Introduction

Over the past decade we have noticed a rampant increase in the number of people who are wearing their orders, decorations and medals incorrectly. The cadre of people who flagrantly violate the official rules on how you are supposed to wear your medals ranges from the average veteran right up to current and former Governors General. Indeed, there is much evidence to suggest that the higher the rank of the individual the more likely they are to just wear whatever they want, however they want. We like to think of this as “Instant Dictator Syndrome” or self-aggrandizement at its most obvious.

Why do people wear their medals incorrectly? Often it is because they simply do not know any better. If you are one of these people you should consult WEARING ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND MEDALS which is available from the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall. This guide will help you figure out how you are supposed to wear your officially granted orders, decorations and medals.

When it comes to wearing your medals incorrectly the worst offenders tend to be former Governors General, Lieutenant Governors and retired Generals. When these people – all in authority and all surrounded by staff who know better – wear their medals wrong they are obviously suffering from the dreaded Instant Dictator Syndrome. The attitude accompanied with this most severe condition is “the more medals I wear the more important I will look.”

This simple blog is aimed at revealing the myriad of fellow Canadians who cannot seem to wear their medals correctly.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

A Bad Brigadier General: Rob Roy MacKenzie

Brigadier General Rob Roy MacKenzie, not wearing his "popcorn"
Vancouver Police Department Medal with his undress ribbons... probably
because the ribbon can't be ordered from Logistic Unicorp. 
A kind reader recently spotted Brigadier General Rob Roy MacKenzie, who is now the Canadian Army's Chief of Staff for Reserves, parading around wearing a phoney medal. While the General demonstrated admirable and lengthy service in Afghanistan, it seems he has felt it necessary to dress up his group with a totally unapproved popcorn medal. Aside from being an Officer of the Order of Military Merit and having earned a slew of honours for service overseas in unpleasant places, the General has "enhanced' his group with the Vancouver Police Department 125th Anniversary Medal. The medal, which cost $20,000 to issue to members of the VPD and others "supporters" was funded through the Vancouver Police Department Foundation... a rather colossal waste of money that could have been used in a more constructive manner than creating another police popcorn medal.

It is more than a little embarrassing to have a General Officer prancing around wearing a popcorn medal that is not authorized at all. Even more so as he stands beside a veteran of the Second World War who served in France & Germany and Italy amongst other places. Of course the Second World War veteran has NOT enhanced his group in any way. Where is an RSM to call the General out on his medal wearing buffoonery?
Brigadier-General Rob Roy MacKenzie taking the salute, while wearing
the Vancouver Police Department 125th Anniversary Medal. Another popcorn police gong, totally unauthorized for wear with anything but a Halloween costume. 

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8 comments:

  1. langetOctober 18, 2016 at 2:41 PM

    I always thought those gold general officer cuff rings looked ridiculous. The bloody Liberals should have left both the rings and the cheesy looking gold maple leafs they re-instated in the old "CF trash can".

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  2. UnknownNovember 11, 2016 at 8:54 PM

    I was the General's platoon WO when he was 2nd Lt.I saw him to day and advised him that he was on this site.He acknowlaged that he should not have mounted that medal and assured me it was coming down.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownDecember 28, 2016 at 12:45 PM

      I blame his sgt maj for not calling him on it sooner

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  3. UnknownDecember 10, 2016 at 7:29 PM

    @langet completely disagree - the pips and crowns are confusing, old, and unnecessary. The bars were much simpler; and a Canadian solution. I hope they go all the way and reinstate the bars for the army.

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  4. TrophykartJanuary 12, 2017 at 10:40 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. MatineexNovember 6, 2017 at 6:07 PM

    How do you like his salute? He is literally patting himself on the head. Such a shitty salute usually reserved for the navy.

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  6. AHMay 21, 2020 at 1:12 AM

    MacKenzie is a good man. He's done more soldiering than you petty-minded losers put together. If he was wearing that Police medal, it's because he earned it the hard way and was authorized to wear it by a "higher" authority. He didn;t just stitch it on himself! He was a sniper in the Vancouver Police tactical team and knows his stuff. Indeed there was a direct cross-pollination between his Police and Army service which complemented each other and enhanced the respective institutions. But I don't expect you to understand any of that. You people (and I use the term loosely) need to get a life. This is shaming gig you're on is just tacky and infantile. And the language used: "parading about", "prancing about", and "popcorn medal" shows not only a marked lack of understanding of the nature of service and a complete lack of respect, but reveals your petty troll agenda rather glaringly. I hope you're not ex-military yourself, because no self-respecting veteran would behave in such a way. Shame on you. You're behaving like some embittered corporal for life Range Control shithead. I have no doubt you'll remove this comment because you're a sniping, cowardly keyboard warrior. Pathetic!

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