Executive Committee Meeting 18 June 2026
2026-06-18 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto) | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
The RKUSI Executive Committee will meet at the FFOM at 1500 hours.

Cyprus Presentation - Guest Speaker
2026-06-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
OP SNOWGOOSE Cyprus Presentation
Cyprus has been a gateway to and from the Middle East throughout history. Today’s conflict once again confirms its strategic positioning. Iran’s targeting of Cyprus to deny its use as a staging area and the international community’s reinforcement has once again threatened the safety and security of this Island.
Unfortunately, turmoil is nothing new for Cyprus. It has long been the site of a surrogate struggle between Greece and Turkey who both have ethnic communities sharing this beautiful small island. In 1964, Canada spearheaded a UN force to the island with the mandate to maintain the uneasy peace and provide a stable environment for the communities to coexist.
The video presentation will feature how the peacekeeping mission in Cyprus was on the verge of failure when Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 in response to the Greek inspired Coup d’état. But instead of withdrawing, Canada held fast and reinforced their small 450 man contingent. Two of the veterans from that war LGen Marc Caron (Retd) and LCol Ron Bragdon (Retd) will share their memories and join MGen Clive Milner (Retd) who served as a peacekeeper in the early days and was the only Canadian Commander of UNFICYP from 89-92.
The aim of the presentation is to ensure that Operation SNOWGOOSE is not a forgotten mission and that Canadians remember how our soldiers stood their ground when they were caught in the crossfire of the war in Cyprus. They were hailed as the saviours of Nicosia by the international press.

Joint Sundowner Event with RCMI Kingston
2026-07-29 17:00 - 19:00 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
There will be a joint RCMI/RKUSI social event for both members and spouses/partners. We are planning a sundowner event at Fort Frontenac on Wednesday, 29 July from 17-1900 hours using the lower bar and patio. Registration details in accordance with the poster.
Admission: $50 including: A welcoming Prosecco or non-alcoholic alternative
Menu. A selection of artisanal cheeses, premium cured meats, pickled items, fresh fruits and other seasonal accompaniments.
Shrimp Ceviche / Chicken Satay with a Curried Pineapple Sauce / Spinach and Artichoke Phyllo cups
Melon and Chilli Gazpacho shots
An elegant assortment of dessert squares, cookies, and classic Nanaimo bars / Coffee + Tea Station
Partners and Guests Welcome
Dress: Casual
Reservations: Please email Susan Cook at slc@rcmi.org. RKUSI members can pay either by credit card or by e-transfer to olga.morozova@rcmi.org. Deadline: Reservations must be made by Friday, July 24th

RKUSI Monthly meeting
2026-09-17 18:00 - 21:00 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
Guest speaker Leona Alleslev

Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak Presentation on Defence Procurement
2026-09-17 18:30 - 19:00 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, Class of 1991, Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak has built a career defined by service. First to Canada’s Armed Forces and later to public life in Parliament. Her professional journey reflects a sustained commitment to leadership, national service, and public responsibility.
Military Service and Leadership Foundations
Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1987 to 1996, rising to the rank of Captain. During her nine years of military service, she developed the leadership, operational discipline, and strategic perspective that would later inform her work in public office. Her time in uniform laid a strong foundation rooted in accountability, teamwork, and service to country, values closely associated with the Canadian Military Colleges alumni community.
Transition to Federal Politics
Following her military career, Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak transitioned into public service through federal politics. She was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill in the 2015 federal election, representing the Liberal Party of Canada. In September 2018, she crossed the floor to join the Conservative Party, citing policy disagreements related to economic and foreign affairs. She was subsequently re‑elected as a Conservative in the 2019 federal election, continuing to serve her constituents during a period of significant political change.
Senior Parliamentary Roles and Leadership Engagement
Following the 2019 election, then‑Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer appointed Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party. She stepped down from this role in July 2020 and later endorsed Peter MacKay in the 2020 Conservative leadership race. She was succeeded as deputy leader by Candice Bergen. Her engagement with party leadership continued in subsequent years. In March 2022, she entered the 2022 Conservative leadership election, withdrawing the following month. She later announced her intention to seek the Conservative nomination in Kingston and the Islands in December 2024, before ending that bid in January 2025.
A Record of Service
From her early years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force to her tenure as a Member of Parliament and senior opposition leader, Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak’s career reflects a consistent dedication to public service. As an alumna of the Royal Military College of Canada, Leona Alleslev‑Krofchak exemplifies the values instilled at the CMC’s – leadership, service before self, and a lifelong commitment to Canada. Whether serving as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force or representing Canadians in Parliament, her career demonstrates how the foundations built at the CMC’s continue to shape graduates who lead with integrity across military, public, and civic life.

Dr John Blaxland Guest Lecture
2026-10-26 15:00 - 16:00 | Queen’s University
Dr John Blaxland is Director of the ANU North America Liaison Office and Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University (ANU). A former Australian military intelligence officer, he is a trusted and highly regarded historian who has authored or co-authored over a dozen broad-ranging works on international, military, security and intelligence affairs. He is also an occasional media commentator.
John is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He is also the first Australian recipient of a US Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative grant (2015-18).
At ANU he has served as Head of SDSC and Director of the ANU Southeast Asia Institute. He has taught “Southeast Asian Security Studies” and “Honeypots and Overcoats: Australian Intelligence in the World” and supervised several PhD students. He is also a member of the ANU Institute for Climate Energy and Disaster Solutions (ICEDS)
Prior to academia, John was a military intelligence officer, serving as Chief Intelligence Staff Officer (J2) at HQ Joint Operations Command, and defence attaché to Thailand and Myanmar. He was also the brigade intelligence officer (S2) for the land component of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET). He was posted as an exchange officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington DC (including for a deployment with 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit on USS Boxer) and was awarded a U.S. Meritorious Service Medal for his contribution. Earlier on he was an instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and led a historical trek in Papua New Guinea across the Finesterre Range, known as ‘Shaggy Ridge’.
John is an Australian citizen, born in Chile. He went to school at Barker College, Sydney and received a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. He is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon (Blamey Scholar), the University of New South Wales (BA Hons. 1), the ANU (MA), the Royal Thai Army Command and Staff College (diploma), and the Royal Military College of Canada (PhD, War Studies).
This guest lecture is co-hosted by Queen’s CIDP and RKUSI. Registration details to follow.

RACE to Readiness - Revitalization of the Canadian Armed Forces
2026-10-30 08:00 - 16:30 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
RKUSI and Kingston Economic Development have partnered to host the 2nd (all day) Annual Defence forum October 30, 2026 at Fort Frontenac.
The Prime Minister and the government of Canada have committed to re-equip the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) with new aircraft, ships, submarines, air defence systems, and armoured vehicles over the next several years. To support this more capable and larger force, recruitment is increasing. The Chief of Defence Staff is finalizing recommendations to significantly expand both the reserves and regular force.
How do we fill the ranks and grow when CAF struggles to maintain its present size? Recruiting, infrastructure, training and retention – all must be addressed before the mobilization can be brought into the equation.
Keynotes by former Chiefs of Defence Staff General (Retd) Tom Lawson, Chair of CDAI and General (Retd) Walt Natynchyk. Guest speakers, panel discussions, one on one chats, all with Q+A opportunities. Plus coffee breaks and a curry luncheon.
Be part of the discussion. Register now for RACE to Readiness. Register online. Follow links on this site.

Dr. Christian Leuprecht Presentation - Topic TBC
2026-11-19 18:30 - 20:30 | Fort Frontenac Officers’ Mess (FFOM), Kingston, ON, Canada
Biography: Christian Leuprecht (Ph.D, Queen’s) is Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership, Department of Political Science, Royal Military College, on leave as Matthew Flinders Fellow at Flinders University in South Australia. He is a recipient of RMC’s Cowan Prize for Excellence in Research and an elected member of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada. He is president of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee 01: Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution, Munk Senior Fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute and cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies and the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University where he is also a fellow of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations and the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy. An expert in security and defence, political demography, and comparative federalism and multilevel governance, he has held visiting positions in North America, Europe, and Australia, and is regularly called as an expert witness to testify before committees of Parliament.
His publications have appeared in English, German, French, and Spanish and include 13 books and scores of articles that have appeared, inter alia, in the Florida State University Law Review (2019), Electoral Studies (2016), Government Information Quarterly (2016), Armed Forces and Society (2015), Global Crime (2015, 2013), the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (2014, Maureen Molot Prize for Best Article), Canadian Public Administration (2014), the Canadian Journal of Political Science (2018, 2012, 2003), Regional and Federal Studies (2012), and Terrorism and Political Violence (2018, 2016, 2011). His editorials appear regularly across Canada’s national newspapers and he is a frequent commentator in domestic and international media.
Leuprecht has been a visiting professor at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study (2016), the Helmut-Schmidt-University of the Bundeswehr (2016), Université Pierre-Mendès France (2015), the University of Augsburg in Germany (2011), the Swedish National Defence College (recurring) and the European Academy (recurring), the Bicentennial Visiting Associate Professor in Canadian Studies at Yale University (2009-2010). He is a research affiliate at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (since 2005), the Network for Terrorism, Security, and Society (since 2012), l’Université de Montréal’s International Centre for Comparative Criminology (since 2014), the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les relations internationales du Canada et du Québec (since 2015), l’Observatoire sur la radicalization et l’extrémisme violent (since 2015), the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (since 2010), the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College (2003), the World Population Program at the International Institute for Advanced Systems Analysis in Vienna, Austria (2002), and held doctoral (2001-2003) and postdoctoral (2003-2005) fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. from Queen’s University (2003), and graduate degrees in Political Science (1998) and French (1999) from the University of Toronto as well as the Institut d’Études Politiques at the Université Pierre-Mendès France in Grenoble (1997).
From 2015-2018 he held a Governor-in-Council appointment to the governing Council of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada where he also served on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Committee on Discovery Research. Since joining RMC in 2005, he has served as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Deputy Head of the Department of Political Science and Economics. He has twice received the RMC Commandant’s Commendation for Excellence in Service. A long-time proponent of experiential learning, Leuprecht has also been a finalist for RMC’s Teaching Excellence Award and has received honourable mention for the Queen’s University Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award (2017). He is a member of the editorial boards of Armed Forces & Society, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, Current Sociology’s Manuscript Series, and the Springer book series in Advances in Science and Technologies for Security Applications. Previously, he was associate editor of the Queen’s Policy Studies series published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.
