904 (Lake Chapala-Mexico) Wing
Air Force Association of Canada
Wing Newsletters
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Last updated
July 7, 2008
Wing Executive
March 2004 |
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| President’s Message
I am delighted to be a part of this first issue of our Wing Newsletter. Many thanks to Bob Rowlatt and Mario Okunsky for their efforts in pulling it together. Last fall we established two membership goals. The first was to have the 25 members needed for the Charter Application, by the end of December. The second was to have 35 members by the end of March. Both goals have been achieved. The Charter Application was forwarded to AFAC National HQ in Ottawa in mid January and by the end of January our membership was up to 35. We have an interesting mix of members. Forty percent of our members are snowbirds while sixty percent are full-time residents. We have former members of the military services of Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, several of whom have also had very successful careers as airline transport pilots. In addition, we have members who have never served in the military but who have many years of experience in civil aviation both on the ground and in the air. We have one member who belongs to the Royal Air Forces Escaping Society and we even have a member who is a past National President of AFAC. There must be enough stories here to fill a shelf of books! Until now, the efforts of the Executive Council have been concerned mainly with building membership and obtaining the Wing Charter. With the Wing Charter Dinner now scheduled March 25 th, we have been making some plans for the fall. In a separate item in this issue, you can read about the Medical Support Project that is getting underway. To complement this newsletter, we are also planning to establish a Wing web site. The web site will provide information ‘on demand’ to both members and non-members, wherever they may be. The web site will take some doing, but we hope to have it up and running by the end of the year. Finally, thanks to Renaud Préfontaine, whose initiative in organising an ‘ex-Canadian Military Aircrew’ TGIF in January 2003, provided the seed for the establishment of 904 (Lake Chapala-Mexico) Wing, Air Force Association of Canada. In closing, here is a classic example of political astuteness. “The airplane is an invention of the devil and will never play any part in such a serious business as the defence of a nation…” Sir Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence, August 1914. Per Ardua Ad Astra Bill Watt |
Editor's Comments
Welcome to the first edition of the 904 (Lake Chapala- Mexico) Wing of the Air Force Association newsletter. The aim of the newsletter is to help create an image in the community, inform the membership of upcoming events and create a satisfactory image with our most affected critics – you our Members. We hope to give you a sense of participation and to inform you of upcoming events. To assist us in this process we welcome your comments and suggestions for future editions. We intend to establish a Wing website to assist in the distribution of the newsletter, other Association news and aviation topics of interest to the membership. When the website is complete we will have an email address for the Wing that will allow you the opportunity to pass us your suggestions by email. In the interim, please pass your comments to Mario or Bob. |
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| Reprinted from Crew Brief with permission |
| PERSONNEL
Pilot recruitment campaign underway |
| The Air Force is mounting an aggressive pilot recruitment campaign, in conjunction with Canadian Forces Recruiting Group, to bolster the number of people applying to become CF pilots. Currently, we have about 1332 pilots, however, we should have approximately 1475.
As a result, we are attempting to recruit approximately 184 men and women under the Direct Entry Officer (DEO) plan. The total recruiting target for new pilots this year is 222, which includes entry via Royal Military College, direct from a civilian university (DEO), internal CF occupational transfers as well as a limited number of high school graduates under the recently re-activated Continuing Education Officer Training Plan. It may seem surprising that we are falling short for pilots, however, the challenges we're facing are due to complex and inter-related factors, including economic, demographic and organizational (training) issues. Also, the CF has not actively promoted or advertised the military pilot occupation in the past because historically there have been plenty of applicants. As a result Canadians may not be aware of the opportunities in this profession. We hope that the $4.5 million recruitment advertising campaign, which began this fall, will inform Canadians about the opportunities in the pilot occupation. We are confident that the pilot occupation offers a challenging and rewarding career for those Canadian men and women who have the right stuff for this exciting job. Meanwhile, on the aircraft technician side of the house, and our efforts to regenerate the MOC 500 series trades (Avionics, Aviation and Aircraft Structures technicians), our recruitment, re-enrolment and regeneration efforts are slowly turning the tide. The 500 series trades have historically made up approximately 37-39 per cent of the Air Force; and with so many of those technicians approaching their retirement within the next few years, it's possible the Air Force will have to regenerate up to 70 per cent of those trades within the next 10 years. While the outlook is improving, the issue is fast becoming one of absorption as we juggle to absorb an inordinate number of new trainees while maintaining a vigorous ops tempo, something which we and our colleagues at 1 CAD are working hard to address. |
NATO Flying Training in Canada |
At the meeting held on 13 February, Bill Watt presented a video on the NFTC Program. For those of you who missed it or who would like additional information, here are some relevant web sites. The NFTC Web Site: http://www.nftc.com (Note that this web site requires that your computer have a "Flash" player capability.) The Macromedia Flash Player can be downloaded free from the Macromedia web site. http://www.macromedia.com The DND/CF Web Site: The Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Web Site is a well-constructed and informative site. Go to: http://www.forces.gc.ca |
| Medical Support Project
On Wednesday, the 25th of February, the Medical Support Committee met for the first time. The purpose of the meeting was to establish committee objectives concerning medical and hospitalisation issues of concern to members. It was agreed that, initially, the committee would focus on:
More information will provided in future issues of the Newsletter. |
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Member Survey Results
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| Next Issue: The next issue of the newsletter will be published in May 2004. Please submit your suggestions or letters to Mario or Bob by 23 April 2004. |