The soon-to-be-departing commander of the Canadian army isn't about to retire, but Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie wouldn't say Wednesday whether his next assignment will involve a peacekeeping mission in Congo.
Leslie, speaking publicly for the first time since word of his forthcoming departure sparked speculation about his future, said it's up the chief of defence staff and the defence minister to tell him what's next.
"No soldier gets to pick his or her next job," Leslie said in an interview with The Canadian Press following a nearly four-day visit to Kandahar.
"When they're ready, they'll let me know."
Leslie also wouldn't bite on questions about just how seriously Ottawa is contemplating a UN request for a peacekeeping force in the African nation, which has been torn asunder by violence since 1996.
"The government of Canada is the sole authority and will decide where their armed forces will be used," he said after a tour of front-line Canadian bases, his last as head of the army.
A massive shuffle of the senior ranks two weeks ago left Leslie, who was considered a leading candidate for the country's top military job of defence chief, without a command.
By: Brant
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