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AIMS AND OBJECTS 

The aims and objects of the RCAF Association are:

1.  To unite personnel of the Reserves, Regular Force, and former members of Her Majesty‟s Air Forces and so preserve and foster the spirit of fellowship among all who have served in Her Majesty‟s Air Forces.
2. To support the maintenance of an adequate and efficient Air Force in Canada for the defense of our country.
3. To sponsor and encourage aeronautics in all its branches and to provide a means whereby former Air Force personnel and the public may be kept abreast of the changes in aviation and all that they imply from both the military and civil standpoint.
4. To support the RCAF Regular, the RCAF Reserves, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and any other components of the RCAF which may be formed.
5. To co-operate with the RCAF Benevolent fund, the Royal Canadian Legion, and any other organization devoted to, or assisting in the welfare of former Air Force personnel.
6. To perpetuate the glorious traditions of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
7. To strive for peace, goodwill, and friendship among all nations.

These aims and objects state in broad terms what the Association strives to do. They name the purposes for which the Association was established – the goal the Association has set for itself.

Interpretation

Because the interest of RCAFA members is in matters which do not remain fixed, the aims and objects of the Association cannot be fully described in precise, well-defined terms. For example, the stated aim “to sponsor and encourage aeronautics in all its branches” cannot be spelled out in so many words because aeronautics in an ever-changing and expanding field. The phrasing of the objective to sponsor and encourage aeronautics recognizes this and provides the flexibility necessary for the objective to remain valid. The Association‟s interest and concern encompasses the whole field and is not centered on one aspect of aeronautics alone. If it were centered alone on say, financial support for civilian pilot training, then the Association would be concerned primarily with fund raising and would be organized along lines to assure the best possible return from that monetary investment. The Association‟s aim could then be definitely and precisely stated. But because the Association‟s aims and objects are stated in general and somewhat nebulous terms they should not be permitted to slip into the background and become nebulous symbols of an unattainable desire. To serve their purpose as a guiding light they must be reviewed frequently and given a more precise meaning by those wishing to pursue them.

Implementation

Each Wing then must decide how best it can fulfill Association objectives in relation to its own resources at any particular time. The area covered by the aims and objects is too wide to expect complete fulfillment at all times and at all places. The emphasis and the effort will vary with the resources available and the need at any one time.

Just as each Wing must set its targets within the range of the aims and objects, so must each Group Executive and the National Executive Council set targets respectively for each Group and for the national organization. The aims and objects remain the same; the emphasis and effort will be different at each organizational level and in accordance with the requirement and the available resources at each level.

For example, consider the first listed of the aims – “to unite personnel and so preserve and foster the spirit of fellowship”. A Wing executive must consider how this might best be done in its community. If the Wing has just been organized it may wish to devote the major part of its resources and effort toward the establishment of quarters, facilities and programs to achieve this objective. If however the Wing is well established, has its own quarters, provides social and recreational activities, has the facilities and program to foster fellowship then it has come a long way toward reaching the objective. It can now direct some Wing resources and Wing effort toward maintaining what is established practice but will make the major effort toward the betterment of the Wing program in relation to the other aims and objects.

Each aim and object will be considered in turn by an efficient executive, and decisions made on the disposition of resources and the areas of disposition. It may be necessary for a time to concentrate on one or two of the stated aims. The others will get attention when the organization is better able to devote worthwhile effort to them or when circumstances dictate support in those areas.

The aims and objects as presented point the direction and define the general boundaries of Association activity. A Wing should be able to recognize what it is best equipped to do or what needs to be done locally within these boundaries. Every Wing whether it realizes it or not is doing something to add to, or subtract from, the sum total of the worth of the national organization.

A realistic program fitted to local needs in line with the aims and objects cannot fail to add to that worth.