The Top 5’s Final Announcements as They Make Their Way off Stage:
The Top 5 officer cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada are winding down their semester leading the college and prepare for the handover to a fresh new bar slate with positive outlooks.
Article coordinated by: 26659 OCdt (III) Danielle Andela Cadet Wing Internal Information Officer
Being the Cadet Wing Commander at RMCC is a unique opportunity that allows to test any individual’s leadership capabilities. In fact, being in charge of nearly a thousand Officer Cadets allowed me to develop managing skills that are applicable anywhere else in the CAF. As the CWC, you get the opportunity to develop your skills in assessing and understanding group dynamic and psychology on a very large scale. This allows you to be able to understand the “big picture”, and you learn how to apply procedures and orders at a very high level of leadership.
Considérant le fait que les Élofs séniors du Collège ont entre 3 et 4 ans d’expérience dans les FAC, être le COMA est tout un défi en soi. Il est primordial de pouvoir s’adapter à toutes les situations et de pouvoir apprendre de ses erreurs rapidement et efficacement. Afin de m’aider dans cette lourde tâche, le mentorat du DÉlof, le LCol Mark Popov, a été une ressource primordiale à mon apprentissage. Avoir la chance de pouvoir travailler avec un officier sénior tel que le DÉlof et d’apprendre de son expérience sur une base journalière est une opportunité remarquable.
This semester, there was a lot of change brought not only by the new members of the Training Wing, but also by the Cadet Wing Chain of Authority. OCdts are now running in PT gear, and Circles have been brought back in the daily routine at RMCC. The Training Wing, along with the Cadet Wing, are working hand in hand in order to achieve the intent of having a more autonomous Cadet Wing in a way that the leadership of every OCdt can be developed while they are at the College.
L’Escadre des Élofs à fait face à beaucoup de défis durant le semestre. L’excellent travail du Top 5, ainsi que de la Chaîne d’Autorité, nous ont permis de faire face à chacun de ceux-ci de manière efficace. Je suis extrêmement satisfait du progrès que l’Escadre des Élofs a fait durant le semestre d’automne, et je suis 
confiant que la Chaîne d’Autorité du semestre d’hiver, menée par l’Élof Zach Day, sera en mesure de continuer à faire avancer l’Escadre dans la même direction. Mon temps en tant que COMA porte à sa fin, et je souhaite prendre cette occasion pour féliciter les membres de la Chaîne d’Autorité, ainsi que tout les Élofs de l’Escadre pour leur dur travail durant le semestre d’automne.
Good luck during your final exams, and enjoy your Christmas vacations!
Bonne chance dans vos examens finaux, et profitez tous de vos vacances de Noël!
Your CWC / Votre COMA,
– OCdt (IV) Jean-Francois Lizée
It’s hard to quantify the particular success of any cadet leadership team here at the college. With all of the ups and downs of the Cadet Wing it is extremely important to give perspective. The Top 5, Top 9 and by extension the entire cadet CoA, faced many unexpected obstacles during the fall semester. It was an absolute pleasure working with the other members of the command team, as well as the TW staff, in order to manage and overcome the challenges that we faced. The cadet leadership positions are all about finding out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Primarily relationship based, being a senior cadet at the College really gives you the opportunity to deal with people, resulting in both positive and negative experiences; all of which you can learn from. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make decisions, learn from my mistakes and, hopefully, mentor those cadets that will be moving into senior positions in the Winter Semester of 2015.
– OCdt 26257 (IV) Zachary Day – Deputy Cadet Wing Commander
Fall 2014 was an extremely busy but rewarding semester. With Badging Parade, the Drill Competition, the Remembrance Day events, and the implementation of new directives such as running in PT gear, there was a lot to keep the Training Officer’s chain busy! My biggest contribution to the Cadet Wing was bringing back Circles, now known as Circuits and including an upper body workout. With the support and help of the CWC and the CWSRO, 26547 OCdt Pym, we brought back a corrective measure which could appropriately address PE and PT related deficiencies. The biggest highlight of the semester, as per prior years, was the Winter Ball, there were many leadership challenges leading up to it, but the Ball was a great way to underline the end of the semester and all we had accomplished.
– OCdt (IV) Boris Trudel – Cadet Wing Training Officer
Au cours du semestre d’automne 2014, j’ai eu le privilège d’être la CWAdO pour l’escadre. Bien que ce soit un rôle de 
soutient, j’ai énormément appris sur le déroulement de l’administration au sein d’une unité. Cet apprentissage me sera utile tout au long de ma carrière que ce soit pour ma troupe, mon escadron ou à plus grande échelle. De plus, mon équipe de AdO, au niveau de division ou d’escadron, a été un précieux support sans lequel, l’escadre n’aurait jamais pu survivre. Le travail d’équipe est toujours extrêmement important même dans un rôle de soutient. Je suis très reconnaissante d’avoir eu l’opportunité d’être un membre du top 5 et c’est maintenant le temps à l’Élof Otis de prendre le flambeau.
– OCdt 26281 (IV) Emmanuelle Piché – Officier d’Administration de l’Escadre des Élofs
Going through this semester as the Cadet Wing Operations Officer really gave me some insight into how a unit the size of the Cadet Wing needs to be managed. I was lucky to have had excellent members of the senior barslate around me and it was a pleasure being part of the team with them. Being in the top 5 this semester really gave quite a bit of valuable experience with managing people, resources, and most importantly, time. I am sure that what I have learned from my time as CWOpsO will be valuable to me throughout my career as well as for my life beyond that. As the Fall semester comes to an end and the Winter semester looms over the horizon, I look forward to handing the reigns over to my successor, who I know will do an even better job than I was able to.
– OCdt 26101 (IV) Bradley Ticky – Cadet Wing Operations Officer
What the Top 5 had to say back in April – Here
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Congratulations to the New Top 5!
Article coordinated by: 26659 OCdt (III) Danielle Andela Cadet Wing Internal Information Officer
The new Top 5 of the College have been chosen and the incoming Cadet Wing Commander, OCdt 26257 
(IV) Zachary Day (photo right) had a few words to say about the incoming semester:
“Change is always a dangerous word to use when referring to the Cadet Wing. All Cadet Wing leadership teams try to institute change, pushing for good change as compared to bad. A single semester is not enough time to alter the big muscle movements of the College; unlike at West Point, our leadership positions don’t last the entire school year. During second semester it is always important for the Barslate to keep the ball rolling. Continuing the ideas and the intent from the previous semester is more effective and efficient than starting from scratch.
La variété est très important lorsque vous dirigez un groupe des élofs qui ont les motivations et ambitions différentes. Trouver l’équilibre entre les petits réglages et grands changements radicaux est un défi qui est toujours souligné au collège. Même le plus petit des décisions peuvent affecter une grande partie de l’escadre. Travaillant en étroite collaboration avec l’escadre de l’entraînement pour s’assurer que les modifications qui sont apportées sont expliquées et communiquées proprement est essentiel pour leur mise en œuvre réussie.
Trying to push the decisions and authority to the lowest levels in the Cadet CoA is a key objective for the winter semester. Having the divisions and squadrons feel like they are their own empowered entity, while also being part of the larger college team, is essential for promoting responsibility and accountability. I am fortunate to have an incredibly strong leadership team moving into the winter semester. They are all hard working, strong willed and eager to fill the big shoes left behind by OCdt Lizée and his team from the fall semester.”
