By Scott Taylor
In the Dog-Days of summer, a mini-media-crapstorm continues to ensnarl the Canadian military.
Now known as the 'Blue-Hackle-Mafia' scandal, this saga originates with a private Facebook group created by members of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (the Duke of Edinburgh's Own). The Facebook site was established some 14 years ago with the intention of allowing those reservists from the regiment who had served in Afghanistan to be able to decompress with their comrades in a safe space.
While that may have been allegedly the original intent, over time some members used the 'safety' of this site to display photos of their own members, posing in uniform, with weapons and inside military facilities.
Concern about the off colour contents of the Facebook group, which also included; hateful comments directed toward women, Jews and Muslims, derogatory sexual comments about former prime minister Justin Trudeau, and discussions about raping grandmothers, were first brought to light internally last December.
At that juncture Lt-Col Ryan Hendy, the Commanding Officer of the Cameron Highlanders informed his immediate superior, Colonel James McKay, the Commander of 33 Brigade. Their joint decision was to turn the matter over to the Military Police. So far so good.
Three months later the Military Police handed the file back to Lt-Col Hendy noting that no service offences had been committed and as far as the Provost Marshal's office was concerned the case was closed.
With no other option available to him, Lt-Col Hendy ordered an internal investigation be conducted by one of his captains.
On June 24, Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese blew the lid off the whole case when he shared his photographic evidence taken from the Blue Hackle site with CAF Public Affairs. The following day Pugliese's damning imagery was shown to Army Commander Lt-Gen Michael Wright. In short order the Military Police investigation was re-opened (presumably at Lt-Gen Wright's request).
On July 3, Lt-Gen Wright issued a statement denouncing the conduct of the 'Blue Hackle Mafia' and the story broke in the media. While the police investigation is ongoing and no charges have been laid in this case (at time of writing), heads have already begun to roll.
First it was the announcement that Lt-Col Hendy was being temporarily relieved of his command of the Cameron Highlanders at least for the duration of the investigation. Shortly thereafter, Colonel James McKay tabled his resignation as the Commander of 33 Brigade.
While I am a champion of command accountability, these two officers had dutifully turned the file over to the Military Police. It was the Provost Marshal's office which concluded that the lewd and hateful posts did not constitute any 'service offence'.
Having reviewed those images and posts, I'm sure that Section 129 of the National Defence Act ('Conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline') could have been applied successfully.
So in the early days of the Blue Hackle Mafia affair we already have two senior officers sanctioned for the actions of those under their command.
Contrast this result with the bizarre case from the summer of 2023 involving Colonel Leif Dahl, then 8 Wing Commander and Base Commander of CFB Trenton. At the time of his arrest it was reported that Col. Dahl was on a boat in the Murray canal near Trenton. A bystander witnessed shots fired from the boat at nearby waterfowl. When the witness challenged him, Dahl replied "It is none of your business'.
Naturally the witness then made it his business to report Col. Dahl to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). When Col. Dahl saw the cops he panicked and had his teenage son throw a rifle and a revolver into the canal.
What Col Dahl did not realize was that a nearby bridge operator filmed the discarding of the two firearms. Police divers subsequently recovered the two weapons with the rifle dangerously retaining a round in the breech.
The news of these charges being laid by the OPP led Major-General Ian Huddleston, then Deputy Commander of the RCAF, to relieve Col. Dahl of his command at CFB Trenton.
Pundits, myself included, speculated that even if he avoided conviction, this incident would end Col. Dahl's career. Not so. In March 2024, Col. Dahl pleaded guilty in a Kingston, Ontario courtroom to carelessly storing firearms and public mischief for shooting at the waterfowl. He was ordered to donate $500 to Ducks Unlimited. Under the terms of his conditional discharge, he subsequently served 12 months probation and any criminal record was expunged in March of this year.
He still serves as a 'Director of Operations' at RCAF Headquarters in Ottawa, although whether or not he retained his Colonel rank is unclear from his Linkedin profile.
At his court appearance, Col. Dahl defined his actions on the Murray Canal that fine summer day as a 'lapse in judgement'. One that included an attempt to obstruct justice by clumsily dumping two firearms into a public waterway.
