It's inevitable
When you try to slide something by quietly in Ottawa, it generally backfires.
I have no issue with Col. Labbe being promoted, but a seven and a half year backdate stretches the imagination somewhat. That has quite significant pay and pension implications.
The message this sends is that there remains a significant disconnect between the treatment of senior officers and the remainder of military members.
If I'm missing something here, please feel free to enlighten me in the comments.
Col. blamed for Somalia failure gets promotion
David Pugliese, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, July 25, 2008
Canada's military leadership has quietly promoted to general the soldier who led the ill-fated Somalia mission, and who was subsequently found to have failed as a commander.
The military has not publicized the July 2 promotion of Col. Serge Labbe to the rank of brigadier-general. But sources contacted by the Ottawa Citizen about the promotion on Thursday confirmed that the new rank for the officer will be retroactive to the year 2000.
I have no issue with Col. Labbe being promoted, but a seven and a half year backdate stretches the imagination somewhat. That has quite significant pay and pension implications.
The message this sends is that there remains a significant disconnect between the treatment of senior officers and the remainder of military members.
If I'm missing something here, please feel free to enlighten me in the comments.
posted by WE Speak at 4:10 a.m.
4 Comments:
Wow. I wonder if housing will raise his rent now that they know about his pay raise.
You know, just like the do with us regular folk.
Given that he's been Colonel for 20 years and performed very well since Somalia...
The back-dating is a bit hairy, but I've met Col Labbe and have a lot of respect for his work with NATO and the SAT-A team.
Back pay of 71/2 years?
What a joke DND is.
Unless he won some redress, the system is proven guilty on all charges here. Leniency would be an accurate word... This is proof that the "old boys' club" is still alive in Ottawa these days!
It's like the PPCLI CO's that were BG commanders in Kandahar; they all went on to super postings & promotions while their troops got squat.
After we lose in Afghanistan soon, I wonder what promotions await all the decision makers and planners?
I have no knowledge of whether Labbe is deserving of promotion or not. But I've heard Hillier liked him, and might have thought he took too much of the blame for Somalia on the chin and soldiered on. I've also heard that this backdating - which smelled fishy to me - is the result of promotion boards being told to review whether Labbe was shortchanged on previous reviews. Obviously this time, they found he'd merited promotion earlier.
I'm not saying they're right, just what I've heard.
Post a Comment
<< Home