Post-Somalia Reform in the Canadian Armed Forces: Leadership, Education, and Professional Development

After the “Somalia Affair” of the early 1990s, a government investigation concluded that the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) had become dysfunctional as a professional military force and needed to be comprehensively reformed. It was perceived to be a deeply-flawed institution whose soldiers were ill-prepared, without discipline, and lacking leadership, leading to systemic breakdown and pointing clearly to an inappropriate organizational culture. The subsequent reform movement initiated by the government in 1997 to address these perceived problems covered a range of issues, but a critical focus was the need to redress the failure of military leadership, alter the way in which the Canadian military perceives of itself as a professional organization, and to inculcate an ethos appropriate to the CAF. This dissertation analyzes that reform process, applying concepts of military innovation and change, organizational culture, and organizational learning to determine which factors had the greatest influence on the introduction and process of change in the post-Somalia context. It assesses the degree to which the reforms specifically dedicated to officer training, education, and professional development have been implemented and the impact they have had on the CAF as an institution. Ultimately, it concludes that the CAF is a fundamentally different institution today than it was when the post-Somalia reform program was first launched. This is undoubtedly a result of its engagement with the reforms and efforts made to introduce new concepts, values, narratives, and behaviours into CAF practices, procedures, and expectations. While it is still not clear that the CAF has completely institutionalized all of the intended changes, a shift in culture has occurred, improvements can be identified, and the process of change and introspection remains ongoing.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Military and Strategic Studies

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Arts

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Domansky, Katie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Bercuson, David Jay

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Herwig, Holger H.
• Keeley, James F.
• Hiebert, Maureen S.
• Horn, Bernd

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/34926

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/109304