Message from the Chief of the Air Staff

This will be my last opportunity to address you in Crew Brief as Commander of Air Command and Chief of the Air Staff before my retirement. My departure comes at one of the most exciting junctures in the 81-year history of our organization. In fact, I cannot recall more reason for optimism than the recent infusion of funding in the federal budget and the new Defence Policy.

Chief of the Air Staff, LGen Ken Pennie in Halifax during the Air Force Association of Canada Annual General Meeting parade in 2004.

As you are no doubt aware by now, the Finance Minister announced $12.8 billion in new funding to the defence budget over the next five years. This represents the largest increase in defence spending in 20 years and offers great promise for the future.

This infusion of much-needed money will help us sustain our operations, permit us to expand the Canadian Forces and allow us to transform our military into a more effective, integrated force. And this is just the first step. The new defence policy will permit us to refocus our efforts in the new security environment Canadians live in today.

This positive sign from the Government of Canada is very encouraging and demonstrates its recognition of the tremendous contribution made daily by the men and women of the Air Force. The past 10 to 15 years have been beyond challenging for the organization; they have been demanding and tough, both for our people on the flight line and our staff in Ottawa and Winnipeg. However, it is because of the outstanding quality of the men and women in uniform that we have been able to weather the years of cutbacks and restraint, and emerge more strongly positioned to transform. Our credibility as an organization has grown with the international recognition of the contributions made by our men and women around the world, and through the preparatory work we did for initiatives such as Project Transform and the Expenditure Review Committee. This credibility, earned through the dedication and hard work of our people positioned us very favourably and helped put our situation in an accurate and positive light.

The Government of Canada realizes that a strong and capable military is essential to Canada playing a more active leadership role in the world and protecting Canadian interests and it is providing the funding to ensure we remain relevant in today’s security environment.

In addition to the recent additions and improvements already planned for our fleets of aircraft, the promise of new Medium-Lift Helicopters and utility aircraft for the North, along with the recent news of pay increases for our men and women in uniform are reason for optimism. We have turned the corner, following years of cutbacks and restraint. However, you need to know that this change will take time. The funding identified in the budget will be responsibly allocated over time, as new equipment projects and investments associated with the new defence policy are implemented towards the end of the five-year period.

Significant improvements on the way

While Air Force members may notice a change in their pay cheques very soon, ther improvements will be more gradual. The increase of $500 million in new money identified in the defence budget for the new fiscal year will not bring dramatic change on the flight line immediately. This initial amount only provides the foundation for sustainment and transformation. But over the next few years the Air Force will begin to see significant improvements as projects are brought online. This is the right approach, as it will take significant effort for us to ramp up in order to capitalize on this investment in defence.

Coupled with the new budget is the announcement of the reallocation of money within the Government of Canada brought about by the expenditure review process, as previously mentioned. The Air Force’s direct contribution is $133 million in savings that will be reallocated over five years through the retirement of six CC-115 Buffalo Search and Rescue (SAR) aircraft and ten CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft being used for SAR missions, as we take delivery of new Fixed- Wing SAR aircraft. Other corporate initiatives throughout the defence department may have an indirect impact on the way we do business. Some of these decisions will have an impact on people. However, those impacts are expected to be minimal and will be addressed through attrition, retraining or reassignment.

This is only the beginning of a long-term process to strengthen the Air Force and the Canadian Forces. These are exciting times. Things are not going to stay the same.

For more on the federal budget, go to www.forces.gc.ca