Angus Topshee, outspoken head of Canada's navy, promoted to vice chief of defence staff

OTTAWA — Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, the outspoken head of the Royal Canadian Navy, has been promoted to the military’s second-in-command.

In an internal communiqué issued this week, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) announced Topshee is replacing Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) Stephen Kelsey in the second top job in the military.

Kelsey, who has been VCDS since 2024, is retiring two years into the job.

Topshee is an outspoken and unusually forthcoming military commander who does not shy away from sharing his views on the state of the navy. In 2023, he published video in which he decried the “critical state” that the branch found itself in.

“The RCN faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture and readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond,” he said in the video posted to YouTube at the time.

Topshee’s public profile has only increased since then as he has openly discussed the navy’s desire to transform remote-controlled vessels into lethal missiles , opined on Canada’s major submarine procurement strategy and discussed publicly his vision for the CAF’s new corvette warships.

Rear-Admiral Dan Charlebois, Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, will take over from Topshee as top naval commander.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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