CMEA National Conference Professional Development Day Presentations

22 November 2023

On 22 and 23 November 2023, the CMEA held its National Conference at the Novotel in Ottawa.  The first day of the Conference was devoted to Professional Development with over 100 people in attendance. It was also streamed live to a wide audience.

The PD Day included five sessions covering aspects of the Russian-Ukraine War of interest to Military Engineers. The war in its latest guise is now 21 months long - it has been one year and 272 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia on 24 February 2022.  But, as was brought out in the discussions, the Russian and Ukrainian conflict has a long history.  This current war, a near-peer military conflict on an unprecedented scale, is the biggest military operation in Europe since the Second World War.  

There is much for Military professionals to learn from the war: new doctrine and tactics, use of novel equipment, the application of non-kinetic means to shape the battlefield and public opinion, and old lessons being relearned.  For me, an old Cold War soldier, of whom there a many in the audience, there are many things happening on the battle field that have echos to our experience in the 1970s through to the 1990s. 

From this page, you can access recordings of each on the sessions including the introductory remarks, President's Welcome and the keynote address by the Colonel-Commandant. The video editing is rudimentary at best, but for the most part, the audio is clear. Simply click the title and the MP4 presentation should open on your device. The views expressed in this presentation are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Canadian Military Engineers Association, other associated parties or our sponsors.

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