has a counterpart on the naval side of the fence, but I can't imagine anyone with more experience, breeding, and enthusiasm. I don't know how old the picture is that accompanied the news piece, but it's hard to imagine him looking much older than 30-35 in that picture. If it is a more recent picture, then Andrew has aged quite well.

I'll continue to follow Andrew's career, and expect to see him as a full General in charge of the entire Canadian military when General Hillier (the current head honcho) is ready to retire.