Having landed a new job and made the decision to depart, however, former military members will undoubtedly find their years of service have prepared them well for civilian employment. While this positive change may have the unintended consequence of easing the decision to leave the CAF, hopefully we have seen the last veteran leave after decades of service only to be unable to make ends meet while enduring a seemingly-interminable wait to receive pension benefits. Gone are the days of waiting five or six months to receive pension benefits. This was certainly true in my case, and anecdotal evidence from other retirees supports this observation. To aid that transition, recent changes in military pension administration mean that departing members can reasonably expect to receive their first pension cheque approximately 30 days after their last day of terminal leave. While there are some regulatory and procedural differences, military pilots will undoubtedly find their years of service have prepared them well for civilian employment. An RCAF crew from 430 Squadron flies a CH-146 Griffon helicopter near Valcartier, Que. This will enable them to be ready for unexpected opportunities which may arise.
My advice to members of the CAF and RCAF approaching the end of their military service is to ensure their departure plan is formulated and ready to implement five years prior to their expected retirement. As a result, my departure plan was not ready for execution when it was ultimately needed. However, in my case, my departure happened several years earlier than expected because of an employment offer that could not be refused.Īnd, while the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) offers career transition planning assistance in the form of the Second Career Assistance Network (SCAN) program, the most important lesson I learned about my transition was that its timing was unexpected.Īs a flying instructor, I would tell my students to expect the unexpected, but I erroneously assumed that I would leave the RCAF after a minimum of 30 years of service. The old maxim, “An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cross-check,” is a truth universally acknowledged in military aviation. My transition to civilian life was hastier than I would recommend. It all felt familiar, but at the end of this rainbow was a work experience that was both known – with its hangars, aircraft and flight crews – and unknown, with no uniforms and not a single “sir” heard in the workplace. Initially, leaving the RCAF and starting a new job seemed like any other military posting – there were moving trucks, and a long drive to the new place of employment. Like Dorothy and her dog, Toto, in The Wizard of Oz, it was clear that I was no longer working in my familiar khaki-coloured Kansas! “What are you doing?” was the quizzical acknowledgement – instead of the crisp and recognizable “Enter,” to which I was accustomed. So, on the first day of work as a civilian in Canada’s aviation sector, my military muscle memory did not fail me as I subconsciously snapped to attention in the doorway of my new CEO’s office. To assist in the transition, he also recommends connecting with the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada.
For those who aim to trade an RCAF cockpit for a civilian flight deck, it’s advisable to prepare a military departure plan at least five years prior to expected retirement, writes Col Andy Cook (Ret’d). After 28 years of service with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), I had become accustomed to snapping to attention in the doorway of a superior’s office and waiting for him or her to permit me to enter. Estimated reading time 7 minutes, 20 seconds.
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