Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces Flag
Canadian Forces (CF) refers to the combined branches of the military forces of the Canadian federal government. It includes the Canadian army, navy, and air force. The headquarters of the entire Canadian Forces is in Ottawa, Ontario.
Canada's armed forces are charged with providing a multipurpose, combat-capable military service that is ready and able to:
Mission
Canadian Forces also have a long history of leadership in multi-national peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts worldwide.
Defence is one of the few Canadian national institutions that is solely under federal authority. All forces ultimately report to Canada's National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa, which is responsible to the Minister of National Defence. The military chain of command leads to the Chief of Defence Staff while civilian personnel report to the Deputy Minister of National Defence. Regular forces currently stand at approximately 60,000 personnel. In 2000, the government committed to an increase in Army Reserves to 18,500 with plans for greater integration of regular and reserve forces. CF troops are supported by 19,000 full-time civilian employees.
The Governor General is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian armed forces. This is a ceremonial position without power.
The structure of the Canadian Forces originated with a multi-service model based on British traditions. In 1964, an act of Parliament combined the army, navy and air force into a unified force under a single command. Unification was highly controversial at the time. Since then, the branches have regained much of their distinct character and organization.
Canadian Forces includes Land Forces Command or LC (army), Maritime Command (navy) or MC, Air Command (air force) or AC, Communications Command or CC, Training Command or TC), Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), and the Canadian Rangers.
Today, Land Force Command (army) consists of three field-ready brigades: 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in Edmonton, Alberta, 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in CFB Petawawa, Ontario, and 5e Groupe-Brigade mechanisÃÂé du Canada in CFB Valcartier, Quebec (the Francophone brigade). Each brigade contains one regiment each of artillery, armour, combat engineers and infantry (all scaled in the British fashion), as well as a service battalion (logistics), a field ambulance, a headquarters/signals squadron, a tactical helicopter squadron, and several minor organisations. Major training establishments and non-brigaded troops exist at Gagetown, New Brunswick, and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Well-known regiments in the army include Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in 1 Brigade, The Royal Canadian Regiment in 2 Brigade, and Le Royal 22e RÃÂégiment or the 'Van Doos' in 5e Brigade.
The Canadian militia (the Land Force Reserve) is divided into under-strength brigades (effectively just for purposes of administration) organized geographically, and has a strength of about 15,000. The militia is very active and has participated heavily in all Canadian army deployments in the last decade, in some cases contributing as much as 40% of each deployment in either individual augmentation, as well as occasional formed sub-units (companies). The militia contains many of Canada's most historic regiments, including the Toronto Scottish Regiment, les Voltigeurs de QuÃÂébec, and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
CF air wings are located at 13 bases across Canada under the direction of 1-Canadian Air Division and the Canadian NORAD Region based in Winnipeg MB. Major air bases are located in Cold Lake, Alberta, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Bagotville, Quebec, and Trenton, Ontario. A Canadian component of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force is based in Geilenkirchen, Germany. Wings vary in size from several hundred personnel to several thousand.
Principal aircraft include the CF-18 Hornet tactical fighter, CP-140 Aurora/Arcturus long-range patrol aircraft, CH-146 Griffon tactical transport helicopters and CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft.
Canada also hosts significant amounts of flight training for allied NATO air forces, as Canada possesses air-combat and ground-attack ranges nearly the size of Europe.
The Rangers are a part-time reservist organization providing surveillance and patrol services in Canada's most remote areas.
Canadian troops in colonial times served as regular members of British forces and in local militia groups. After Confederation in 1867, Canada's forces remained under British command until the turn of the 20th century. Canadian militia defended their homeland in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and in the Fenian Raids. A Canadian expeditionary force assisted Britain in the Boer War.
The Canadian Armed Forces date to the War of 1812 when Canadian militia units were formed to assist in defending British North America from the invasions by the United States. The Royal Canadian Navy was created in 1910 and the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924.
Canadian soldiers, sailors and aviators came into their own through conspicuous service in World War I, World War II and Korea.
The Canadian Forces or its component regiments have fought in the War of 1812, the Fenian Raids (1841-1871), North-West Rebellion (1885), the Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the First Gulf War, and have contributed to UN and other peacekeeping missions and undeclared wars, notably the Suez Crisis, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia, and the War on Terrorism (Afghanistan). Canada is a charter member of NATO and a member of the North American Air Defence treaty (NORAD).
Since 1947, the CF has undertaken 73 operations worldwide. In 2002, nearly 3000 Canadian troops were on active duty in 11 additional operations including the international war on terrorism in Afghanistan and the NATO stabilization force (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Canadian regular and reserve troops are a visible and respected force at home as well. In 2001 alone, the Canadian Forces responded to more than 8,000 search and rescue incidents and helped to save more than 4,500 lives.
At the end of World War II, Canada possessed the third largest navy and fourth largest air force in the world, as well as the largest all-volunteer army ever fielded (conscription for overseas service was only introduced near the end of the war, and no conscripts actually made it into battle). Defence spending and personnel remained high during the early years of Cold War, but began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s as the perceived threat from the Warsaw Pact diminished. Throughout the 1990s, successive budget cuts have forced further reductions in the personnel, number of bases, and fighting ability of the Canadian Forces. Sizable Canadian air and land forces were maintained in West Germany under NATO command from the end of World War II until the early 1990s.
Unlike the British and U.S. armed forces, the Canadian Forces is a single organisation with a unified command structure. Between 1965 and 1969 the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were combined into one service. The British-style uniforms (khaki, navy blue and sky blue) of the three services were abandoned in favour of rifle green. The traditional navy and air force rank names were replaced by their army equivalents, with naval-style rank badges for officers and army-style for non-commissioned members. Maritime Command has since returned to the traditional naval rank names (colonel = captain etc.) but Air Command did not retain its rank names (major not squadron leader). Critics argue that unification had a terrible impact on the morale of the Air and Maritime Commands and accomplished little in cost savings. In an effort to restore morale, Maritime and Air Commands were allowed to return to their traditional navy and sky-blue uniforms in the mid 1980s.
Force structure
Land Force Command
Canadian army brigades are administered through four geographically determined area commands:
In each command (except Atlantic), regular force troops comprising a mechanized brigade group (CMBG) are supported by reserve forces in nine brigade groups. Regular forces in the Atlantic command are based in the Combat Training School at CFB Gagetown.Maritime command
Canadian naval forces are deployed at bases in Esquimault BC on the west coast and Halifax NS on the east coast. The Canadian fleet comprises 12 multi-role patrol frigates, 4 area air defence destroyers, 4 long-range patrol submarines and 12 coastal defence vessels, supported by supply ships, surveillance aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters. The Naval Reserve maintains a fleet of Marine Coastal Defence Vessels for coastal patrols. The vessels are more or less evenly divided between the two bases.Air Command
JTF2: Canadian Special Forces
Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) is recruited from all CF units for counter-terrorism and special forces operations.The Canadian Rangers
Canadian Forces Bases
Current
Army
Navy
Air Force
All Services
Former Bases
History
Early days
Operations
Postwar developments
Modern reorganization
Statistics
See also
External links