Initiatives launched to retain and increase RCAF personnel experience levels

[kev994]

When pilots leave the active force, I know quite a few of them stay flying with the National Guard. Is that one of their only options, if they just want to fly? Leave the full time job, get on with the National Guard?

a few of the guys I know are trying to get the last couple years towards a pension, though I do know one who is pensioned and finds the Herc a lot of fun.

 

[Sf2]

There are a few, rare opportunities in the RCAF too....reservists who can still pay into the pension....build it up, but with no looming threat of posting every year.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The shortage is in experience. We’re swimming in First Officers but have insufficient Instructor Pilots to help them progress.

Is their Allied air forces that can help supply senior personal to help out?

 

[kev994]

Is their Allied air forces that can help supply senior personal to help out?

Most are in the same situation.

 

[dimsum]

Is their Allied air forces that can help supply senior personal to help out?

As Kev994 says, everyone is in that level of hurt. Those senior pers would jump straight to the airlines.

The Australians are notorious for "poaching" trained members. They specifically ask for senior pilots, crew commanders, QFIs, etc. While on the face of it, it's awesome to fly new kit in Australia, it really makes me wonder why their own folks aren't staying in the RAAF.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

When you can't get people to do stuff like fly fighter jets and cool transport planes, then your doing something wrong. The Question of course is what that wrong is and how to fix it.

 

[kev994]

When you can't get people to do stuff like fly fighter jets and cool transport planes, then your doing something wrong. The Question of course is what that wrong is and how to fix it.

The flying isn’t the issue it’s all the other crap. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with all of the new pilots that keep showing up. Meanwhile, someone at the Div decides that we don’t really need X, so now I need to dig through my outlook to send them the emails from the last 5 years where I’ve already argued that in fact we need 2X, knowing that next spring I’m going to have to do it all over again. And then they wonder why we’re not meeting the imposed 2 year upgrade timeline when it was never realistic to begin with and they’ve halved our resources.

 

[Sf2]

As Kev994 says, everyone is in that level of hurt. Those senior pers would jump straight to the airlines.

The Australians are notorious for "poaching" trained members. They specifically ask for senior pilots, crew commanders, QFIs, etc. While on the face of it, it's awesome to fly new kit in Australia, it really makes me wonder why their own folks aren't staying in the RAAF.

I applied for Aussie Army Avn a few years ago....had I not pulled my file off the table, I would have been there in 6 months from initial application

 

[SupersonicMax]

When you can't get people to do stuff like fly fighter jets and cool transport planes, then your doing something wrong. The Question of course is what that wrong is and how to fix it.

Also, at some point, priorities shift from flying to stability. There is no shortage of people who wants to be fighter pilots or tactical transport pilots, but there is a definite shortage of experienced folks doing that. I don’t need to fly a training Close Air Support or Defensive Counter Air mission for the 200th time. I would love to deploy operationally once more but I wouldn’t feel incomplete if I didn’t. What I am looking for is stability or be compensated for the lack thereof.

 

[MilEME09]

What we did something like the commonwealth air training plan in the modern day? Work with our allies to pool trainers at a central point to get more throughput?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Hawaii Air National Guard flying Raptors. Sign me up!

Oh man... last time I was there I just sat on the beach, not far from Honolulu, with a few beers and just watched them practicing going from the hard deck to probably 20,000 ft in what must have been about 5 seconds. Astonishing performance.

 

[dimsum]

What we did something like the commonwealth air training plan in the modern day? Work with our allies to pool trainers at a central point to get more throughput?

My guess is that it would be prohibitively expensive for the "other" countries (ie. the ones sending their students/staff to the central location).

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I hope they also replace aircrew allowance for other aircrew trades as well.

That is the chatter I've been hearing in the WO+ ranks; I think it was discussed on FSC earlier this year. I know there was info passed on increasing the # of IPCs for either Sgt+ or WO+ - that did come from WO who heard it on ILP Res phase semi-recently (a trusted source, or I wouldn't mention it). I believe it is part of, or flows from SEM/TEM project work.

Good to see the SAR Techs get it first, I'd happily trade AIRCRA for pensionable earnings.

 

[daftandbarmy]

What we did something like the commonwealth air training plan in the modern day? Work with our allies to pool trainers at a central point to get more throughput?

And the only reason we offered up that program was because Mackenzie King thought it would give us a pass from the heavy ground combat resulting in (huge infantry) casualties that would spell the demise of his government,

As it turned out, ironically, the Canadian Army set a record for casualty rates in WW2.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/303915474.pdf

 

[GR66]

And the only reason we offered up that program was because Mackenzie King thought it would give us a pass from the heavy ground combat resulting in (huge infantry) casualties that would spell the demise of his government,

As it turned out, ironically, the Canadian Army set a record for casualty rates in WW2.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/303915474.pdf

Unfortunately your link wouldn't work for me.

Can you provide details supporting the claim that the Canadian Army set a record for casualty rates in WW2?

 

[Blackadder1916]

Unfortunately your link wouldn't work for me.

Can you provide details supporting the claim that the Canadian Army set a record for casualty rates in WW2?

Another link that leads to the same article: Copp, Terry "To the Last Canadian?: Casualties in the 21st Army Group." Canadian Military History 18, 1 (2009)

To the Last Canadian?: Casualties in the 21st Army Group

In Normandy, Canadian infantry divisions suffered a higher rate of casualties than British divisions engaged in similar operations. These figures have been used by some historians to prove Canadian failure on the battlefield. However, by using statistics gathered by operational research...

scholars.wlu.ca

Abstract: In Normandy, Canadian infantry divisions suffered a higher rate of casualties than British divisions engaged in similar operations. These figures have been used by some historians to prove Canadian failure on the battlefield. However, by using statistics gathered by operational research scientists during the war, this article shows that the “considerably heavier casualties” suffered by the Canadians in Normandy and beyond were the product of a greater number of days in close combat with the enemy, not evidence of operational inexperience or tactical failure.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I will argue "No evidence of operational inexperience or tactical failure, beyond that experienced by all the allies on the Western front". All the allies learned the hard way about Infantry/tank cooperation, even if some of those lessons had already been learned in Italy and more or less ignored by some of the leaders preparing for the Invasion of France.

 

[McG]

What I am looking for is stability or be compensated for the lack thereof.

What do you mean when you talk of “stability”? Is it postings, op tempo, unexpected tasks, all the above, or something else?

 

[dimsum]

What do you mean when you talk of “stability”? Is it postings, op tempo, unexpected tasks, all the above, or something else?

I'd say all of the above. Also, for me (and many others), spousal employment is a huge issue. Might be hard in Cold Lake, although with the "trial by fire" of remote working some jobs might become (inter)national.

 

[SupersonicMax]

What do you mean when you talk of “stability”? Is it postings, op tempo, unexpected tasks, all the above, or something else?

All of the above. And our market value, for often better conditions, is much higher than what we are offered within the CAF at the moment.