Our “Spy Panel” was grateful to be invited by the Royal Kingston United Services Institute (RKUSI) as guest speakers for their monthly meeting held at the Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess in Kingston, Ontario on Nov 20.

All the members of our panel are members of The Pillar Society; the national alumni organization of former employees of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP Security Service.

Our “Spy Panel” together with our host, MGen Dean Milner at Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess, Kingston, Ontario, Nov 20, 2025. Front row, L/R: Iwona Mooney, Dan Stanton, Don Mahar. 2nd Row: MGen Dean Milner (Ret’d), Jim Gough, Ralph Mahar

Founded in 1925, RKUSI marked its centenary this year. It is one of 27 United Services Institutes across Canada modeled after the original Royal United Services Institute at Whitehall in London.

We were treated to a lovely “surf & turf” dinner in the dining hall and then addressed the RKUSI membership for 90 minutes discussing the origins of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the current threat environment that Canada & allies face, current challenges, the compelling requirement for Canada to develop a robust foreign intelligence capacity and the character and form that such an entity could take. It was a great evening of dialogue and camaraderie.

The RKUSI members & guests attending included a host of retired Canadian Army officers, (RCHA, RCA, PPCLI), retired Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk, and several cadets of the Royal Military College (RMC).

Our primary host was retired MGen Dean Milner. MGen Milner was the Task Force Commander of Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan during my 2nd tour to Kandahar Airfield there in 2011 and I had occasion to meet him a number of times in theatre while serving there.

Fort Frontenac, established as a French trading post in 1673, is among the oldest military sites in Canada and is arguably the oldest site that still contains an active Canadian Army presence. The British destroyed the fort duuring the Seven Years War and in 1758, rebuilt it and occupied it until turning it over to the Canadian Army in the 1870s. It remains an integral Canadian military installation to this day. It is the present day home of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College.

It was an honour to be welcomed to RKUSI by these great & distinguished Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces. They have served and sacrificed in defence of Canada and allies, and sought to build & preserve a fragile peace in many of the most dangerous places in the world; including Cyprus, Sinai, Rwanda, Bosnia & Haiti; fighting and dying in Afghanistan. We are in their debt.