On the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attack, MGen Denis O’Reilly, D/Comd of the RCAF sat down with the RCAFA’s Chairman, Henri Levasseur, for an interview as follows:
Introductory Remarks & Question by Henri: Sir, good afternoon. Thank you for giving us some of your precious time for this important interview. We’ll go right to the questions, if that’s okay. The RCAF is entering a significant period of transformation. What excites you the most about where the Air Force is heading?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: What excites me the most is that the RCAF is becoming the most modern and relevant force in my career, which hits 35 years tomorrow. And now we’re having the kind of problems I always dreamt of. Its problems like Investments in more fleets than we can possibly deliver all at the same time; but it’s a challenge that we’re up for! Recapitalization is underway for up 85% of the Air Force between now and 2035. And so, it’s a generational investment.
We are bringing in some of the capabilities and enablers that will bring us from below-air parity with some of our near-peer competitors to actually being in parity with them. Then in the future, as we succeed, we’ll have an actual advantage. It excites me knowing that there’s a path laid out for that, that there’s a strategy, plus there’s policy coverage, and also that there is funding available to accomplish it.
It’s super exciting to be able to deliver that for Canadians; because that’s why we all joined the Air Force: to protect Canadian sovereignty and serve Canadians. And for the first time in my career, I’m excited that we’re actually going to be able to do that. And to personally be a small part of that is really exciting. It’s quite a privilege!
Question by Henri: In a changing global security environment, what are the RCAF’s top priorities?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: The top priorities are embedded in our strategy. It’s first to gain operational relevance for overall continental defence. And our Defence Policy: “Our North Strong and Free” is very clear that Canadian sovereignty and protection of our national interests at home is the most important thing, followed by operations abroad.
We need to focus on the Arctic. We need to focus on what the threats are because everything that we do really derives from those threat vectors, which are over the horizon from places like Russia and China. And it’s not just space and cyber or the information domain. It’s long-range aviation., it’s uncrewed aircraft systems, hypersonic speed vehicles, cruise missiles, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. And they are all increasing in their range, speed, in their ability to be low observable. So in order for us to first gain relevance and, then have an advantage, we need to be able to detect first, decide first, and act first.
And that’s what operational advantage means.
Question by Henri: You already touched upon some of my next question, which is, what role does the RCAF play in protecting Canada’s sovereignty, particularly in the Arctic?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: It’s important to distinguish when we talk about sovereignty about Canada versus sovereign Canadian industry and a Canadian-made capability. We don’t actually defend Canada in a fully sovereign way, because we decided over 50 years ago that we would do that through NORAD. And so the efficiency and the effectiveness of NORAD, and the way that we’re so intricately and successfully embedded with the US in NORAD, is actually a great source of strength.
And it’s interesting that it’s the 25th anniversary of 9-11 today. And actually 25 years ago, when it all happened and the World Trade Center was hit, the NORAD command centre director on duty in Colorado Springs was a Canadian, as were many, many of the staff. They were integral to and part of the responses both that day and afterwards. That hasn’t changed.
Even so, I’m still really excited about the Canadian Defence Industrial Strategy and the build, partner, buy, concepts and yes, it very important to ensure that our aerospace capabilities are more sovereign. But the defence of North America is not a fully sovereign thing that we would wish to do. In fact, we’re stronger together because we really do need to integrate in order to be able to detect, decide, and act together. And we’re stronger when we do that together in NORAD.
Question by Henri: Looking ahead, how is the RCAF preparing for the future of air and space power?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: So the future of air and space power isn’t just about platforms. It’s mostly about people. So the very first thing that we need to do is to prepare our people as we grow the force, and add more aircraft / capabilities.
And we’re definitely adding new capabilities. We haven’t had an airborne early warning command and control capability, for example. We also haven’t had autonomous platforms like the MQ-9 Guardian previously.
But it’s also about introducing people to new roles. We’re introducing a security force concept, for example, and we’re introducing new trades in the space realm, so Weill have space operators.
And we’re branching out into brand new areas that are critical enablers. So the traditional air force where we thought about things simply by the aircraft type that you flew is going to now be quite different. For example, now in the air and space battle in the defence of the Arctic, it’s all about the “ecosystem.”
The ecosystem of capabilities that are really fused together through data enablement, digitalization, cloud-based command and control, space assets with cyber assurance linked complete with logistics and supply chain resilience. And all of those individual pieces don’t work as well as if they work within a controlled ecosystem. So that’s why it’s so important when we talk about next generation or fifth generation, because what that’s really about is a fusion of all those things. It’s data fusion…It’s rapid passage of information…And it’s enabling artificial intelligence to take all of this in so that we can then rapidly process, exploit and disseminate the information.
And again, it goes right back to that same fundamentals. It’s detecting, deciding and acting faster than our adversary. And so it’s no longer simply about the platform. It’s about all the enablers in the background and all of the people being digitally enabled to do all of that quickly. And it’s not even exclusively an Air Force thing anymore when we talk about the defence of the Arctic in that threat environment I spoke about. You know, when there’s a cruise missile coming in, there’s sensors on one side and there’s effectors on the other. The sensor could be a North Warning Station. It could also be a satellite or it could be a US asset. Remember, this is about NORAD. We’re sharing all of these things including the over the horizon radar, which is a US-Canada capability.
And then the effectors could be a submarine or it could be our next generation fighter, but it could also be ground-based air defence or counter UAS systems, depending on what the threat is. And that’s why it’s so important because Canada is so large. The information has to go quickly, very quickly from the sensor to the command and control centre and then onto the effector. And then that’s how we gain operational advantage.
Question by Henri: You alluded to it earlier in answering the first question that it’s also about people. Does recruiting and retention remain an important challenge for the RCAF and how is the RCAF addressing that?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: Within the RCAF, one of our biggest successes is actually our RCAF Attractions Team, which we added the folks from the Chief of Military Personnel, who , by the way, have done a great job at turning around the recruiting and training system. They’ve really turned it around the last couple of years. And in fact, within the Air Force, for the last two years, we’re now in a positive growth mode.
So we’ve actually stopped the loss of people and we’re seeing a positive net increase of RCAF personnel. The real challenge is that we’re growing at a rate faster than we can actually train people. So even though we’re growing, the number of new positions, new squadrons, new capabilities is also growing at almost the same rate. So even though we’re having a great success, we’re on a overall steep growth trajectory.
As new things are announced, so does desire to grow even more quickly as that happens; so our ability to keep up with the pace of growth is probably our biggest challenge. And of course, our force is also getting younger at the same time. We have young personnel, as many of veteran personnel are aging out and retiring. Notwithstanding any of that, we’ve got to trust our people. We’ve got to think about giving people even more responsibility while constantly listening to them. They have great ideas.
So it’s also about being in an innovative environment. It’s not just about being the smartest person in the room, but creating psychological safety for all; having an environment where innovation can flourish and where people can bring their ideas forward and be heard.
Question by Henri: So following all of that, what gives you the most confidence about the future of the RCAF?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: I think our people at all levels. So I’m really proud of the people that serve in the RCAF. I’m always impressed. If you ever have a down day and you feel like you’re just in a quagmire of strategic level issues, just go visit a base, go visit a wing and meet the people. And the one constant in the RCAF is, even if the projects or funding or infrastructure, no matter what the issue is, might not be exactly where you want it to be, our personnel deliver in spades every time.
So our “ace in the hole” for the RCAF is our people at the tactical and operational level. No matter what, they make it happen. I can’t think of a single mission where we’ve sent RCAF personnel where it’s ever failed. They always draw accolades, not just from our own government, but from our allies. Our allies want more of Canada and it’s always because of our people.
Question by Henri: On a more personal note, who or what had the greatest influence on you as a young officer and how has that shaped your leadership today?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: I think there’s no one particular person that has shaped who I am because my growth as a leader has been continuous from day one. For example, who I am now is not who I was when I joined and I think that’s a good thing. If you had asked people what I was like in my first tour versus the way I am now, they probably wouldn’t recognize me. Are you sure we’re talking about the same Dennis? But I think that’s what we want for all our people and that’s the amazing thing about this institution is the number of opportunities you always have to push you outside your comfort zone and to grow.
And so every time I’ve had a challenge at a new rank or in a challenging job, I’ve taken the best from some of the leaders that I’ve seen. So I’ve seen leaders with great humanity, great drive, great transcendence, and all of those various characteristics. When we talk about character-based leadership, there’s things that I admire in all of them and then there’s flaws that I see too. And often when we meet these leaders, they’re often mirrors for us… Like the person that annoys you the most is probably the one that’s demonstrating your own weakness. And so there’s that too. So I think I’ve had the advantage of a diversity of leaders I’ve worked with.
Probably the most impressive leader though I have to say is that I really cherish was my year as a Chief of Staff to General Eyre at the CDS. He was an amazing leader and I learned a lot from that man, and particularly about transcendence, about stoicism, emotional intelligence, and especially taking the time to think things through. Relationships are super important. So yes, I would say he’s probably the one that’s had the greatest impact on my career. Albeit it was kind of late in my career but It’s never too late to learn! Yes, he was amazing.
And our current CDS I also admire. I think she’s got a very similar character and approach to strategic leadership that I really admire.
Question by Henri: The RCAF Association members and veterans remain deeply connected to the Air Force. And, as I said earlier, we’re here to be a relevant added value force multiplier for our stakeholders, the RCAF being the first and foremost. Is there anything that the Association is doing right or could improve to become even more relevant and added value to the RCAF?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: I would simply say keep doing what you’re doing. It’s always a two-way street, so we need to work together. So I think we could get a lot more out of the Association if the RCAF also increased the time that we get to spend together in order to communicate better. So I think we need to ask questions and be more curious about what the RCAF Association can do for us. And likewise, you should remain engaged, visiting, and asking questions. I think it’s all about the dialogue, especially in an environment where there’s a lot of misinformation out there. And we really do need to protect ourselves from some of the polarity that we see in other parts of the world that we can also see creeping into Canada. So it’s important that we also stay grounded in our past, in our history.
And in fact, most recently, the RCAF Association were a big part of our recent command and control discussion forum. So I’d like to point that out and to say thank you. And it’s important for all the readers to understand that during that forum the RCAF was engaging our retired members of the RCAF and its senior leaders in understanding why things are the way they are today, so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. And actually, I think that’s grounded in our flight safety system that, you know, this amazing system that was built by the people that came before us. So we’re standing on the shoulders of giants. So if you appreciate that, then you can’t forget the past. And you cannot ever allow yourself to be disconnected from that.
Question by Henri: Thank you for those kind words, sir. Lastly, what message would you like to send to serving members, families, veterans and Air Force supporters across Canada?
Answer by MGen O’Reilly: I would simply say that we appreciate your service; especially the families! Military service will continue to be both challenging and rewarding in ways that most Canadians probably do appreciate but might not understand fully. And so we’re doing everything we can in the RCAF headquarters to ensure that we can equip and train them for the best level of success for what awaits us in the future.
And that we’re tremendously proud of them. Like I said before, every time we go to a wing and we see RCAF personnel, especially even the new people coming in, they have so much energy and so much motivation. They get the transcendent mission that we have to defend Canadians and they’re up for the challenge. And they have a lot of great ideas. So I think the future looks really great. And as I look to retire, you know, in the near future, they’re going to be even better than me. I’m confident that when somebody replaces me, they’re going to be even better than I was.
Closing Remarks by Henri: Thank you for your time for this interview. And in closing, the RCAF Association would like to thank the RCAF for the trust you put in us as a sole, not-for-profit, voice of military aviation in Canada. We hope to bring added value, relevancy, and act as a force for all our stakeholders. Thank you again sir.
Closing Remarks by MGen O’Reilly: You’re most welcome. And on this precise day, it’s particularly poignant when we talk about NORAD in the Defence of North America. It is fitting that we remember the almost 3,000 people that died in the World Trade Centre and elsewhere on the 11th of September 25 years ago!
