Product Description

In the summer of 2008, General Rick Hillier retired as Chief of the Defence staff of the Canadian Forces. You could almost hear the sigh of relief in Ottawa as Canada's most popular, and most controversial, military leader since the second World War left a role in which he'd been as frank, unpredictable and resolutely apolitical as any of his predecessors.

Born and raised in Newfoundland, Hillier joined the military as a young man and quickly climbed the ranks. He played a significant role in such domestic challenges as the ice storm that paralyzed much of eastern Ontario and Quebec in 1998, and quickly became a player on the international scene, commanding an American corps in Texas and a multinational NATO task force in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But it was his role as General Rick Hillier, Canada's Chief of the Defence staff, that defined him as a Canadian icon.

In Afghanistan, Canada faced its first combat losses since the Korean War, with every casualty becoming front page news. A country formerly ambivalent, or even angry, about its role in the conflict suddenly became gripped by the drama unfolding not only in a war zone halfway around the world but in unfriendly conference rooms in Ottawa. There, as everywhere, Hillier pulled no punches, demanding more funding, more troops and more appreciation for the women and men fighting a war on foreign soil. This hard-hitting, honest account of Hillier's role -- told in his own words -- will be one of the most important books published in Canada this decade.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-08
• Binding: Hardcover

About the Author
General Rick Hillier, born in Newfoundland and Labrador, enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 1973 through the Regular Officer Training Plan program. He graduated from Memorial University in 1975 with a B.Sc. degree. In May 2003 Hillier was appointed Commander of the Army, and in October 2003 he was selected as the Commander of the NATO-led International security Assistance Force (IsAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. General Hillier was promoted to Chief of the Defence staff in February 2005 and stepped down in the summer of 2008.

Customer Reviews

Good bio
It was a good biography and an excellent overview of our former top military brass. I enjoyed the diffrent insight he gave about his operationnal experience and his opinion about the state of the CF in his first half of his career. Great spokeman for our Forces.

Tell it like it is/was
A book everyone should read if they are interested in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces or Rick Hillier himself. He calls accurate shots on the UN, NATO, the Afghan Government and the bureaucrat-diplomats of the ministry of Foreign Affairs or whatever it calls itself now. This book is probably one of the most outspoken and accurate accounts of what Canadians are doing in Afghanistan. Clearly it is a chance for Canadian soldiers to shine as well as die. But they are all volunteers. Even those who disagree with the Canadian role in Afghanistan will rejoice that Canada has finally produced a good leader only to have him retire - and brave soldiers to match his excellent leadership. It is also heart-warming to see a leader who tells his political masters what is really required. He was all about getting the ordinary people of Canada behind the Forces, and hence the approval; of necessary funds to renew all the relevant arms

But one suspects that this Afghanistan experience is also about a meaningful role for the Canadian Forces after years of so-called "peacekeeping" where nothing happens unless it was agreeable to the Security Council members and the states involved (see also Romeo dÁllaire's story par example). Also, remember when Egypt ordered the UN out of their territory just before they got waxed in the 1967 war. Hillier is rightfully disdainful of the UN and NATO after the end of the Cold War

excellent
Excellent, general Hillier did it again, Frank, Candid, give us a better understanding of the military