Weaponization of military public affairs branch!

September 22, 2015. The Ottawa Citizen newspaper reports that the new Chief of the Defence Staff is calling for the 'weaponization of public affairs' which will focus on more 'strategic leaks' by the military which will emphasize 'good news stories".

According to General Jon Vance, he intends to "operationalize the [military] public affairs branch" so as to permit the military to better answer questions from the media in a timely manner and make subject matter experts available to respond to critical issues in a 'very dynamic and very fast paced information environment."

From a purely policy standpoint this is quite a turnaround breaking with the tradition by which the army in a democratic regime remains "la grande muette"!  Perhaps we can now anticipate the active participation of designated serving officers in the public dialogue taking place on military justice reforms.  Let's wait and see!