Writings and Speeches

Here is a selection of my writings and speeches.

Click on the title to see the full text

Kingston and the Islands Conservative Nomination Speech

  • In January and February 2011 I sought the Conservative Party nomination for the Kingston and the Islands riding.  This is the speech I gave at the nomination meeting.

Scars on the Heart of Our Nation

  • Published in the Kingston Whig Standard and the Globe and Mail on 11 November 2009, this letter was written while I was deployed in Kabul, Afghanistan.

YAG Era Draws to an End

  • Published in English and French in the September 2008 Naval Reserve Link, this is a retrospective on the Central Region's last YAG Training Trip.  YAG is the NATO designation for a small auxiliary tender, and these tenders have been an integral part of naval training for many decades, but they were finally retired and replaced by the new ORCA class tenders.

Slaughterhouse Rules

  • Published in Canadian Naval Review Volume 1, Number 3 (Fall 2005), this commentary proposes fourteen sacred cows that the Canadian Forces need to slaughter to complete the organizational transformation currently underway.

Principles of Peacetime Survival

  • Presented at the Seventh Annual Society for Military and Strategic Studies Conference, Calgary, Alberta, February 2005.  This is a follow on paper from the "Principles of Peacetime Readiness" (PPR).  While PPR examined the internal structuring of defence forces, and proposed a five-part model for limiting the rise of peacetime bureaucracy.  The Principles of Peacetime Survival examines how those outside defence forces, and the defence industry, view defence forces, and proposes a four-part model for developing a more positive view.

Presentation to the Senate

  • This is the text of my presentation to the Senate Standing Committee On National Security and Defence on 29 November 2004.  The committee posed three questions and this was my response to them.  The questions were:

What vulnerabilities does Canada face and what role should the military have in addressing them?
What opportunities are Canadians missing and how could the military help realize them?
How does the military affect your daily life? Your standard of living? Your employment?

Diminished Defence

  • Presented at New Horizons: Canadian and International Maritime Security Symposium, University of Calgary, 2 April 2004. The paper traces the development of coastal warfare doctrine in Canada from the 1987 Defence White Paper to the present and makes recommendations on how to rehabilitate Canada's coastal sovereignty.

Sovereignty Suicide

  • Presented at the Sixth Annual Society for Military and Strategic Studies Conference, Calgary, Alberta February 2004.
    The Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDAI) would like to bring to your attention a paper by Richard Moller and Mark W. Shepherd entitled, "Sovereignty Suicide: Canada's March Into the American Empire" (see link below). The essay's argument is based on the idea that Canadian political leaders have subscribed to a special set of 'Canadian values,' which, on the one hand,  are continually reinforced into the public consciousness, but, on the other, do not adequately reflect the reality Canada operates in. The political elite has been so successful in promoting this perception, that despite Canadian history, many Canadian citizens generally believe this rhetoric. The reality is that since the First World War, Canada has, to a large extent,  bought its presence in the international community with its armed forces. This recent phenomenon of 'Canadian values' governing our international polices has marginalized the institution that bought Canada its international presence: the Canadian Armed Forces.  According to the paper, "Adequate security and defence are not ends in themselves, but rather the requirement for a state to remain sovereign." Sovereignty can be defined as a political entity's externally recognized right to exercise final authority over its affairs. In addition, "if the state wants to remain a sovereign entity then it must demonstrate not only domestic political supremacy, but also actual independence of outside authority in foreign affairs." The final arbitrator in maintaining this independence from outside authorities is a nation's armed forces, without credible armed forces the nation is not truly sovereign.

Principles of Peacetime Readiness

  • Presented at the Canadian Defence Associations Institute Graduate Student Symposium, published in Baltic Defence Review, January 2004.  From the BDR: "Then the section turns attention of our readers to a largely unexplored ground in the field of military thinking. While recognizing importance of the principles of war in shaping military profession and military institutions, Lieutenant Commander P. Richard Moller addresses the need to define and apply in practice principles of peacetime readiness, which is crucial if we seek to maintain vigour and dynamism of our military forces. The author suggests that developing adequate principles of peacetime readiness is instrumental in avoiding feeble, cumbersome and ineffective forces mired in peacetime bureaucratic wrangling -- forces that lead to an initial military disaster once called to do their job in wartime. Drawing upon success of business organisations in maintaining organisational agility, the author attempts to transfer key elements of this success into the military setting, defines clear-cut principles of peacetime readiness and elaborates on their possible application within military forces."

Bureaucracy Versus Ethics

  • Subtitled "Striving for Good Order and Discipline," this paper was written for the 1997 Conference on Ethics in Canadian Defence, "Ethics in Practice" (and published in the conference proceedings) and examines the impact of a rising bureaucratic culture on the ethical ethos of the Canadian Forces.

The Dangers of Doctrine

  • Originally published in the Maritime Security Working Papers 5 (December 1996), it was republished in the Baltic Defence Review 5.  The paper examines the good and bad aspects of having a strong defence doctrine, and makes recommendations on how to minimize the bad aspects.

Leadership Through Customer Service

  • Written for and presented at the Second Naval Historical Conference (in 1993), this paper was published in the Maritime Warfare Bulletin 94/1.  It examines what parts of civilian management and leadership strategies can be incorporated into the military milieu.

Valedictory Address 1992

  • Presented to the St. Lawrence College graduating class June 1992.