[HEADQUARTERS STAFF.]
The duties undertaken by the headquarters staff of the Corps were, in many respects, much more onerous than those which fall to the lot of a similar establishment in Great Britain, and comprised not only the routine work of the brigade, but also very many functions which under home conditions would have been assumed by either the War Office or the Air Ministry.
Looking back at the past two years, it appears that although the headquarters burden was thus increased, the arrangement proved distinctly to the advantage of the Corps, resulting as it did in the centralization of authority and a constant unity of purpose and procedure which otherwise would have been difficult of achievement.
To make the matter perfectly clear, the Royal Air Force, Canada, must be considered as a unit operating outside the boundaries of the usual activities of the Air Ministry, and endowed with special authority and freedom of action, but handicapped, nevertheless, by certain limitations, which, although greatly alleviated by the helpful attitude of the Canadian authorities, made it imperative that extreme care should be used both in policy and action.
It is obvious from the chapter which deals with the [matter of recruiting], that particular judgment had to be used in the means adopted to bring the Corps up to the necessary strength, and it was doubly important that every precaution be taken to avoid enlisting men who were subject to the provisions of the Canadian Military Service Act.
Only in very special cases where the applicant’s qualifications made the enlistment desirable, was any recruit signed on who came under the provision of this Act.
The organization and formation of units was, of course, constantly subject to fluctuations in recruiting, and that these units were so soon brought up to workable strength, speaks well for the care given in this respect.
The arrangements made between Brigade Headquarters and the Department of Militia and Defence in Ottawa were all important; and negotiations for medical service, rations, etc., etc., having been completed with satisfaction to the Canadian government, it fell to headquarters staff to maintain a constant and careful liaison with the various departments involved. In addition there were also many important conferences at Washington, these resulting in a complete understanding between the U.S. Signal Service and the brigade, which understanding took admirable shape in the reciprocal training agreement so successfully carried out by the Corps in Canada and Texas.