Mayor John Keess

John Keess is currently a Lecturer in the History Department at the Royal Military College of Canada. Prior to beginning his PhD, he served in several command and staff positions with the Canadian Armed Forces, including deployments to Afghanistan, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Current Position: May 2020-present. Lecturer, History Department, Royal Military College, Kingston, ON. Current Position: May 2020-present. Lecturer, History Department, Royal Military College, Kingston, ON. Education: Granted May 2023 – PhD – War Studies, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario September 2009 – November 2010. Master of Arts – History, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB September 2005 – May 2009. Bachelor of Arts in Military and Strategic Studies (Honours) (Top of Class), Royal Military College, Kingston, ON Academic Publications: Keess, John. “Freed by Limits: The Strategic Realities of the Canadian Army, Close Engagement, and the Potential for a new way of thinking about Canadian Land Power.” Canadian Army Journal, 19, no.3 (2022): 62-71 Keess, John. “International Society, Health, and Defiance: An English School Analysis of Melian and Belgian Responses to Wartime Ultimata.” Diplomacy and Statecraft 31, no. 3 (2020): 405–28. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2020.1782671. Keess, John. “Strategic Parasitism, Professional Strategists and Policy Choices: The Influence of George Lindsey and Robert Sutherland on Canadian Denuclearisation, 19 62-1972.” Canadian Military History 29, no. 1 (2020). Keess, John. “In Defence of Victory: A Reply to Brigadier-General Carignan’s ‘Victory as a Strategic Objective.’” Canadian Military Journal 18, no. 3 (2018): 37–46. Keess, John. “Canadian Expeditionary Brigade Groups: A Proposal for Reforming Canadian Mechanised Brigade Groups.” Canadian Army Journal 17, no. 1 (2016): 75–98. Keess, John. “Now and Then: The ‘Open Canada’ Report in Historical Perspective.” International Journal 66, no. 3 (2011): 731–42. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/002070201106600313. John Keess, ‘Strategist, Scholar, Soldier, Guide: R.J. Sutherland and Canadian Defence Policy in the Thermonuclear Age’ (Kingston, Royal Military College of Canada, 2022). Professional Experience: August 2018-Present. Canadian Forces (Regular Force) Infantry Officer, Royal Military College Kingston. - Sponsored PhD Student - Senior Military PG Student Representative - Organised orientation programming for new PG students July 2016-August 2018. Canadian Forces (Regular Force) Infantry Officer, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Headquarters (CANSOFCOM HQ), Ottawa, Ontario - Various staff tasks - Deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation IMPACT - More details available upon request July 2015-.June 2016 Canadian Forces (Regular Force) Infantry Officer, 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters (2 CMBG HQ) - Assisted in the organisation and conduct of a professional military education (PME) staff ride in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - As the Brigade Training Officer, (G3-Trg), coordinated annual training and readiness cycles for manoeuvre, combat support, and combat service support units - Worked with the Canadian Joint Operations Command and brigade units to define the training requirements for soldiers participating in the domestic and expeditionary components of Op PROVISION, the Canadian Armed Forces’ contribution to the patriation of Syrian refugees - Organised professional development exercise around Russian hybrid war scenario in the Baltics - Participated in primary reserve summer training - Attached as planning staff to 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada (5 GBMC) for a NATO Rapid Reaction Corps exercise in Mourmélon-le-Grand, France. This task included proposing schemes of manoeuvre for a notional brigade of infantry, armour, artillery, engineers and aviation assets in a joint multinational environment. August 2013 – June 2015. Canadian Forces (Regular Force) Infantry Officer, 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment - Employed as Assistant Adjutant for a battalion, helping to ensure smooth administration and oversee a reform of the battalion’s clerical system - Employed as a Custody Review Officer with the responsibility to release soldiers temporarily detained by military police - Company Second in Command (2IC) of two companies o In garrison, oversaw administration, training schedules and junior officer development o In field environments, ran company command post. This included compiling and disseminating information on the tactical and administrative situation to higher headquarters, maintaining control of three platoons and a weapons detachment during operations, assisting with the deconfliction of company operations with other friendly force operations, and assuring smooth communications - Deployed to Central and Eastern Europe at the Deputy Task Force Commander of a reinforced company task force. The task force deployed in support of Operation REASSURANCE, the CAF’s contribution to strengthening NATO deterrence and assurance in the region. Tasks included: o Coordinating administrative requirements with the Canadian Joint Operations Command, including international movements o Ran task force headquarters, including public affairs, medical, clerical. operational and communications elements from a hub in Poland o Oversaw administrative and financial arrangements with Polish hosts o Coordinating administrative and training arrangements with allied nations on joint exercises o Ran a company headquarters as part of a large multinational exercise while attached to US battalion in Hohenfels, Germany. This included compiling and disseminating information on tactical and administrative situation to higher, maintaining control of three platoons and a weapons detachment during operations, assisting with the deconfliction of company operations with other friendly force operations, and assuring smooth communications - Deployed to Romania as an Observer-Controller Trainer to assist the Romanian Army in establishing a National Training Centre November 2010- July 2013. Canadian Forces (Regular Force) Infantry Officer, 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment - Led the reconstitution of a platoon returning from Afghanistan - Participated in a force development exercise for the Canadian Army’s Adaptive Dispersed Operations (ADO) and Optimised Battle Group (OBG) concepts - In charge of a basic training course (Basic Military Officer Qualification – Land) for ~40 officer cadets - Directed multiple After Action Reviews (AARs) as part of pre-deployment training - Deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan for nine months as part of Operation ATTENTION. - Led Canadian component of a multi-national training advisory team. - Led on the ground mentoring of Afghan National Army (ANA) training staff, - Worked with the NATO training command to resolve logistical, force development, and training issues. Special Training Army Operations Course (plsc granted) - 2017 Special Operations Planning Course - 2017