Brigadier-General Dave Corbould is taking command of the Joint Personnel Support Unit (JPSU).PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
The commander of the military health unit responsible for mentally and physically injured soldiers is retiring, less than six months after taking over the much-maligned unit and promising to clean it up.
The timing of Brig.-Gen. Dave Corbould's sudden departure from the Joint Personnel Support Unit, announced Tuesday, has raised eyebrows and concerns about the unit's future.
But Corbould insists the unit, which is currently supporting about 1,500 ill and injured military personnel across the country, is finally on the right track after a tumultuous first decade of existence.
"It's much better because it's more focused, it understands itself better and it is moving forward," he said in an interview. "And it is not reliant on any one individual. It is a team effort all around."
Corbould took over the support unit in August, hoping to turn the page on years of complaints and criticism about how Canadian soldiers, particularly those with psychological injuries, were treated.
Many of the criticisms stemmed from understaffing and poor training for those who worked at the unit, a problem that persists even now.
The Canadian Press reported this month that 73 positions were unfilled in the unit December, which represented 17 per cent of its workforce and an increase from the approximately 50 positions that were empty last spring.