Lieutenant-General Lessard briefing March 24th 2010
By: 24558 Michael Desaulniers-Guitard
Lieutenant-General Lessard’s presentation to the RMC 4th year class during PMT on Wednesday, March 24th, touched upon several important and relevant subjects which gave soon-to-be 2LTs an important reminder of what everything we do at RMC is for, that is, preparation for future deployments and overseas operations.
Lt. General Lessard’s presentation focused on three aspects of what Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) does for Canada. Lt. General Lessard described high, middle, and low intensity operations which CEFCOM handles around the globe.
He described Afghanistan as an example CEFCOM’s high intensity deployment, with combat troops and a new emphasis of population-centric operations involving protection of the Afghan people from the Taliban.
Next, Lt. General Lessard described middle intensity operations such as the Navy’s role along the Horn of Africa combating pirates and securing international trade routes as part of Canada’s participation in the international effort on the U.S.-led War on Terror.
Lastly, the CEFCOM commander described low intensity operations in the context of Canada’s contributions to the disaster relief effort in Haiti and how the 2100+ Canadian Forces personnel have made a difference in that country.
To close his presentation, Lieutenant-General Lessard gave a few words of wisdom to the graduating class of 2010. As future junior commanders, the general told us that the adventure was just about to begin and that this was the greatest time to be in the CF (Lieutenant-General Lessard has been in the CF since 1974). He emphasised the need for us to be mentally and physically fit so as to be able to effectively lead when we would all eventually serve under CEFCOM one day.