Vanguard Magazine

clearly, those are very important things. But right now, in the RCAF, there are 75 trades supporting operations. There are so many other stories to be told, and that's what we're trying to do through the Centennial. The documentary Wings of Honour talks about the ground crew, navigators, air traffic control personnel and loadmasters. And, of course, we have all the administrative support personnel. Many people make the Air Force what it is. It's great to be able to tell those stories. Q Once the Centennial is over, is there going to be a follow on or next step? That's one of the things that we'll be look- ing at - how we can keep some of those things going. Our friends at CFMWS are fully on board with making sure that things like the RCAF Run keep going, and we want to keep that engagement. So, it's just identifying the right folks within the Air Force who can take those things on. In 2022, I believe it was, we did a public opinion research poll to get a sense of what Canadians were thinking about the Air Force and about the Cen- tennial. One of the things that we learned was that only 16 percent of people who had seen the roundel could identify it as the RCAF. Most thought it was either a political party, airline or hockey team. One of the big motivators that we've been focusing on during the Centennial is the awareness that this is your Air Force. That's why the tagline for the Centennial is Your Air Force. We are together. We wanted to bring out that sense of camara- derie and foster belonging, because as the Centennial was kicking off, we were still in the pandemic. People had retreated into their homes, and we really wanted to bring them back together. But Your Air Force also applies to all Ca- nadians because we are the Air Force of Canada, and the men and women of the RCAF are there to support Canadians, be it responding to forest fires, flooding, and other disasters. Q Canada's invested a lot into the RCAF. Is there anything that the Centennial is planning that touches upon these investments? Definitely, that's part of this initiative to inspire future generations. Often, when Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny talks about the Centennial, he focuses on moderniza- tion and all the investments that Canada has made in the RCAF. So, between the F-35, the P-8A and many other invest- ments, the RCAF is in a wonderful place. As you look forward to the future, there's much to be excited about. We tried to capture this in the three coins we released as part of our collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint. There is a gold coin with a Tiger Moth on it, which really tries to capture our history. There is also a silver dollar that is a collage of the present day. The third coin alludes to the future, and that's why it has the F-35 on it, which speaks to modernization. We're also very fortunate that many de- fence industry representatives are getting involved in the Centennial. On April 1, we launched a campaign to try to illuminate the world in blue. We sent that out through so- cial media, and there were over 500 locations in 27 countries where people illuminated landmarks - everything from the Peace Tow- er to Vimy Ridge to Niagara Falls to Royal Canadian Legions and even people's homes. It was exciting, and we saw some of our part- ners, like L3, illuminate their headquarters in blue. We're really trying to highlight that be- cause we didn't get to 100 years in a vacuum. Many industry partners helped the RCAF get to where we are. Q Are there any other activities planned we should know about? Something is exciting that we're planning for Canada Day, but we are still dotting our I's and crossing T's. We hope to have a mass fly past over Parliament and LeBreton Flats for Canada Day, including past, pres- ent and future aircraft. I encourage folks to keep an eye on the event page of the RCAF Centennial website: rcaf2024arc. This summer's air shows are also going to be amazing. The Italians are bringing their air demonstration team to participate in several air shows, including Bagotville and Trenton, while the Red Arrows are also coming over from mid-August to mid-Sep- tember to participate in air shows with us. Q This all sounds very exciting. Is there anything else you wanted to add? I want to say how very grateful we are to the defence industry for all their support of the Centennial. From the folks involved in the illumina- tions to the different companies participating in the RCAF Run to the folks coming out to the RCAF Ball, we're really grateful for that. You know the strong relationship between the RCAF and the defence contractors and the support and enthusiasm they're showing for the Centennial. Our team is doing a lot of work, but when you see these other folks get involved and celebrating the Centennial, it just means a lot. R C A F 100 T H A N N I V E R S A RY www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2024 27 Photo: Canadian Forces CF18 Demo Team Photo: Canadian Forces CF18 Demo Team

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