DM/CDS Message: CMCRB to present recommendations on the future of military colleges

December 6, 2023 - Defence Stories

Following the Minister of National Defence (MND) acceptance of recommendations 28 and 29 of the Independent External Comprehensive Review (IECR), the Canadian Military Colleges Review Board (CMCRB) has been launched and convened for the first time. The CMCRB, comprised of five external education and culture experts, and two internal DND/CAF members, has one year to make recommendations pertaining to the IECR’s two related recommendations.

The CMCRB will analyze the benefits, advantages, and disadvantages, both to the CAF and Canada, of continuing to educate Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP) naval/officer cadets at Canada’s two military colleges – Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston and RMC Saint-Jean. It will focus specifically on reviewing the current quality of education, socialization, and military training at the colleges and consider and assess different education and training models. The CMCRB will employ a documented, evidence-based approach and will consult widely, both in Canada and abroad, and with current and former CAF members with lived experience. It will make a recommendation on whether the military colleges should continue in their current form or in a different form as undergraduate degree-granting institutions, or whether officer candidates should be required to attend civilian university instead.

The Board will be led by the Chairperson, Dr. Kathy Hogarth, and supported by Dr. Chantal Beauvais, a young adult socialization expert; Mr. Michael Goldbloom, a culture evolution expert; Dr. Renée Légaré, an executive expert; Dr. Martin Maltais, an academic expert; Ms. Suneeta Millington, a DND executive; and Colonel Kyle Solomon as the military representative.

The application process for external CMCRB members was conducted independently of DND/CAF. In total, 175 Canadians applied. The CMCRB Secretariat and ADM(HR-Civ) assisted in the selection of the internal departmental executive, and the military representative was chosen through the regular General Officer/Flag Officer selection process.

We do not know what our military colleges will look like in the future. Any naval/officer cadet currently enrolled, and any student applying and being selected, will be seen through their academic journey regardless of CMCRB recommendations and final decisions from DND/CAF. Recommendations must also consider the variety of programs and activities delivered via the military colleges to a range of Defence Team personnel outside of the ROTP.

The CAF uses a variety of entry plans to fill officer rank positions, including subsidized education at civilian institutions, military post-secondary institutions (Canadian military colleges), recruitment of university graduates, and ongoing in-service education plans. Our two military colleges educate and develop a sizable portion (almost half, though this varies by year) of the officer corps in the Regular Force.

Recent initiatives well underway at the military colleges align with IECR recommendations and address equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigenous-related learning, and culture change. Changes are being done with consideration to how all naval/officer cadets, including equity-seeking groups, experience the colleges. This work builds on the many studies conducted at the military colleges over the past decades.

Historically, military colleges have played an important role in the education of officers, both in Canada and amongst allies and partner nations around the world. The CMCRB has a large task ahead of it, and we remain open to all findings that can help improve the quality of a military college education.

Bill Matthews
Deputy Minister

General Wayne D. Eyre
Chief of the Defence Staff