Vice Admiral Angus Topshee: Farewell Message
[caption id="attachment_29812" align="aligncenter" width="595"] VAdm Angus Topshee, outgoing commander Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and Joint Task Force Pacific (JTF(P)), addresses the crowd during the Change of Command ceremony at Duntze Head on May 16. Photo: Sailor First Class Kendric Grasby, Maritime Forces Pacific Imagery Services[/caption] To the thousands of great Canadians, sailors, soldiers, aviators, and operators in uniform, as well as the civilian public servants and contractors who enable and support them within Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and Joint Task Force Pacific (JTF(P)): I want to start by acknowledging that much of what MARPAC does takes place on the traditional lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking people and specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees nations. As I prepare to leave these lands to head to Ottawa, I want to thank all of the indigenous people I’ve met in the course of my duties for sharing their lands and knowledge with me. I promise to continue to work on the difficult, but essential task of reconciliation in my next assignment. When I took command last May, I asked all of the military personnel in MARPAC and JTF(P) to commit to duty. To serve Canada and Canadians loyally, to put that service before ourselves and to be ready to help, ready to lead, and ready to fight while respecting the rights and dignity of every person. I asked all of the public servants to commit to stewardship and innovation to make best use of the resources assigned to us. I also asked all of us, military and civilian alike, to serve with integrity and empathy. The task I set was to understand and acknowledge the needs, goals, and desires of every person we work with inside or outside of the defence team. To respect their dignity and strive to build an inclusive and welcoming workplace that maximizes the potential of every individual. While we still have work to do, we have made progress thanks to initiatives like CODE training, critical conversations with affected persons, trauma...