My career was a little before Ms. Nash’s. Those who have read my book know that I made another decision. For those who do not know me, I was in the infantry. During my career, I had two abortions in order to make my career the priority. My first abortion was because I had been raped in the Canadian Armed Forces; the second was because I was going to lose my career in the infantry if I had a child. So I arranged things for the benefit of my career so that I could succeed in the infantry.
People talk about changing policies and rules. I feel that the Canadian Forces will never have enough policies, rules, standard operating procedures, orders and royal decrees to solve the problems or the challenges faced by heads of single-parent families.
The leadership culture in the Canadian Armed Forces must be changed so that leaders can make decisions without always going by the book. I am sure that, if Ms. Nash’s superior officers were in court, they would say that they had followed the rules. They have to be given the power they need so that they can say that they have dealt with each particular situation.
Leadership is not treating everybody in the same way; it's treating everybody fairly.