Message from the Chief of the Air Staff

Incredibly Interesting Year for Canada’s Air Force

LGen Lucas in the cockpit of a Japanese fighter during a recent visit to Japan. Japanese General Yoshida is expected to visit Canada, when talks between the two countries’ air forces will continue. Exchanges of information between air forces provide insight into best practices and lessons learned, resulting in better decisions.

This issue of Crew Brief coincides with the completion of my first year as the Commander of Air Command and Chief of the Air Staff. It has been an incredibly interesting year, and I am increasingly optimistic about the future of the Air Force as it becomes more fully integrated with other components of the Canadian Forces.

I hope you will find this publication both informative and entertaining. I appreciate the feedback that I received from our readers and acknowledge your comments. I encourage you to continue to maintain this dialogue. This issue of the newsletter continues to focus on transformation, capabilities and our most important resource of all, our people. Sixteen senior Air Force promotion or appointments have been announced this year, and several units will witness a change of command over the annual posting season.

Among the many changes to take effect this summer, MGen Angus Watt will be leaving his post as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff to take up new duties as the Combined Force Air Component Commander for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. MGen Watt was instrumental in overseeing the Air Force’s challenging first year of Canadian Forces transformation. We thank him for his tremendous contributions and wish him well in his next challenging assignment.

The past year saw the Air Force at a turning point, and it is now emerging from a very difficult 15-year period since the end of the Cold War, during which our survival as a viable force was a key concern. We are now at the point where not only can we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we are now seeing beyond the end of the tunnel. And what we see is very promising.

I am pleased to say that we have now entered a period of growth and revitalization, which will permit us to continue to transform into a more effective force, fully integrated with all components of the Canadian Forces. I am encouraged by the recent 2006 Federal Budget, which builds on the renewed focus on the Canadian military. The additional increase of $5.3 billion to the Defence budget over the next five years, announced on May 2, 2006, will permit the Government to move forward with plans to acquire new equipment, expandthe size of the military and continue with the transformation of the Canadian Forces.

This transformation is already well underway. Evidence of this transformation can be seen in the significant organizational changes that have been made to the command and control structure of the Canadian Forces. The consolidation of several Air Force units into more robust and flexible formations, the creation of an aerospace warfare centre for the Canadian Forces and the way Air Force and Army personnel are integrated in the operation of the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (TUAVs) within Task Force Afghanistan are just a few tangible examples of how the Air Force is moving ahead. I am confident that the next few years will continue to see significant and lasting improvements to the Air Force’s infrastructure, equipment, capabilities and personnel.

During the past year I have had the opportunity to visit most of our Wings and units to see firsthand the great work our people are doing, both here in Canada and in other countries around the world.

We continue to be blessed by the high quality of the people who choose to serve their country by joining the Air Force. Our team of highly skilled professionals is amongst the best in the world and our international credibility continues to grow with the recognition of the contributions made by our men and women both here in Canada and around the world. Through their dedication and professionalism, the Air Force contributes in a very real way to the economic, environmental and military security interests of Canadians, meeting our national and international operational commitments, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Other individuals and organizations, such as our Honorary Colonels, members of the academic community and the Air Force Association of Canada, to mention a few, also make an invaluable contribution to the Air Force; particularly when it comes to helping the organization connect with Canadians. More and more we realize how important it is for Canadians to recognize the essential role the Canadian Forces plays in their lives. And how important it is for them to recognize the opportunities for them to play a role in the Canadian Forces.

In fact, the new challenge for the Air Force will be to attract the right people. To be successful, we will need to ensure we have a full team of qualified people, in the right place at the right time, with the right skill sets. As we move ahead on projects to bring new aircraft and capabilities to the Canadian Forces, there will be an even greater demand to attract highly skilled Canadians to join our team. This need to grow our workforce at the same time as supporting a high operational tempo will require a full team effort. We will benefit from the recent investment in the Canadian Forces by the people and Government of Canada; however, we will still need to be creative in how we go about our business. For instance, we will need to find new ways to access the right people with the right qualifications, as well as new methods for procuring equipment which are less time-consuming and less labour-intensive. And we will need time. This process of transformation will last over the next five to 10 years. Throughout this period we will see steady improvements in our ability to contribute to the Canadian Forces and I am confident the exceptional people who make up the Air Force will meet these new challenges with same dedication they exhibit daily; whether on operations, or preparing for them.

As we continue to move ahead, I will begin to reach outward to other nations to learn from their experiences. I have begun to meet with Chiefs of other Air Forces around the world in order to establish better relations and create opportunities for exchanges between staffs in order to gain insight into best practices and lessons learned. Meetings have already taken place with Chiefs of the Air Staff from Hungary, Japan, Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, while meetings with France and China are expected in the near future.

I feel very fortunate to have assumed command of the Air Force at this point in its 82-year history. Benefiting from the excellent work done by my predecessors, and the increased support from the people and Government of Canada, I am proud of the accomplishments our people have made over the past year. And I look forward to continuing to lead our hardworking men and women through this period of dynamic change.

Feedback

I would like to encourage you to send your comments, questions and suggestions to crewbrief@forces.gc.ca in order that we can address issues of concern to you in future publications of this newsletter.