Heritage and traditions

An institution’s heritage is like a person s DNA; it’s what defines and characterizes the organization and explains why it functions the way it does. Customs and traditions represent that heritage. These can be as light-hearted as a game of crud or as serious as the Victoria Cross. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has many customs and traditions that draw from its connection to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and Royal Air Force (RAF), its pre-unification life as the RCAF and as a command within the Canadian Armed Forces. As a Commonwealth military force, it respects, sustains and enriches the many traditions from Great Britain. Other aspects of its heritage are uniquely Canadian, a product of a three ocean nation that is young, geographically massive and the destination of so many who sought a land of freedom and opportunity. The RCAF celebrates its heritage and traditions because they tell us where we have been, what we have accomplished and the standards that we must continue to achieve in the future.