BIG BATTLE OVER JEANS AT RMC
1,000 cadets punished over dress code
The university that trains the Canadian Forces’ future officers is punishing almost 1,000 of its students because an unknown number of them have been wearing jeans on their personal time away from campus.
The code of conduct for officer cadets at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. requires them to wear what the military calls “smart casual” wear if leaving the college grounds after hours — “smart casual” being defined as a collared shirt and a pair of pants that are not jeans.
Because a number of officer cadets have regularly violated that dress code, the college is cracking down on the entire officer cadet corps.
According to an email Col. Chris Ayotte, director of cadets at the Royal Military College, sent to the school’s cadets to outline their punishment, the cadets are confined to the grounds of the college from March 1 to March 9, will have to undergo a series of dress and room inspections, and have been assigned cleanup duties around campus. According to some cadets who approached Postmedia, they were also brought out on parade in frigid weather Friday, but not allowed gloves or hats.
RMC has another 1,000 students, including some civilians, who are in graduate or part-time studies who are not subject to the mass punishment.
In an interview with Postmedia, Ayotte said the issue isn’t about blue jeans — it’s about whether the officers in training can follow orders.
“One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure our young officers understand the importance of following lawful orders,” he explained in an interview with Postmedia. “It’s not only allowed us to be successful in our daily jobs in the military in garrison in Canada but it’s certainly extremely important on operations and in difficult situations. You can’t be selective about the rules or policies that you follow.”
But Rory Fowler, a former Canadian Forces legal officer, said the military stepped over the line by punishing the entire officer cadet corps. “The enforcement mechanism says when any cadet breaks the rules that cadet can have certain privileges withdrawn,” said Fowler, a retired lieutenant colonel who is now practising with the Kingston law firm Cunningham Swan. “You can punish the cadet that broke the rules, not everybody.”
“The purpose of the code of conduct is to teach the officer cadets the importance of following rules which is a little bit ironic when it appears the chain of command in issuing this group punishment is not following any rule whatsoever,” Fowler added.
Depending on the cadets’ behaviour, he added, the punishment could be extended.
Ayotte could not provide details on how many of the 1,000 cadets might actually have violated the dress rules. In some cases, he said, cadets were spotted off campus by their fellow cadets and reported for dress code violations. In one case, Ayotte himself confronted a group of cadets as they were leaving campus.
Ayotte said it’s unclear whether the issue represents a clash between generations, as many young people see jeans as proper casual dress.
“I’m still trying to figure out if that is the case or not,” he said. “But I’m not sure that even matters because we still need our officers to understand the importance of following orders.”
Some cadets who approached Postmedia, however, say punishment for wearing jeans shows the Canadian Forces is completely out of tune with realities of modern society. “These ridiculous measures from the director of cadets are extremely damaging to the health and well-being of everyone here,” said an email from one cadet, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of facing further discipline from the school. “RMCC has had major problems with cadet suicide in the past and this type of thing is why.”
Another suggested the cadets were being treated like prisoners.
In his email to cadets, Ayotte said that the leadership has been trying to deal with the issue of dress since September 2017, but with limited success.
“Some have worked hard to enforce the rules and change culture; I thank you for your efforts,” he wrote. “Everyone else has either passively or actively supported the violation of this rule and, therefore, failed as a leader or a follower; you must do better and you will do better.”
YOU CAN’T BE SELECTIVE ABOUT THE RULES OR POLICIES THAT YOU FOLLOW.