As a member you have done precisely what the creators of the association had in mind, when they first conceived of the association 80 years ago in 1944. By 1948, when the decision was made to stand up the association it was clear to RCAF leaders an association of demobilized veterans connected directly to their fellow Canadians in hundreds of communities across Canada would be exactly the kind of institution the RCAF would need, to help convey how important the RCAF had been, still was, and would be to Canada’s defence and security, not to mention economically, from the standpoint that the civilian and military aerospace industry would be interlocked in very many meaningful and important ways, and of tremendous benefit to all Canadians.​

Thank you for sharing this important part of our RCAF Association mission. The RCAF itself is our manifest or primary function. We accept our role to lend support to the men and women who have served, are serving and will serve, in Canada’s air force. We cannot do this without our members, and we are truly blessed to have your unwavering support.

A lot has happened in 100 years; technologically speaking, the aerospace domain remains at the forefront of innovation and invention in many almost unfathomable ways. Human ingenuity brought us to the moon and back, only a handful of decades after the earliest of flights by the Wright brothers in 1903 and Alexander Graham Bell’s and J.A.D. McCurdy’s flights in Baddeck, Nova Scotia in 1909. Militarily, Canada joined our allied leaders and contributed a substantive contingent to help defend democracy and freedom during the Second World War. The losses and gains realized during Total War eighty years ago are still felt to this day. We owe much to the generation that showed the way. Their example only encouraged those who followed to match and exceed such contributions, enabling RCAF efforts that included the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the defence of our European allies, Operation HAWK and the defence of our Asia-Pacific allies against communist aggression in the Korean peninsula, and a stalwart defence alongside our allies throughout the Cold War, against the unsettling and unwarranted provocations of the U.S.S.R. and Warsaw Pact.

To this we hasten to add the RCAF’s contributions to the creation of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) – an alliance whose most effective capabilities continue to protect Canadians and our friends in the United States.

Finally, the RCAF’s presence in support of countless peacekeeping and peacemaking operations since the end of the Second World War, everywhere, and the support to Canada’s land forces in the middle east, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as eastern Europe following the “fall of the wall,” only add to what is a sterling testimonial in memory of all those who chose to create the RCAF institution, and the men and women in RCAF uniform who carried the torch all these many years.

We close with a direct message of congratulations and gratitude we extend toward the Commander of today’s Royal Canadian Air Force – Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD – and his incredible leadership team – for their conduct of these very many celebrations and commemorations. We are especially grateful to Colonel Margaret “Maggie” Jacula, CD for leading the RCAF 100 committee, bringing imagination, excitement and encouragement to these important activities.

Well done to all the men and women in RCAF uniform helping Canadians remember, commemorate and celebrate our extraordinary air force.

Sic Itur Ad Astra – Such is the Pathway to the Stars