Rot At The Pinnacle

"I was told I could come back into the Canadian Forces as a captain, maybe a major. When I was told that, I felt the contributions I had made were of no value. I was completely disgusted by an organization I once loved."

"He [Chief of the Defence Staff] excoriates the mid-level leadership of the forces for leaving but does nothing to hold general officers to account."

"This says a lot about the current state of affairs."

Lt.Col. Mark Popov, retired Canadian Forces officer

 

"I acknowledge the personal toll events toward the end of his career at RMC [Royal Military College] have likely had on LCol(ret'd) Popov and thank him for his contributions to the Canadian Armed Forces through his many years of service."

"I acknowledge that he was not afforded procedural fairness in all circumstances."

"The CAF took a series of restorative steps to address the issues raised in that grievance [Lt.Col Popov's grievance brought against the military command when he was removed from his command position at the RMC]." 

General Wayne Eyre, Chief of Defence Staff

The official flag for the Royal Military College. The flag looks as disgracefully ragged as the RMC reputation ...  Photo by IAN MACALPINE /Postmedia

For years the scandalous behaviour of top echelon Canadian military elites in all branches of the service has raised an undercurrent of outrage among victims of sexual harassment and assault in the military, both women and men. Official enquiries were launched, resulting reports rife with recommendations, lauded for a formula that would bring the Forces out of the dark ages. And then the top brass simply shelved such reports.

But not without assuring Parliament, Canadian troops and the public at large, that work was underway to change the culture of sexual harassment, and to hold perpetrators fully responsible, meting out justifiable punishment in consequence of their actions. That victims of sexual abuse would be heard and their testimony used to launch related investigations. At the time of the latest revelations, the-then retiring Chief of Defence Staff was himself accused of sexually abusing an officer under his command.

And then his replacement too, before he had adequately warmed the seat of CDC, was also the subject of an accusation, and he stepped away from the position. A series of revelations unfolded, one after another, with high-echelon military officers shrouded in accusations, relieved of duty temporarily as the military investigated itself, and leaving the impression that no one in high office in the Canadian military honoured an equitable, respectful code of conduct.

Before all this unfolded, in 2015, one conscientious officer charged with the directorship of cadets at RMC acted in good faith in an effort to hold military cadets accountable for conduct unbecoming decency. Officer cadets in July of 2015 disgraced themselves by harassing a group of 17-year-old female sea cadets visiting Royal Military College. These future leaders of the Canadian military saw fit to hang out of windows shouting at the girls, threatening rape, sodomy and forcing the minors to perform oral sex.

 

Officers present at the time attempted to intervene only to be told to "f---off". When Lt.Col. Popov got wind of what had occurred he rushed over to the scene ordering the officer cadets to their barracks. Then he addressed them with scathing remarks on their conduct, reading back to them the documented sexual provocations and threats they were responsible for. Adding some of his own curses at them for good measure in an effort to have them acknowledge their behaviour. Not one among the several hundred cadets expressed regret.

 

Some of these future military leaders were the sons of current Generals and they lost no time complaining to their fathers of the humiliating treatment they had been subjected to. As senior officers at National Defence Headquarters damned Lt.Col. Popov, who had served for 27 years, he soon found himself ostracized. Then-RMC commandant Brig.Gen.Sean Friday removed his subordinate from his command, focusing on his use of profanity when addressing the cadets.

"During my time as Commandant of RMC, we did our utmost to ensure that our future CAF leaders could thrive in a healthy and safe learning environment. I worked with my team to disseminate a comprehensive 'RMC Operation Order — OP HONOUR' that contained specific and detailed orders directing all staff, faculty and students to act with Character, Courage and Compassion in responding to and eradicating all forms of sexual harassment and misconduct.” 

“This order contained a newly developed [over the first three months of my time as Commandant], detailed multi-year Action Plan for providing a safe, healthy and harassment-free environment for students, staff and faculty and contributing to CAF efforts to achieve permanent improvement in this regard."

Brig.-Gen. Friday, then-commandant, Royal Military College

By 2018 his position had become untenable; his career track was broken, he had no support among the generals, and he was diagnosed with PTSD, linked to the toxic environment he was exposed to. Three years previously, when he had been removed from his command, he had filed a grievance, but it took four  years for his complaint to be addressed, and that happened a year after Lt.Col. Popov's withdrawal from the military. He was forced by mental stress to retire prematurely, without so much as an apology from the department.

The-then Chief of Staff had finally responded: "These breaches are certainly regrettable" .. the career-ending actions of superior officers. The decision to remove Lt.Col. Popov from command was deemed "null and void". The disciplinary action placed on record by the-then commandant against Lt.Col. Popov was ordered removed. $25,000 was made available by the military to Lt.Col. Popov to pay for the legal bill he had incurred defending himself.

As for his PTSD, he was offered referrals to website links where he might receive information how to deal with his ailment. He was also given the offer of re-enlisting if he accepted a demotion and as long as  his medical condition improved. In the aftermath of the situation being reported in the news, soldiers anonymously praised Lt.Col. Popov's officer-rank abilities, judging his treatment as yet another example of failed leadership at the elite levels of the Canadian Forces. 

In particular, it was noted that to protect a group of entitled officer cadets, a combat veteran had been sacrificed.

“The lack of action and the fact the senior leadership looked the other way sends a message to the perpetrators that they have a free hand to do what they want."

“I tried to do something about it, but the chain of command didn’t have my back."

"These individuals are now officers in the Canadian Forces. The predators, the creeps, they are the ones who won."

"You have a situation where the leadership talks about being serious in dealing with sexual misconduct and issues statements like that. But their actions never support that talk. It is a failure of leadership." 

Lt.Col. (retired) Mark Popov

A graduating class of officer cadets stand in the square at the Royal Military College of Canada during a graduating ceremony in Kingston, Ont., Friday, May 20, 2016. (Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press)