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He was good for the service, I hate to see him go.

I stay out of military and political matters, but this is just another example of Harper's pride and controlling nature hurting this country rather than helping it.

I've seen it happen way too many times to say it's only a failing of his, though.

Hillier says it has nothing to do with Harper. I guess if you expect to see something you will always look for a way to see it that way.

He's being the gracious people-person that he's known for being. People close to him (and I tend to believe the story more) that while there was no directly hostile actions taken towards him, just the fact that there was infighting turned him off wanting to keep the job.

I've worked in Government, so I know how it works. The people that you make look like idiots are all nice and friendly to you afterwards because it makes them save face. Secretly, they see the Sword of Damocles dangling above your head by a very thin thread, and they revel in that fact before looking for ways to subtly undermine you. Throwing you slowly under a bus would be a good analogy...

He's making the right decision for him. Where he stands now, he can pretty much go anywhere in business and be welcomed with open arms (and a large paycheque).

But you still had to turn this into an anti-Harper thread even though you are basing this off media reports of what his 'close friends' said and even though they admit he didn't have any direct problems with Harper.

I've seen it happen way too many times to say it's only a failing of yours, though

"He's making the right decision for him. Where he stands now, he can pretty much go anywhere in business and be welcomed with open arms (and a large paycheque).
"

That's a better statement, thanks. You are right, it probably is the best time for Hillier to start his trek in the civilian world. Politics can turn on you at any moment and the Countrys respect for Hillier at the moment is strong... so why wait for someone to run you over? Good point.

??? I'm not for or against anyone on this. People's actions tend to speak for themselves. I just observe them. Harper seems like a good guy, but is a bit over-controlling, and takes quite a few cues from the American style of government. You'll just have to see who it is that they choose to replace him with.

"That's a better statement..."? So a statement that contradicts your opinion is a bad one? *Laugh*

I wonder if he's even thinking of civilian 'success' right now. He's always stated, "I'm just a soldier." and that stays with a lot of people...

You just jumped in the thread and said Harper made him leave, Harper is teh bad.

Then you got on topic and a made a good point = 'better statement'.

That's all

Ahh... But you've probably seen how politics works at RIM. I've worked in a few government agencies. It's WORSE. I've seen people get fired/disciplined only because a manager wanted to show a rival just how much power they had... And then they cover it up as best as they can so that it looks legitimate.

I've seen people go in looking to change the system, but if you don't play their game at their (low) level, you get chewed up and spit out.

Troy,

With respect, saying that you understand what went on between the PM and the general because you worked in a dysfunctional government agency is just a bit bit of a stretch. Especially when the man himself said it wasn't the case.

BTW, I too am sad to see Hillier go, he seemed like a very competent guy.

Jeff...AgencIES. Not just one, a few of them. And I grew up in the military. I think Mike said, there probably wasn't any outright bad blood or animosity between them. But your days tend to be numbered when you steal the spotlight away from the top man.

And dysfunctional went beyond the people to the organizations themselves. I was once at a meeting where a division in one province said they were using a software program that one of their employees wrote a few years before. I asked them to send me the source code so that I could tweak it for the use of the entire agency nation-wide. They promptly said no, that noone would ever do anything like that except themselves, and oh, they weren't going to ever bother. Thank you very much.

Now THAT'S team spirit, and trying to do things for the good of the people you work for (Us). Government and politics is a whole other world...