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  • ND by the GOC SF

    I like this lads attitude, however, there may be more to the story.
    It would be interesting to hear from our Canadian mates about this.



    Canada’s top special forces soldier has been charged after accidentally firing his rifle as he prepared to visit the frontlines in northern Iraq.


    Maj.-Gen. Mike Rouleau, a special forces combat veteran and head of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, will face a court martial for a “negligent discharge” from his firearm last year, the Canadian military said.

    Rouleau immediately reported the Dec. 21 incident to Gen. Jon Vance, chief of the defence staff, and was put under a lengthy investigation.

    The special forces commander was not available for interview Wednesday, but issued a statement to Postmedia.

    “While preparing to go to a forward trench position as I was arranging my equipment, I negligently discharged one bullet into a safe area while loading my assault rifle,” he explained.

    “As a soldier and as a special operations assaulter, the only acceptable standard of care with a weapon is error-free.”

    While most negligent discharges are dealt with through a summary trial process, because of Rouleau’s senior rank the charge has to be sent to a court martial. He has been charged under Section 129 of the National Defence Act of neglect to the prejudice of good order and discipline.

    No date has yet been set for his court martial.

    Rouleau recently sent a message to the 2,000 members of his command explaining the incident.

    “As a qualified special operations assaulter – and as a soldier – I am expected to safely handle weapons,” he said.

    “I made a mistake, I reported the mistake and I own my mistake 100 per cent. Accountability is the bedrock of our discipline as a military special forces organization.”

    “As the commanding general, I am every bit as accountable as the youngest private in the force,” he added.

    He also noted he would accept full responsibility at the court martial.

    “Accountability underpins our actions as soldiers and especially as leaders,” he said.

    The Canadian Forces laid 213 charges related to negligent discharges in 2013-14 and 107 in 2015-16.

    Rouleau said he regrets the mistake because he worries it will divert attention from the excellent work being done by members of his command.

    The general has made multiple trips to northern Iraq where Canadian special forces are training Kurdish troops in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

    The Liberal government has expanded the special forces’ numbers to about 200.

    Rouleau is a former commanding officer of the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2.

    He joined the counter-terrorism force in 1994, eventually commanding tactical-level assault forces and larger groups of special forces. In 2006-07 he headed Canada’s special operations task force in Afghanistan.
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere***
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.

  • #2
    Well done to him for admitting he f*cked up.
    For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

    Comment


    • #3
      Now that's an honest man

      Comment


      • #4
        Jeez, when I saw the title of the thread I thought it was about Gerry!

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        • #5
          Fair play to him. Especially in that envoirnment, the easy option would have been "Nothing happened, drinks on me later!"...
          'He died who loved to live,' they'll say,
          'Unselfishly so we might have today!'
          Like hell! He fought because he had to fight;
          He died that's all. It was his unlucky night.
          http://www.salamanderoasis.org/poems...nnis/luck.html

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          • #6
            If he was a cop he would be buying cakes for the unit.
            For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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            • #7
              I once worked with a lad who had a ND with a 40 mm grenade launcher and then another one in xmaglen when serving with the Coldstream guards. Believe that he was put in charge of the battalion laundry for the rest of the tour, and was then asked to leave.

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              • #8
                Leadership is easy to say... but it's hard to do. MGen Rouleau is leading by example.
                "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                Never give up!!"

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Jungle View Post
                  Leadership is easy to say... but it's hard to do. MGen Rouleau is leading by example.
                  Hopefully just a slap on the knuckles.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Craghopper View Post
                    Hopefully just a slap on the knuckles.
                    Hopefully, he is treated fairly. If we fine a young Private $1000 for a ND, then you can't reasonably expect a Special Operations Assaulter to get a "slap on the knuckles".
                    "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                    Never give up!!"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Jungle View Post
                      Hopefully, he is treated fairly. If we fine a young Private $1000 for a ND, then you can't reasonably expect a Special Operations Assaulter to get a "slap on the knuckles".

                      Really? $1000?

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Tango_Charlie View Post
                        Really? $1000?
                        I just threw a figure out there. The amount depends on a number of factors and the circumstances.
                        The amount can be as little as $700, and as much as a couple thousand dollars.

                        Negligent discharges are a very serious matter for us. Years ago, a Soldier in the Canadian Airborne Regiment was shot by his best friend at the weapons cleaning table. Bullet to the head, killed him instantly. Considering the MGen is a Special Operations Assaulter, sitting at the top of the SOF food chain, he will likely pay more then a $1000. He can afford it, and it will demonstrate that nobody is above the law. Plus he is leading by example by manning up to his own ****up.

                        We'll see what the investigation comes up with, and if there is a court-martial.
                        "On the plains of hesitation, bleach the bones of countless millions, who on the very dawn of victory, laid down to rest, and in resting died.

                        Never give up!!"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          People have become so casual about weapons and ammunition handling, NDs are practically waiting to happen......I was at a reenactment event (friends taking part) at a well known Fort, near the sea, when one of the reenactors, waiting offside to go on, pulled out a .22 pellet gun, which looked like a BAP, and he and his mates began plinking at cans on the battlement wall, well within view of civvies. We were about 50 yards away and soon heard them at play, with ricochets zipping about. My friend, with no military experience, thought it was all a laugh, until I mentioned that bringing unsanctioned, live, projectile-firing weapons to a reenactment event was strictly forbidden (and is usually stipulated in the regs of reenactment groups), the hard backstop meant that the pellets would ricochet back and that "overs" were likely to fall on the seafront. At which point, he intervened and stopped the messing.

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                          • #14
                            Once was escort for 2 new lads to the unit who each had an ND but one with a blank and one with a live round(Separate exercises). Both advised beforehand to just fess up and say they made a mistake and had learned from the experience.

                            OC who was a good sport fined the one with the live round the price of the round and the other lad half that because it was a blank.

                            Sometimes a hefty punishment doesn't need to be dished out to people who have already learned their lesson.
                            To close with and kill the enemy in all weather conditions, night and day and over any terrain

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                            • #15
                              Was standing at the back of the Dining Hall in the Glen one day and saw a "funeral".

                              Doubt it still happens

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