After four years in the top military job in Atlantic Canada, Rear Admiral John Newton is preparing to give up the reins of command on Friday at HMC Dockyard in Halifax to assume a new post.

He leaves his job in Halifax with reluctance.

"I wouldn't have volunteered to go. I don't find the stress is getting to me," said Newton from the deck of HMCS Montreal, one of the go-to warships in the fleet.

"I still feel like a 25-year-old," said Newton, 58, who has 34 years with the navy under his belt.

An extended term

Since 2013, he's served as commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic and Joint Task Force Atlantic. He has also served as search and rescue commander for the region and maritime commander for the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Joint Operations Command.

Typically, the commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic is at the helm for two or three years. Newton's term was extended, and during that time he says he's tried to prove to Canadians that the navy is worth investing in.

Captain (Navy) Chris Sutherland (left), assumes Command from Captain (Navy) Angus Topshee (right), presiding officer Rear Admiral (RAdm) John Newton (centre) during the Change of Command ceremony at Porteus Field, Canadian Force Base (CFB) Halifax, on July 10, 2015. (Corporal Anthony Chand/Formation Imaging Services)

He won't see the end of the giant shipbuilding project currently underway in Halifax. The project includes six Arctic offshore patrol ships.

"My big regret would be that I don't get the chance to work in the North. I don't get a chance to work with this government capability," he said.

A geologist by training, his passion is Canada's Far North.

Moving to Charlottetown

"You're going to have a hard time getting the North out of me, and you'll see me working on the northern project no matter where I go," he said.

He's moving on to the highest-ranking military job at Veterans Affairs Canada in Charlottetown, where he will work as a liaison officer.

He says he'll be relying on the listening skills he gained with the troops to help him in Veterans Affairs "to listen with empathy and understanding, to give the benefit of the doubt to people's complex stories," he said.

His job will involve understanding which cases are unique, and which are systemic, and working between the two departments to "create better bridging."

Twitter user

Newton has shown a less formal side to his personality by being active on social media. He regularly tweets things he enjoys from his account, @greatbigseas.

He says he's been trying to show that he's not just "a two-dimensional admiral about operations and discipline of sailors or warships."

It's his way of connecting with the public and "showing you love nature, that you respect the environment, that you can actually put a camera in somebody's face because you believe in the beauty of all humankind."

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sunrise?src=hash">#Sunrise</a> from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Atlantic?src=hash">#Atlantic</a> Ocean: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lunenburg?src=hash">#Lunenburg</a> <a href="https://t.co/gHLqq5n68i">pic.twitter.com/gHLqq5n68i</a> —@greatbigseas

Challenges on the job

Newton said turning sailors into great ambassadors and "leading sailors to be better Canadians" was a highlight of the job.

But, as with any large organization, that's been challenging at times.

In late May, Newton addressed the graduation ceremony for Indigenous recruits and addressed the racial taunts — a mocking "war cry" — they had been subjected to onboard a tour of HMCS Fredericton. He said the junior sailor had shamed himself and the unit with his insult.

In some ways, that direct, blunt talk foreshadowed the incident involving five members of the navy and army on Canada Day. The self-described members of Proud Boys, a far-right group, disrupted an Indigenous demonstration at the Edward Cornwallis statue in Halifax.

Members of the far-right group the Proud Boys showed up at an Indigenous demonstration on Canada Day in Halifax.

Newton, again, addressed the incident publicly.

Currently the navy and army chain of command is reviewing the discipline recommendation by military police. Newton promises to hold a news conference soon to discuss the results "to tell why we're pursuing a certain avenue of restorative or reformative sort of administrative processing."

Leading by example

Newton regards examples of bad behaviour as part of the reality of employing young adults and transforming them — a process that used to take five years, but now takes 10, he says.

Rooting out those attitudes starts with leading by example, leading with courage, and watching very carefully the polarization of society, he says. But it's all a fine balancing act.

"We cannot lose one sailor," acknowledging the shortage of sailors. "Our job is to hold on to the people we've got. And we spent millions of dollars investing in their training.

Rear Admiral John Newton, Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic. (Robert Short/CBC)

"You're not going to get a replacement should your own conduct drive a person away — whether it's a woman, a person of another gender identity different from that person, a person whose skin colour is different."

Bringing people together

The military is about camaraderie and bringing cohesiveness into units so they can work in their combat jobs, Newton says.

And bringing people together to a place of understanding is one of his accomplishments. He's done that literally, by taking them to northern areas such as Labrador.

"We can offer hope through education and joining the military, and our people can develop empathy from understanding the complexity of growing up in these communities and with this history," Newton said.

As he reflects on commanding, it boils down to this: "There's nothing better than serving other Canadians, all of them," he said.