Cadet Program Bloated and Bureaucratic

[Colonel Sanders]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Cadet ... story.html

A new National Defence report is questioning the need for the military’s cadet program that has grown bloated with managers whose salaries eat up much of the budget that is supposed to be used to support youth.

Management and administration is consuming more than half of the cadet budget. Of the $239 million annual cadet budget in 2011, $148 million went to pay and benefits for managers and administrators, the CRS evaluation found.

Oh, Canada.

When the Ottawa Citizen - the leading cheerleader for the
bureaucrats in the national capital region - print something
as critical as this, you know there is a problem.

[iflyforpie]

The Cadets are doing their part to help these elite get their hard-earned cash....

Military budget cuts are leaving cadets out in the cold, with a freeze on the purchase of parkas just as winter kicks in.

A $2-million chop to the outfitting budget also means some of Canada's 53,000 cadets will have to recycle and swap used uniforms, and to forgo military-issue gym gear.

The clothing crunch comes as the Canadian Forces are being ask to tuck and trim everywhere to help the Harper government slay the federal deficit by 2015.

Retired generals take aim at Ottawa's military cuts
Canada's cadets started the year with a $13-million budget for outfits but in the last few weeks were told to give back $2 million.

Expensive parkas were the first item of kit to be banned, even as a post-holiday surge of recruits is expected in January.

Cadets are being told to acquire their own parkas, as well as their own gym shorts, T-shirts and other workout clothing.

"Regrettably you will have to wear your personal parka over your uniform if the weather conditions warrant it," says a Dec. 13 order from Col. Conrad Namiesniowski, director for cadets and junior rangers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/militar ... -1.2476663

[Colonel Sanders]

Every bloated, bureaucratic organization is the same.

When their budget is cut, the overpaid and underworked
administrators are NEVER cut.

This is true in spades of the education and health system.

No bureaucrat ever stands up and says the truth - that
they need to lay off bureaucrats.

[Gannet167]

"The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy", Oscar Wilde.

[B52]

It's tragic that the Government decides to take away Cadet's parkas when they have a large number of officers
that could be reduced or, they could do some form of means test for cadet's parents
who may be at the bottom end of the income spectrum.

What the government forgets in this decision is that the Cadet program
makes a hell of a contribution to producing functional adults while
our high schools have around 50% pot use and 10% Molly use that is
turning out ever increasing quantities of dysfunctional kids who will grow up
and breed another generation of kids even more likely to be like their parents.

[frozen solid]

This is pretty discouraging. The cadet program seems to be under siege lately.

I'm disappointed that the cadets will not be wearing CF parkas over their uniforms anymore. One thing about the cadets is how smart they look in their uniforms. Wearing multi-coloured ski jackets isn't going to do much for their public image, not to mention their self-image.

I've been thinking about cadets a lot lately for some reason, I guess as I progress along my career, which has been most satisfying so far, I sometimes think about how I would probably be a drug-dealer or an office executive or something equally unsavory if my Dad hadn't sold me to the cadets so they could stuff me into an itchy green uniform, force me to cut my hair, yell at me, and teach me to shoot and fly aeroplanes. I'll always be grateful to the Canadian Forces for doing that (and my Dad).

These days I think there's less "military" stuff in the cadets. I think parents object to it or something. I guess the parkas are just the latest thing they're gonna lose. Poor kids.

I know the CF is primarily concerned with fighting bad guys and training real soldiers, airmen and sailors, but still, taking the cadets' parkas away seems like a spurious way to cut the defense budget by any meaningful amount.

[ThatArmyGuy]

they had to take the parkas away from the cadets so they could sew 2 together to make one for the CICs

[Gannet167]

they had to take the parkas away from the cadets so they could sew 2 together to make one for the CICs

Sadly I don't know if 2 would be enough.

But if the cadets are to prepare youth for entry into the military, it's probably best they emulate the real military and they're doing a pretty good job "while the army was fighting a deadly and challenging war in Kandahar, headquarters staff grew four times as fast as the fighting force did" http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/09/16/a-man-of-action/

[2R]

Be very careful discussing military capabilities on a public forum. Any discussions on the New Ottawa Mark Twelve desk should be done so as not to divulge any information that might be useful to an enemy. The recent upgrades to the ergonomic improvements to the Mark Twelve desks should not reveal the latest improvement to the Mark Twelve interstellar warp drive or the expandable Ikea mods that increase the pencil and pen holding capabilities.
The Mark Twelve desk when used as a force multiplier has a multiplier expansion kill ratio that is a marked improvement on the mark eleven desk and worth the 22 billion upgrade fees and 44 billions in military consultancy fees to advise those civilians in government who are ignorant of all things military(Hookers and coke are not cheap these days). These upgraded desks are only a temporary improvement until the new ultra-secret stealth desks can be deployed. Once the bugs with the invisible stools have been sorted out the new desks should prove themselves worthy of the 330 billion dollar per dozen and come with a complete after sales maintenance and cleaning service. The temporary fix of cleverly painting the invisible stools to look like ordinary corporate lackie chairs. As these paint fixes are only temporary the use of cheap toxic paint will be allowed as it will provide employment to the recently downsized returning front line sappers.
The Mark Twelve has improved topside surface coatings that speed up the movement of red taped documents by at least twelve weeks. These improved efficiencies will allow the desk operator to have at least 42.6 minutes of coffee break time an hour without requiring any redundancies in the desk operator forces.
Can we or should we discuss the low environmental impact of the Mark Twelve in a public forum ?

[ThatArmyGuy]

while the army was fighting a deadly and challenging war in Kandahar, headquarters staff grew four times as fast as the fighting force did" http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/09/16/a-man-of-action/

+1

having been there, I can attest to the combat force reduction and the HQ augmentation - "everyone needs a medal"

[frozen solid]

Isn't this a version of the same thing that's happening everywhere? Everything in today's world that is nice or high-end is referred to as "executive". You can buy an "executive home", and travel in "executive class" seating, and I even have "executive cut" shirts. What does it all really mean? We have to look after the suits first. The guys who do the work come second, and live in crappy houses, travel in coach, and have lousy shirts (under the orange vests). Lay 'em off, cut back on the ammo and the training, take away their pensions, whatever it takes so no office-guy goes unrewarded.

[Colonel Sanders]

$14,000 would have bought some clothes for the kids:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/27 ... ro-powers/

Defence researchers spent almost $14,000 on a survey that asked whether superheroes can leap over skyscrapers.

The study for the research arm of National Defence also asked 150 people online whether superheroes can fly through the air; see through walls; hear whispers from miles away; become invisible; and walk through walls.

I really wish I was making this up.

[Colonel Sanders]

The government earmarked $459 million for management consultants — with Public Works accounting for $184 million. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development was the next biggest buyer of management consulting with a budget of $45.5 million.

We should all become Management Consultants, and write
white papers about Global Strategic Initiatives.

This is an aviation posting because the above list shows
Allied Wings at $78.5M. If that doesn't satisfy the Canadian
content, er, aviation content rules I can post some more
pictures.

[Colonel Sanders]

Meanwhile, back to David Dingwall, whom was famously
quoted for saying that he was "entitled to his entitlements".

This came out recently, after quite a fight with Canada Post
which battled to suppress this information:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/22 ... -minister/

Canada Post says it doesn’t have details about what it got in exchange for reportedly paying $1 million over six years to the firm of a former Liberal cabinet minister right after he was defeated in the 1997 election.

The contract came to light after a lengthy battle and investigation by the federal information commissioner that was launched when the corporation declined to release records requested by Montreal newspaper La Presse, under access to information legislation.

The newspaper reported that the contract called for monthly payments of $15,000 for strategic advice in management and labour relations.

In the government, you get your money for nothing
and your chicks for free.

For six years, Canada Post didn't notice that it didn't
get anything for a million bucks, which is peanuts to
our government. Then it fought fiercely to stop this
information from getting out. And failed.

That million bucks would have bought some parkas, though.

[Rudy]

forgo military-issue gym gear

They're lucky. Remember those short shorts?

[Beefitarian]

That million bucks would have bought some parkas, though.

You miss spelled "could" or "should" obviously there is a huge line up of corrupt politicians from every party waiting their turn at the trough. It "would" have been stolen by someone else I'm sure.

[all_ramped_up]

forgo military-issue gym gear

They're lucky. Remember those short shorts?

lol That's what I was thinking. Flashbacks from Basic Training looking like a 1970s Basketball Team... in 1996!

There definitely needs to be some "reorganization" of the CIC. In the last 10 years the program has really been changed for the worse. (IMHO)

[CPLMike89]

This really is a shame, like many of you on here I got my start in the cadet program. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I received through this program but I do recall the CIC role in the program to be top heavy and overly political at times losing sight of why they are there in the first place.

[Colonel Sanders]

The leeches are everywhere:

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/27 ... -students/

the body has hardened into an out-of-touch, money-squandering bureaucracy

Wow. Sound familiar?

[kevind]

http://www.crs-csex.forces.gc.ca/report ... 8-eng.aspx

This is interesting read

[Big Pistons Forever]

http://www.crs-csex.forces.gc.ca/report ... 8-eng.aspx

This is interesting read

Very. It is a pretty devastating report.

It is interesting that reducing the 861 full time staff by only about 25 persons would pay for Parka's for all the Cadets.....

[Colonel Sanders]

Charities suffer from exactly the same problem. Heavy
bureaucratic overhead, with very little of the money actually
spent on operations.

Everywhere you look, it's the same. Bureaucratic leeches
building empires.

[Dash-Ate]

Pretty sad state. In another (next?) life I'd do the cadets at age 16. Have suggested it to a few.

Say can we blame this all on the Liberals who've been out of power for 8 years now? There's no way the god & guns/ law & order crowd could let this stand?

[North Shore]

Say can we blame this all on the Liberals who've been out of power for 8 years now? There's no way the god & guns/ law & order crowd could let this stand?

Heard about the 'Conservatives' in the Senate recently?

[Colonel Sanders]

You guys honestly think the bureaucrats could
care less what the elected government wants?

Elections Canada regularly raids the PC headquarters.

I swear, this was a documentary:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister

His various struggles to formulate and enact legislation or effect departmental changes are opposed by the British Civil Service

can we blame this all on the Liberals who've been out of power for 8 years now?

You sound like Obama, whining about George Bush.