Daniel Menard, retired brigadier-general, pleaded guilty to having an illicit sexual affair with a subordinate on Thursday.Blair Gable/Reuters
A former Canadian general was fined $7,000 and demoted by a court martial on Thursday for an on-base tryst with a female soldier that destroyed his career and tested the Canadian Forces' resolve to ban intimate relations between soldiers.
Daniel Ménard already retired from the army - he came to court on Thursday in a business suit - but part of his punishment is the symbolic loss of rank from brigadier-general to colonel.
The sentence, pronounced by a military judge in Montreal, marks an ignominious end for a once-rising military star whose career collapsed in a conflagration of sex, lies and an attempted cover-up.
Mr. Ménard pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with Master Corporal Bianka Langlois while the two were stationed at the Kandahar Air Field base, and then of trying to thwart an investigation into the affair.
The court heard that the two had begun a relationship while based together at CFB Valcartier in Quebec and continued it after both deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, despite signing the Forces' non-fraternization policy.
Mr. Ménard, who is married with two children, had sex with Master Cpl. Langlois several times in his room at the base, and kissed her "at least twice" in his office, the court was told.
While the trial was about the then-general's behaviour while he commanded nearly 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, it also cast a spotlight on the strict military rule that prohibits romantic or sexual relationships in theatre, even between spouses. The measure is seen as a means of enforcing discipline.
But Mr. Ménard's lawyer, Jean Asselin, says it's time for a constitutional challenge to the law, which he believes violates Charter rights. He says Mr. Ménard's relationship was a mostly victimless crime between two consenting adults.
As for Mr. Ménard, who addressed the court with clear and forthright answers, he expressed regret for hurting his family, though he made no mention of the impact on the troops under his command.
"I profoundly regret my behaviour, which made my wife and children suffer," he said.
The task of recalling the fallout on the Forces fell to Lieutenant-Colonel Louis-Vincent d'Auteuil, the military judge presiding over the court martial. He said the former general had betrayed the trust of soldiers placed under his command, and did so "in the worst place at the worst time" - while in the operational theatre where he needed to lead by example.
"You have the highest level of responsibility in a theatre of operation," the judge said. "It was up to you to set an example."
But the judge also noted that the disgraced former general had had an exemplary career and did "a lot of good things as an officer in the Canadian Forces."
While the court martial amounted to a rare prosecution for such a high-ranking officer, Commander Martin Pelletier, prosecutor in the case, said it delivered the important message that the rules apply to everyone in the military, regardless of rank.
The tryst put an end to the career of a soldier who, at age 43, became one of the youngest officers to rise to the rank of general. The affair with Master Cpl. Langlois, who has since herself been fined and reprimanded, was brought to light by a U.S. journalist and blogger, who reported that the relationship was an open secret.
It was then left to investigators in Kandahar to question the general. He twice denied the liaison, then tried to convince Master Cpl. Langlois to change her story and delete incriminating e-mails.
Mr. Ménard says he paid a heavy price for his infidelity. He was removed from his command in June, 2010, and ordered home in disgrace; he retired ahead of his court martial. He said he was left to feel ostracized and isolated, and is currently looking for work. Despite his loss of rank, however, he will maintain his military pension.
"[It was]by far the worst [thing]I had experienced in my life, including all of the [military]conflicts I've been involved in," he said of his fall from grace.
Thursday's decision marks Mr. Ménard's second court martial. He was fined $3,500 last year for accidentally discharging his weapon while walking with his boss, General Walter Natynczyk, to a helicopter at the Kandahar Air Field. It was the stiffest fine ever imposed for mishandling a weapon.