Formal guidelines are laid down on how far in advance flight dates should be confirmed to battalions. Defence Instructions and Notices number 03-020 states that detailed itineraries and arrangements for all tasks are to be issued, generally two weeks before the task date. In practice, however, for operations and exercises, battalions are normally given at least 10 to 30 days notice of departure.
In all situations the guiding principle is to give soldiers as much notice as possible of likely departure dates.