Cronk settling in at CFB Shilo

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This article was published 22/07/2023 (902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CFB SHILO — On June 26, Canadian Forces Base Shilo welcomed its new base commander in a quiet and brief change of command ceremony. There was no pomp and circumstance or parading soldiers who had been practising the routine for days.

“Sometimes an intimate ceremony is actually as good or better as a whole bunch of soldiers just standing up, waiting for the boss to say some smart words,” Lt.-Col. David Cronk told the Sun in an interview at base headquarters.

The scaled-back ceremony, for the lieutenant-colonel who was previously posted in Elblag, Poland, was part of the Canadian Armed Forces direction to eliminate unnecessary tasks and to limit the impact on soldiers.

“Twenty years ago, [the CAF] was very task-focused, was very mission-focused — this is what we need to do, regardless of what the cost is to the individual,” Cronk said, sitting on a leather chair in his office. “I’m happy to say, I think we’ve evolved.”

The recognition of the impact on soldiers and the consideration of a quality work-life balance aren’t just factors the CAF is now understanding — they’re also something the new base commander looks to provide during his tenure in Shilo.

“You can push your members and push your soldiers very, very hard, and it may look like there’s no impact at work,” he said. “But there’s an impact on family life, which eventually becomes a circle and will affect the member at home.”

The lieutenant-colonel said that managing what he calls “work tempo” is important for him and said that he encourages other officials he works with to watch their soldiers and not be afraid to say that a work request will upset their work-life balance and to be conscious of how often a solider is asked to go away on a mission.

“A lot of soldiers will say, ‘I was up, I’m good to go.’ But sometimes, later on down the road, they weren’t so up,” Cronk said.

He cites his own four tours — three in Afghanistan and one in Kuwait — as part of his understanding of needing time to recover from the stress of a months-long deployment.

“I have a pretty good appreciation for the need to recharge after and time to re-adapt,” he said.

Born in Edmonton, Cronk is a fourth-generation member of the military, following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father. Though his father was in the air force, Cronk’s path was closer to his grandfathers, who were cavalrymen in the world wars.

And though he grew up in the military and moved to Vancouver Island after he turned nine, Cronk did not always think he was going to end up with a career in the military.

He said that around the last few years of his bachelor of science in geography at University of Victoria, he was looking at job prospects and chose the family industry. He received his master’s degree from the Canadian Forces College.

In between holding various command and staff positions, Cronk was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2007 and returned three years later as part of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction team. Then in 2013, he completed another tour in Afghanistan on the Canadian contribution training mission, then was deployed to Kuwait.

He was in Poland, Cronk was G35 planner for the NATO multinational division that was set up in 2017 as a response to the deterrence operation for Russia’s aggression. Though his role was to work out details under the chief planner, Cronk maintains that he’s not a “details guy.”

He said he likes the big picture and explained the military concept of mission command, where a commander will give his intent and then trust his soldiers to move out and achieve what he has said.

“I believe in mission command and giving folks the trust and the confidence to do what they need to do,” he said.

“Which also means letting them accept risk.”

The key is what he calls the “three Cs” of co-operation, collaboration and communication.

“I believe a lot of stuff can be sorted out as long as people are talking to each other,” he said.

And as for the big picture of CFB Shilo, Cronk said that he is taking until September to get a feel for the base landscape, rather than coming in with pre-conceived ideas of things he wants to change. He did add, though, that he would look for any opportunities to streamline processes and reduce red tape on the base.

In the meantime, Cronk said that he has been enjoying the Prairie sunsets since his move from Poland. While his furniture hasn’t arrived from Europe, he’s already thinking about what he hopes to accomplish in his two-year tenure.

“I want to walk away from here in two years, knowing that the people are taken care of,” he said. “That the unit from the personnel perspective was as healthy or healthier than when I showed up.”

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