Naval officer takes over military's much maligned injured troop unit

LUCKY 13 (13 days until the budget)

I had the chance to return to school early teen and that was the last thing I wanted to do (I was 100% breed military).
I wanted to stay in the forces and the last thing on my mind was returning to school (which I did receiving a college diploma).  
A rollercoaster ride is all I envision when I look back at it all, 19 years of pure uncertainty, let alone 9 month as stated in the above article.
I am still having trouble reinventing myself since  leaving the forces and it sucks.
It is hard going from being a Boatswain and a Commissionaire for most of your  life to what I am now (In Bloom again)
I am the Forest Gump of the Military and I haven't even reached 39 "Yet" (Lived on more military bases then one should in ones life)
Today I have another chance to move on, acknowledging the fact that I have a disability  (hardest part for me)  & finally being treated for the right medical condition, maybe there is hope.
What a mess being medical side lined, it has been the most horrible experience and humiliating process a human being with any sort of dignity need not go through nor suffer.
Side line me, train me on another tasking, but to throw me to the curb? Every day it is a pill (the medical release) I have a hard time swallowing.

The first thing that has to be done is if a member is to be medically released and is able to start school during rehab/release then do it. This waiting until the member is released before schooling can start is and always was bunk!

It has been discussed before by the current DM at VAC and it's time to step up and start to work with JPSU/IPSC.

Blais will probably get a job with VAC

If the Navy can't get it done , nobody can!

The Canadian military has appointed a navy captain to head its support unit for ill and injured soldiers.

Marie France Langlois, a seasoned military officer, will take over the much-criticized Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU) she helped create in 2008 when she was its Deputy Commanding Officer. She left JPSU in 2012.

Langlois will replace Col. Gerard Blais, who retired suddenly last month, saying he no longer felt prepared to lead the unit.

JPSU is an umbrella unit for 24 Integrated Personnel Support Centres across Canada and was created to offer programs to support and enable mentally and physically injured troops to resume their military careers or, more commonly, to make a gradual transition into the civilian world with sellable skills.

Critics say the JPSU concept is solid but there has been overwhelming evidence that the units are understaffed, often with poorly-trained personnel, and that ill and injured clients are left for long periods to their own devices.

Staff burnout at the unit — the military’s largest — is also a big problem with several cases of staff members transitioning as JPSU clients.

A recent internal military study prepared for Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance finally acknowledged the unit hasn’t been functioning as it should and needed, among other things, a boost in qualified staff.

Following the release of the Vance report, military Ombudsman Gary Walbourne said unless there is immediate and radical change at the unit it will be unable to cope with the growing influx of ill and injured Afghanistan veterans.

“If you’re a soldier being transitioned out and you have a family and you don’t know what your income is going to be nine months down the road, it’s a real stressor,” said Walbourne.

According to the latest figures, 1,386 regular troops and 41 reservists are posted into the unit and staff is “tracking” 5,690 cases outside of the unit.

Veteran Barry Westholm, a former senior non-commissioned officer with JPSU who resigned from the military to protest the unit’s deterioration, speculated Langlois has been brought back to JPSU to oversee a restructuring.

“Given they are doing a restructure, they need someone who knows the old structure,” said Westholm. Langlois worked “very hard” during her previous posting at JPSU, he added.

“I think of her as a peace-maker personality. She is well spoken, intelligent and comes across as sincere,” he said.

Quebec City native Langlois has held numerous senior military positions across Canada and internationally. In an email statement, she said she was “thrilled and privileged” with her new job.

“Although there are changes ahead, we will ensure that the ill and injured members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families will continue to receive the excellent support they have come to count on,” she said.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/naval-officer-takes-over-militarys-much-maligned-injured-troop-unit

I had a great Capt and WO in my JPSU. Blaise? voluntary change of assignment?
One Christmas season he issued directive re: leave.. JPSU/clients will not get the 2 extra days off because ... bla, bla, bla. So, in his opinion we were/are all lazy with too much time off already from medical leave, surgeries, etc,... About a week later he changed his mind (or was told to change his mind) and we were allowed to take the same block leave as the rest.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/180776638/JPSU-Document-Excerpts

TESTIMONIALS.

Director of support unit for wounded soldiers steps down amid DND’s sweeping overhaul of system

OTTAWA — The director of casualty support management for the military has stepped down amid an overhaul of the system that looks after ill and injured soldiers.

The Canadian Press has obtained a copy of the internal farewell address of Col. Gerry Blais, who tells Joint Personnel Support Units (JPSU) across the country that he has decided to leave, effective immediately.

“There is a great deal of change ahead and I do not feel that I am prepared to lead the unit into this new method of operation,” Blais wrote in a message distributed Tuesday morning.

Last month, The Canadian Press reported that National Defence had embarked on an overhaul of the oft-maligned JPSU system following an internal review that found a myriad of problems.

The support units are supposed to help physically and mentally wounded soldiers heal and return to their units — or prepare for medical release.

Maj.-Gen. Derek Joyce, who has co-chaired the steering committee overseeing the issue, confirmed Blais’ departure, saying he learned of it last week and the news was communicated to staff on Tuesday.

He said he doesn’t see the farewell message — particularly the reference to change — as criticism or “anything unusual” and pointed out that Blais served for seven years as the JPSU commander and he’s done “an absolutely outstanding job taking care of our ill and injured.”

In his message, Blais says he believes the system had accomplished “great things and established a safe place for those who needed it most.”

But many have complained that the support units and their subordinate Integrated Personnel Support Centres are chronically short of staff and that soldiers who are transferred into the system feel isolated from the support network of their home combat units.

There is a great deal of change ahead and I do not feel that I am prepared to lead the unit into this new method of operation

The issue of staffing at the units was the subject of a scathing report by the country’s military ombudsman a couple of years ago, but Blais — at the time — described the manning level as “adequate.”

Following the release of the October 2013 report, he told Canadian Press in an interview that “most of the issues have been or are definitely in the process of being resolved.”

Blais also defended a decision to ask wounded soldiers to sign a gag order, which barred them from criticizing senior officers on social media outlets or posting disparaging comments about JPSUs on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

He told a House of Commons committee in the spring of 2014 that the measure was meant for their own good.

“The form is there more for the protection of the individuals because unfortunately there are occasions where people, especially when they are suffering from mental health issues, will make comments or become involved in discussions that, later on in the full light of day, they would probably prefer that they had not been involved,” he testified.

Joyce said he believes much of the public criticism has been unfair.

The search for a replacement is underway, he added.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/director-of-support-unit-for-wounded-soldiers-steps-down-amid-dnd

Here's the Video on this from CTV ;

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=814560

You do not mess with your injured soldiers, the most vulnerable.

Thank you for your service.

From Col Blais:

From: Blais Col GJ@CMP DCSM@Ottawa-Hull
Sent: February-23-16 9:38 AM
To: drag and drop. F CMP JPSU HQ / Dcsm / qg uisp / d gest SB CPM F. Mdn
Subject: DEPARTURE OF CO JPSU/DCSM - DEPARTURE OF CO JPSU/DCSM

I am writing to inform everyone in the unit that I have decided to end my time as the CO JPSU/DCSM effective immediately. There is a great deal of change ahead and I do not feel that I am prepared to lead the unit into this new method of operation. I am extremely grateful to every member of the unit for their undying efforts and overwhelming support as we cared for the most vulnerable population in the CAF. We have accomplished great things and established a “safe place” for those who needed it most. I wish you all the best and once again wish to thank each and every one of you for your support. Please ensure that every member of the unit receives this note.

I wish to inform all members of the unit that I have taken the decision to finish my commitment as a commander of the uisp / d gest sb in today's date. Major changes are needed in our own way of doing things and I don't think so be ready to guide the unit in this new way of operating. I am extremely grateful to all the members of the unit for your efforts dynamic and unparalleled support which enabled us to deal with the members of our population the most vulnerable. We have achieved fantastic achievements and we have established a "with us" safe and warm for those who are most in need. I wish you good luck and would like once again to thank you all for your support. Please ensure that all members of the team receives this message from me.

Colonel G.J. Blais

Director Casualty Support Management (DCSM)/ Commanding Officer Joint Personnel Support Unit(JPSU)
Canadian Armed Forces/ Government of Canada
gerard.blais@forces.gc.ca / Tel : 613-995-0972 / CSN : 995-0972

Director-management of the support to the injured (D GEST SB) / Commander Joint Unit Support Staff (Uisp)
The Canadian armed forces / government of Canada
Gerard.Blais@Forces.Gc.Ca / Tel: 613-995-0972 / Rccc: 995-0972