Today was both a happy and sad day for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in that it lost its’ old Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) but got a new one at a ceremony held at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. Today, Gen Tom Lawson relinquished the CDS chair to the new CDS Gen Jonathan Vance. It was an affair filled to the brim with people of importance from the Governor-General of Canada, David Johnston, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, the Minister of National Defence, Jason Kenney, and a myriad of General Officers and Flag Officers.
The ceremony started with the inspection of a 100 man Guard of Honour outside the room where the actual change ceremony was going to be held. Salutes were given and the Governor-General, with Prime Minister and CDS in tow, inspected the ranks and talked to the assembled troops before getting on with the ceremony proper. Once inside, Gen Lawson gave his remarks and made sure everyone was aware of the role his wife had played in his successful career. This was followed by the passing of the CAF Ensign from Gen Lawson to the Governor-General who in turn passed it on to Gen Vance. After that, the documents were signed and the change was complete. Remarks were forthcoming from the Prime Minister, Minister if National Defence, and Gen Vance before the the ceremony ended and it was time for the reception. One nice presentation occurred when Gen Lawson’s driver presented him with the banner that flew from his car these last few years.
Shooting in the Shaw Centre is bad enough but the security around all the politicians kind of ruined the fun. First, for the Guard of Honour, the media was restricted to small risers behind the rows of soldiers. The risers were not high enough to get clean shots of the participants because the soldiers blocked the line of sight and once you were on the risers, you weren’t allowed off to roam. As well, the Governor-General was taking the salute facing the soldiers but he was in front of a massive west facing window and any photographer knows the issues with shooting against windows. Inside the ceremony room was not much better. Media was restricted to risers and couldn’t even get shots from the sides or down the center aisle. When the CAF Ensign was passed, it was placed in a flag stand that effectively blocked whatever side shots you could get from the right side. So, everyone essentially got podium shots from in front of or slightly to the side of the podium. Last, when presentations were made, they were all done with the backs of the presenter and/or the recipient to audience/media (except one where Gen Lawson turned around and showed the car banner) That’s it. No chance to show what you can do.
The highlight of the whole day for me had nothing to do with the ceremony but had to do with meeting Curtis, the bomb sniffing dog. With all the important people around, the media was sequestered and all of our equipment was checked by Curtis prior to the start of the event. Curtis is a German Shepherd of 1 1/2 years and is still, so it seemed, a puppy (maybe a hundred pounds with feet as big as my hand, but a puppy still). Then the handler put the work collar on him and play stopped and work began. It was really interesting to watch and as soon as Curtis was done and got his reward, it was time to play again and have a pee (the police got to clean it up and luckily he missed all the camera equipment on the floor)
Best luck to Tom and Kelly on retirement and good luck to Gen Vance.
audio – Gen Lawson’s speech
audio – Governor-General Johnston’s speech
audio – Prime Minister Harper’s speech
audio – Minister of National Defence Kenney’s speech
audio – CDS Gen Vance’s speech
To see all the pictures, CLICK HERE
