Forced to Change

Tells the story of how the Canadian Forces weathered the perfect storm of scandals and budget slashing in the 1990s, and emerged by reshaping its culture from the top down. The "decade of darkness" tool a heavy toll, particularly on the Canadian Forces Officers Corps. Forced to Change tells the story of the long path to reform.

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Undeniably, the 1990s were a period of crisis for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Drastic budget reductions and a series of endless scandals all collided to form the perfect storm. The outcome of this was nothing short of the implosion of the Canadian Armed Forces Officer Corps.

Stripped by the government of the right to regulate itself, the Officer Corps, which represented the nation’s stewards of the profession of arms, was forced to reform itself. Key to this transformation was education. However, the road was not easy, as cultural change rarely is.

Forced to Change tells the story of how the Canadian Armed Forces found itself at its lowest point in history and how it managed to reform itself. The question is whether it was a fundamental transformation or just a temporary adjustment to weather the storm.