An unheralded milestone
One of the published core values of CANSOFCOM is humility. So it comes as no surprise that when the Commander of CANSOFCOM, Michael Day, was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General a month ago, there was no big fanfare. Just the CDS dropping by to slip a new pair of epaulettes on to the man's shoulders, and a short speech.
But it's a big deal, all right. All the Commands in the CF, save this one, are headed by Lieutenant Generals. CANSOFCOM, until recently, has been led by a Colonel. So my first thought upon learning of the promotion was that the CF was putting more importance upon the Command by bumping the rank of the commander's appointment. Not so, I was told: the slot has always been for a BGen. The problem in staffing it with the appropriate rank was always that Canada's Special Operations community - which in its modern incarnation really only stood up with the birth of JTF 2 in April of 1993 - hadn't yet grown its own general rank officer. It was simply too new.
All that has now changed. So while hearty congratulations are undoubtedly in order for BGen Mike Day, the whole of CANSOFCOM has reason to be proud too: this is a milestone in the growth and maturation of their organization, and their professional community. This is a coming of age.
The men and women of CANSOFCOM perform their unfathomably difficult jobs each and every day knowing their deeds will very likely never see the light of day. They give up the idea of public adulation the moment they sign on. But some things deserve to be heralded, and this is one occasion where doing so won't endanger any operation or life.
Bravo Zulu to BGen Day, and BZ to those in his Command!
But it's a big deal, all right. All the Commands in the CF, save this one, are headed by Lieutenant Generals. CANSOFCOM, until recently, has been led by a Colonel. So my first thought upon learning of the promotion was that the CF was putting more importance upon the Command by bumping the rank of the commander's appointment. Not so, I was told: the slot has always been for a BGen. The problem in staffing it with the appropriate rank was always that Canada's Special Operations community - which in its modern incarnation really only stood up with the birth of JTF 2 in April of 1993 - hadn't yet grown its own general rank officer. It was simply too new.
All that has now changed. So while hearty congratulations are undoubtedly in order for BGen Mike Day, the whole of CANSOFCOM has reason to be proud too: this is a milestone in the growth and maturation of their organization, and their professional community. This is a coming of age.
The men and women of CANSOFCOM perform their unfathomably difficult jobs each and every day knowing their deeds will very likely never see the light of day. They give up the idea of public adulation the moment they sign on. But some things deserve to be heralded, and this is one occasion where doing so won't endanger any operation or life.
Bravo Zulu to BGen Day, and BZ to those in his Command!
posted by Babbling Brooks at 12:09 p.m.
5 Comments:
Let me be another voice that offers congratulations and thanks for their service to all of CANSOFCOM and a special congratulations on the promotion as well as thanks to BGen Day for his service and leadership.
B-Z, BGen Day.
Someday, years or decades from now, stories of the feats of daring and great victories of the Allied Special Forces in the War on Terror will come out. No doubt many stories will be incredible, the kind of things on which great books could be written and riveting movies could be made.
Until then, we can only say thank you to these great Warriors, and remember them in our thoughts and prayers.
Thoughts, prayers and a big heap of admiration for these folks.
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 01/12/2010 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.
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