The 2012 Kingston Contingent

CMSSers capture the castle (aka RMC). MIA: Rebecca Jensen

On Thursday, October 25th, a determined group of six CMSS students made their way to the Royal Military College to prove their worth among a strong group of 31 graduate students from across Canada. CMSS has sent many delegations of students to the Canadian Defence Association’s annual graduate student symposium – affectionately known within CMSS as “The Kingston Conference.” This year’s conference was entitled Canada’s Security Interests, and the CMSS contingent for the most part (the scribe cannot speak for herself) performed admirably and received strongly positive feedback. Read on for a rundown of the events as they unfolded!

On Wednesday night, several CMSS students traveled from across the country to meet up in Kingston with Katie Domansky and Rebecca Jensen, who were already ensconced in Kingston after presenting at the International Society for Military Sciences (ISMS) 2012 conference earlier in the week. Undaunted after already presenting once, these two brave PhD students were putting the finishing polishes on their presentations for their second conference of the week. They were supported by Nathan Hawryluk, who had also presented at the ISMS conference and remained in Kingston to support his colleagues for round two (and to purchase souvenirs for his son).

The most intrepid explorer to make the trip to Kingston on Wednesday was our resident Australian PhD exchange student Stephen Hayes, who experienced more of our fine country and its transportation routes than he necessarily wished to before arriving in Kingston well after dark. Despite this potentially dispiriting trip, Steve was in fine form for his presentation on the following day.

A highlight for many of the CMSS delegation was being reunited with MSS student Jeremy Stuart, who traveled from Quebec to attend the conference and support his classmates.

The first day featured a panel comprised nearly entirely of CMSS PhD students, with Katie Domansky, Rebecca Jensen, and Bill McAuley all featured in the four-person panel on “Operations Abroad: From Doctrine to Tactics”. Avoiding the temptation to conspire to make this panel one of the most ‘memorable’ ever seen at a conference, the three gave very well-received presentations. Katie and Rebecca analyzed different elements of the international intervention in Libya, which prompted considerable interest in the Q&A section, while Bill McAuley shone with his presentation on “Canada’s tactical fixation”, focusing on improvised explosive devices, which was delivered energetically and without notes.

Following close on his colleagues’ heels, Stephen Hayes (recorded in the program as representing Western Australia, but we knew that his heart was with CMSS) gave a powerful presentation on the economic elements of Russian policy in the Arctic and its implications for international relations in the region.

The second day featured CMSS’s two Masters student presenters. Maria Robson spoke on the conference’s intelligence-themed panel, speaking on Canadian signals intelligence and intelligence alliances. Her panel also included presentations on intelligence accountability and cyber security and piqued considerable interest from attendees. Last but not least, Matthew Sutherland presented on what his moderator termed the “most eclectic” panel of the conference. Matthew’s presentation on a proactive, intelligence-led model for the RCMP was followed by two different takes on “Domestic Security Threats”, encompassing everything from missile defence to H5N1.

The conference ended triumphantly for one of the CMSS attendees: Bill McCauley was well rewarded for his efforts by a well-deserved place on the podium as one of the top three presenters at the conference. Congratulations, Bill!

CMSS can be proud of its strong showing in the recent CDA Institute conferences, and this year is no exception. Best of luck to CMSS’s 2013 contingent!

Maria Robson, MSS Student