Canadian Army: Difference between revisions
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[http://www.army.gc.ca Canadian Army Website] - Official website of the Canadian Army |
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*[[History of the Canadian Army]] |
*[[History of the Canadian Army]] |
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*[[Canadian Forces]] |
*[[Canadian Forces]] |
Revision as of 15:15, 21 August 2006
Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LFC) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Armed Forces. LFC maintains bases across Canada and is responsible for the largest component of the Canadian Forces Reserves — the Army Reserve, often referred to as the "militia".
LFC is the descendant of the Canadian Army which was the name of Canada's land forces from 1940 until February 1, 1968. At the time of unification all army units were placed under Mobile Command (MC), later changed to Force Mobile Command (FMC) in 1975 when tactical air units were assigned to newly-created Air Command. The name was changed from FMC to Land Force Command in a 1997 reorganization of the Canadian Forces.
History
Following unification of the three armed services in 1968, Canada's Mobile Command became in effect the "Canadian Army" though the "Army" did not find favour until the 1980s when it became once again unofficially used to refer to Canada's land forces, both Regular and Reserve. The early organization of Mobile Command included tactical ground attack fixed and rotary wing aircraft, in addition to ground forces, and was akin to the integrated warfare approach of the United States Marine Corps. In a 1975 reorganization of the Canadian Forces, Air Command was created and all air assets were reassigned to that organization. Mobile Command was renamed Force Mobile Command and became an exclusive ground force. In 1997, Force Mobile Command was officially redesignated Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces.
Army bases and training centres
- CFB Edmonton, Alberta (1 CMBG, CTC Wainwright)
- CFB Suffield, Alberta
- CFB-TC Shilo, Manitoba
- LFWA TC Wainwright, Alberta
- CFB Kingston, Ontario
- CFB Petawawa, Ontario (2 CMBG)
- LFCA TC Meaford, Ontario
- CFB Montreal, Quebec
- CFB Farnham, Quebec
- CFB Valcartier, Quebec (5 CMBG)
- CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick (CTC)
- LFAATC Det Aldershot, Kentville Nova Scotia
- CFB Trenton, Ontario Canadian Parachute Centre (CPC)
Regiments
Canadian infantry and armoured regimental traditions are strongly rooted in the traditions and history of the British Army. Many regiments were patterned after regiments of the British Army, and a system of official "alliances", or affiliations, was created to perpetuate a sense of shared history. Other regiments developed independently, resulting in a mixture of both colourful and historically familiar names. Other traditions such as Battle Honours and Colours have been adopted by Canadian regiments as well.
Armoured
Regular Force units include:
Artillery
Canada's regular field artillery has traditionally been called the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Canada currently has four Regular Force regiments:
- 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
- 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
- 5e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada
- 4th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Combat Engineers
- 1 Combat Engineer Regiment
- 2 Combat Engineer Regiment
- 4 Engineer Support Regiment
- 5 Combat Engineer Regiment
Infantry
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, The Royal Canadian Regiment
- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
- 1er, 2e, et 3e Bataillons, Royal 22e Régiment
Between 1953 and 1971, the regular Canadian infantry consisted of seven regiments, each of two battalions (except the Royal 22e Régiment, which had three, and the Canadian Airborne Regiment, which was divided into three "commandos"). The three present regular infantry regiments were augmented by two battalions each of the Canadian Guards, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. After 1971, the regular force battalions of the QOR and the Black Watch were dissolved (their Militia battalions remained in Toronto and Montreal, respectively) with their personnel distributed between the RCR and PPCLI, while the Canadian Guards were disbanded. The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded in 1995.
Special forces
Structure
See Article Structure of the Canadian Army.
Equipment
Vehicles
Builder | Model | Type | Number | Dates | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mercedes-Benz | G-Wagen 4 × 4 | light utility vehicle | N/A | 2006 | replaced the Iltis light trucks in Afghanistan |
Bombardier | Iltis | light utility vehicle | 1,900 | 1980s | replaced by the G-Wagen in 2006 |
BAE Systems Land Systems | Mamba/Nyala | landmine-resistant 4×4 armoured personnel carrier | 50 | 2006 | a further 25 have been ordered |
General Motors Corporation/Bombardier | MLVW | medium logistic vehicle, wheeled | N/A | 1980s | based on M35/M36 series trucks |
Bombardier | LSVW | light support vehicle, wheeled | N/A | 1980s | |
Urban Transportation Development Corporation | HLVW | heavy lift vehicle | N/A | 1980s | based on Austrian Steyr Percheron truck chassis |
N/A | ROWPU | reverse-osmosis water purification unit | N/A | 1990s | |
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division Cougar | AVGP | 6 × 6 armoured vehicle (general purpose) | N/A | 1990s | (armoured fire support) |
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division | Grizzly | AVGP | (armoured personnel carrier) | N/A | 1990s | |
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division | Husky | armoured recovery | N/A | 1990s | |
FMC Corp. | Lynx reconnaissance vehicle | armoured reconnaissance | 174 | 1968–early 1990s | |
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division | Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle (8×8) | armoured reconnaissance | 203 | 1990s | |
FMC Corp. | M113A3 | tracked armoured personnel carrier | N/A | 1980s | |
General Motors Diesel Division | MTVL (mobile tactical vehicle, light) | N/A | N/A | 1980s | |
General Motors Diesel Division | LAV III | 8 × 8 light armoured vehicle | N/A | 1990s | |
United Defense Limited Partnership | ADATS | air-defence, antitank system | N/A | 1990s | |
Krauss-Maffei/MaK | Leopard C2 | main battle tank | N/A | 1978– | 114 Leopard C1 tanks were upgraded to Leopard C2 in 2000–2001. |
United Defense Limited Partnership | M109 | self-propelled howitzer | N/A | 1980s-1990s | |
BAE Systems Land Systems | Bv206 | tracked vehicle | N/A | 1980s | |
Bell Helicopter Textron | CH-146 Griffon | tactical transport helicopter | N/A | 1980s-1990s | |
Ford | M151A2 | light truck | 935 | 1974-1975 | replaced by the Volkswagen Iltis truck in 1983 |
Weapons
- C9 machine-gun
- C7A1 rifle/C8A1 carbine/C-7A2 rifle
- C6 machine-gun
- Browning .50 calibre heavy machine-gun
- Browning-HP 9 mm pistol
- Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW)
- C3A1 sniper rifle
- C13 fragmentation grenade
- M-203 grenade launcher
- TOW anti-tank missile
- Carl Gustav
- M72 anti-tank weapon
- 81 mm mortar
- 60 mm mortar
- ERYX short-range anti-armour weapon (heavy)
- Javelin short-range air defence missile
- LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer
- M777 lightweight 155mm howitzer
- Skyguard / 35 mm twin-gun low-level air defence
- C1 close support howitzer
- C3 close support howitzer
- P225, 226 (naval boarding parties, pilots and JTF operators)
Rank structure
Comparison of ranking structure available at Ranks and insignia of NATO. Not shown are the various appointment badges for specialist positions such as master gunner, drum major, etc. Many ranks are associated with specific appointments; for example a regimental sergeant major is usually a chief warrant officer. The title of master corporal also, technically, refers to an appointment and not a rank.
NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canadian Army[1][2] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
General | Lieutenant-general | Major-general | Brigadier-general | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second lieutenant | |||||||||||||||
Général(e) | Lieutenant(e)-général(e) | Major(e)-général(e) | Brigadier(ère)-général(e) | Colonel(le) | Lieutenant(e)-colonel(le) | Major(e) | Capitaine | Lieutenant(e) | Sous-lieutenant(e) | |||||||||||||||
|
NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canadian Army[1][2] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief warrant officer | Master warrant officer | Warrant officer | Sergeant | Master corporal | Corporal | Private (trained) | Private (basic) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjudant(e)-chef | Adjudant(e)-maître | Adjudant(e) | Sergent(e) | Caporal(e)-chef | Caporal(e) | Soldat(e) (formé(e)) | Soldat(e) (confirmé(e)) |
Battles involving the Canadian army
The Canadian Army has participated in the following campaigns as a combatant:
- Second Boer War
- First World War
- France and Flanders 1915-1918
- Siberian Expedition
- Second World War
- Korean War
- Gulf War
- U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan
External links
- Land Force Command (Defence page)
- army.ca - Army.ca a web forum and interactive wiki dealing with both current and historical issues related to the Canadian Army.
- Canadiansoldiers.com
Publications
- Canadian Military Journal: http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca
- Canadian Army Journal: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/
See also
- History of the Canadian Army
- Canadian Forces
- Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces
- army.ca - unofficial website to which forum has passed
- ^ a b "Ranks and appointment". canada.ca. Government of Canada. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ a b "The Canadian Armed Forces modernizes military ranks in French". Canada. Government of Canada. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2024.