CFB Borden
CFB Borden 16 Wing Borden Borden Heliport | |||||||||||
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 Sherman tank displayed outside of Waterloo Officers' Mess at CFB Borden | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | The Queen in Right of Canada | ||||||||||
| Operator | Department of National Defence | ||||||||||
| Location | Borden | ||||||||||
| Built | 1916 | ||||||||||
| Commander | Colonel Guy Hamel | ||||||||||
| Occupants | No. 400 Squadron RCAF | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 729 ft / 222 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 44°16′18″N 079°54′45″W / 44.27167°N 79.91250°W | ||||||||||
| Website | www.borden.forces.gc.ca | ||||||||||
| Helipads | |||||||||||
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Source: Canada Flight Supplement[1] | |||||||||||
Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden) is a Canadian Forces base located in Ontario.
The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CFB Borden is the largest training facility in the Canadian Forces. The base is run by Canadian Forces Support Training Group (CFSTG) and reports to the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) in Kingston.
History
At the height of the First World War, the Borden Military Camp opened at a location on a glacial moraine west of Barrie in 1916 to train units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In May 1916, the Barrie and Collingwood companies of the 157th Battalion (Simcoe Foresters), CEF (perpetuated today by The Grey and Simcoe Foresters ), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel D.H. MacLaren, began construction of the camp. Camp Borden was selected in 1917 for a military aerodrome, becoming the first flying station of the Royal Flying Corps of Canada. During the inter-war period, the aerodrome was used as the training location for the nascent Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was renamed RCAF Station Borden. Camp Borden's training grounds were expanded in 1938 to house the Canadian Tank School.
During the Second World War, both Camp Borden and RCAF Station Borden became the most important training facility in Canada, housing both army training and flight training, the latter under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). The BCATP's No. 1 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) was located here until 1946. Relief landing fields were located at Alliston and Edenvale. During the Second World War RCAF Station Borden also functioned as a training centre for Royal Norwegian Air Force pilots, and the aerodrome is remembered in Norway as "Little Norway".
A third landing field, known locally as Leach's Field, was operated by Camp Borden from the 1920s to the 1950s. The L-shaped airstrip was pretty rudimentary; the "runways" at Leach's Field utilized the existing ground surface. It was primarily used for touch-and-go flying.
During the Cold War, Borden's importance as an RCAF facility in Ontario declined in favour of CFB Trenton, CFB Uplands and CFB North Bay. However, its use as an army facility stayed consistent until 1970 when a major reorganization of the combat arms' schools resulted in the transfer of the Infantry School and Armoured School to CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. On the other hand, numerous "purple" (i.e. tri-service) schools were established or expanded from existing service training establishments, including the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics, the School of Aerospace Ordnance Engineering and the Medical Services School.
The February 1, 1968 unification of the RCAF with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army resulted in the creation of the Canadian Forces. The military facilities consisting of Camp Borden and RCAF Station Borden were grouped under a new name, Canadian Forces Base Borden (CFB Borden). The aerodrome was closed and the base saw use as a regular and reserve training facility for Canadian Forces Land Force Command (the army), as well as hosting various land-based training courses for Canadian Forces Air Command (the air force). In a 1990s reorganization of the Canadian Forces following the end of the Cold War, CFB Borden's air force training facilities were grouped under the name 16 Wing Borden.
Activities and facilities
Although originally an air force training base, CFB Borden is now a training base for several elements of the Canadian Forces:
- 1 Canadian Air Division's (1 Cdn Air Div) primary lodger unit, 16 Wing, consists of two schools: Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE) and Air Command Academy (ACA).
- Canadian Forces Land Force Command's (LFC) regular force and reserve force army units use a number of training schools and large portions of the base's 22,300 acres (90 km2) training area for manoevres.
- Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM) uses the base for the Naval Reserve Training Division (NRTD), where naval reserve non-commissioned members undergo a 9 week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course.
In addition to these specific environmental element commands, CFB Borden houses a variety of other purple trades training facilities and headquarters within the Canadian Forces, including a fire fighting school, a chaplaincy school, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group, medical, dental and language schools, and supports local cadet and reserve units. The Toronto Police Service's Emergency Task Force also trains there occasionally.
CFB Borden hosts the Blackdown Cadet Training Centre, a training establishment for Royal Canadian Army Cadets and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Ontario.
CFB Borden's residential area houses two golf courses, one 9-hole links style course (Anderson Park, Par 36) and one regulation sized golf course (Circled Pine Golf Course, Par 72). Circled Pine Golf Course and Anderson Park Course opened in 1952 and 1917 respectively. The courses are open to the public and serving military.
The Base Borden Military Museum (combining four separate museums) has numerous items, equipment and vehicles from all eras of Canadian military history, including a large number historic armoured vehicles and aircraft displayed outside in Worthington Park and around the headquarters area of the base.
Lodger formations and units
Lodger units
- 16 Wing
- Central Ontario Gliding Center (COGC)
- Canadian Forces Recruiting Group HQ (CFRG HQ)
- 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (3 CRPG)
- No. 400 Squadron RCAF
- Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) (RCSU Central)
- 31 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre (31 CFHSC)
- 1 Dental Unit
- Civilian Human Resources Centre (CHRC)
- 700 Communication Sqaudron (70 Comm Group)
Lodger training establishments
- Regional Cadet Instructor School (Central) (RCIS Central)
- Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE)
- Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA)
- Canadian Forces Health Services Training Center (CFHSTC)
- Canadian Forces Language School (CFLS)
- Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency Training Centre Borden (CFPSA)
- Air Command Academy (ACA)
- Naval Reserve Training Division Borden (NRTD)
- Post Recruit Education Training Centre (PRETC)
Training establishments
- Canadian Forces Fire Academy (CFFA currently amalgamated with CFNBCS)
- Canadian Forces Chaplain School & Centre (CFChSC)
- Canadian Forces Nuclear Biological Chemical School (CFNBCS currently amalgamated with CFFA)
- Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics (CFSAL)
- Canadian Forces School of Electrical Mechanical Engineers (CFSEME)
- Canadian Forces Training Development Centre (CFTDC)
Tributes
The aircraft Control Tower is dedicated to the memory of Royal Flying Corps Cadet James Harold Talbot. Talbot became the first fatality at Camp Borden when his Curtiss J.N.4 'Jenny' aeroplane crashed on April 8, 1917.
The Air Force Annex of the Base Borden Military Museum is dedicated to the memory of World War I Victoria Cross Winner Lieutenant Alan McLeod, the youngest Canadian Airman to earn the award.
Worthington Park, a part of the Base Borden Military Museum complex, named after Major-General F.F. Worthington, the father of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Worthington is buried in Worthington Park.
