In addition to this executive summary, there are five volumes to this report.

Volume 1 introduces the general approach taken by the Inquiry, followed by discussion of the major themes and principles stemming from our terms of reference that guided our approach. These major themes appear throughout the report and form an integral part of our analysis and recommendations. This volume also contains a number of background chapters describing things as they were at the time of the Somalia mission. Their purpose is to give the reader a basic familiarity with the nature and organization of the military in Canada, as well as with the military, legal, and cultural factors that shaped Canada's participation in the Somalia mission during 1992-93. The volume concludes with a narrative account of what actually happened before, during, and after Canada's involvement in Somalia. As well as describing events and actions, it points to where we suspect systemic problems exist.

Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 contain the essential distillation of the Inquiry's labours. There, we analyze the events described in the preceding narrative to reach our conclusions and recommendations. For each of the main themes identified earlier, we describe the standards and norms (what should have been expected) to identify the variances detected (the concerns flagged in Chapters 12, 13 and 14 in Volume 1) in order to draw findings from our analysis. Recommendations follow the findings. (They also appear collectively at the end of the report as well as in this executive summary.)

Volume 2 addresses the major themes of leadership, accountability, and the chain of command and examines the critical issues of discipline, the suitability of the unit selected for the deployment, selection and screening of personnel, training, the rules of engagement for the mission and overall operational readiness.

Volume 3 is devoted to a case study of the mission planning process for the Somalia deployment. Volume 4 contains our findings concerning individual misconduct on the part of officers of the Canadian Forces who received section 13 notices for the pre-deployment period of the mission and the failure to comply with our orders for disclosure of Somalia-related documents. Volume 5 contains additional findings on several important topics, including a thorough analysis of the incident of March 4, 1993 and its aftermath, the disclosure of documents, and a detailed assessment of the military justice system, with recommendations for extensive change. In the same volume, we discuss the implications of the government decision to truncate the Inquiry and what could have been accomplished with sufficient time to complete the assigned mandate. Volume 5 also contains a concluding section, a summary of our recommendations and the appendices to the report.

The remainder of this executive summary presents the highlights of each section of the report, followed by our recommendations.