Charged with protecting and defending the skies over Canada since 1963, the Canadian Air Defense Sector (CADS), partnered with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), performs surveillance, identification, and control in a 24/7 operation that tracks and identifies more than 200,000 flights each year. To accomplish this Herculean task, members of 21 Aerospace Control & Warning Squadron (21 AC&W Sqn), 22 Wing’s operational squadron, work on a four-day shift cycle. Each crew works two 12-hour days followed by two 12-hour nights with a four-day break between cycles.

In 2016, the Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) was implemented by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) to mitigate fatigue experienced by members of the RCAF. Fatigue, said Lieutenant-General Michael Hood, then commander of the RCAF, is a “High-priority threat to the RCAF that degrades operational effectiveness, flight safety, and the retention of trained effective personnel across all communities.” Read the rest of the article . . .