By Martin Zeilig
Being a “Visiting Defence Fellow” at the University of Manitoba has provided Colonel Christopher Morrison with an opportunity to, as he observes, “have another development period” to better prepare for future career challenges in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Col. Morrison was at 1 Canadian Air Division for the last few years in various roles, most notably as the Director of Fleet Readiness, before starting the year-long VDF program in August 2024.
A native of Owen Sound, Ontario, Col. Morrison, trained as a helicopter pilot, has been in the CAF for over 30 years. He was interviewed by The Voxair on February 3.
Col. Morrison works closely with Andrea Charron, Ph.D., Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies (CDSS) at the university.
“The University of Manitoba has been chosen as one of three universities (Queen’s and Carleton) to host a Visiting Defence Fellow via the Centre for Defence and Security Studies (CDSS),” Dr. Charron wrote in an email to The Voxair. “Queen’s and Carleton have hosted both national and international military fellows,” she added. The 2024/2025 academic year is the first opportunity for the U of M to host a VDF: Col. Morrison, Royal Canadian Air Force.”
Dr. Charron explained that the purposes of the Visiting Defence Fellows (VDF) Program are four-fold. First, it enhances Canadian Armed Forces’ VDF expertise on critical defence issues. “Second, it offers research fellows opportunities to research, publish, and engage with national security experts at select Canadian universities,” she said. “Third, it provides opportunities for civilian students, university faculty, and staff to gain insights into the uniformed military world. Fourth, it provides an important alternative to the Canadian military’s National Security Program (NSP) for senior personnel that would otherwise require a 10-month relocation to Toronto and relative isolation from the public.”
She added that Col. Morrison has delivered several lectures to students and the public. He has also coauthored several chapters with Dr. Charron and her esteemed colleague, international relations and strategic studies specialist Dr. James Fergusson. “He attends classes to enrich his basic knowledge and has been a source of expert knowledge for students and the CDSS,” she said.
Col. Morrison maintains that the VDF is an important way to ensure a range of options in professional development—it doesn’t have to be a “one size fits all” for senior leaders in the CAF. “Having an opportunity to engage with the academic world is really valuable,” commented Col. Morrison, who has been on several overseas deployments over the years, including the U.N. Peacekeeping mission in Mali for seven months in the summer of 2018.
“The U of M is one of the few universities in Canada to have a dedicated centre for military and security studies. A new VDF will open soon at Laval University (in Quebec). The VDF program also complements the various exchange opportunities that exist in the U.S., NATO, and other countries, including the U.K. and Australia.”
Col. Morrison points out that he doesn’t fall under a formal degree program or obtain credits for the courses he’s taken. “But on the flip side of that coin, I’m not constrained by a degree program, so I have the latitude to take a number of postgraduate courses that interest me,” he said. “I’ve done a course on Arctic studies, a course on Canadian Foreign and Defence Policies, a Strategic Studies course, a course on Genocide, Public Administration, and the U.N. Security Council. At the end of the year, the plan is that I’ll be returning to work at 2 Canadian Air Division. Overall, this has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I certainly hope that this partnership with the University of Manitoba is sustained.
“It was a unique way to have the ‘check in the box’ to say I’ve completed the development period four requirement, which is needed to open up the possibility for promotion to the rank of General.”
It’s another example of the high-quality educational opportunities available in the RCAF and the CAF in general.
Comentarios