It wasn’t a significant mutiny — more of a micro-mutiny.
Coming from a 37-year career as a Canadian military public affairs officer, it was my experience that projects undertaken by my former branch would be ordered, structured, disciplined and conform to federal government policy.
So, it was surprising to read Postmedia’s article, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance and the “weaponization of public affairs,” in the Sept. 21, 2015 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.
In response to Vance’s direction, the Canadian military public affairs organization created the Military Strategic Communication division of the Public Affairs Branch.
The Military Public Affairs Enhancement and Employment Concept described the rationale for the makeover, noting that its current structure “lacks the proper readiness to effectively support overseas operations.”
It noted five deficiencies: insufficient military culture, expertise and readiness; reactive, rather than strategic-driven engagement; ineffectual management of visual communications; lack of innovation; and insufficient Canadian Armed Forces capacity and mindsets.
This was an attempt to establish DND-CAF public affairs as the responsible authority for strategic communication, information operations, influence operations, psychological operations, military deception and other information-related capabilities.
They also implemented several measures as part of the establishment of Military Strategic Communication, which Ottawa Citizen journalist David Pugliese enumerated in his Nov. 2, 2020 article, Canadian military wants to establish new organization to use propaganda, other techniques to influence Canadians:
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