CFB Borden

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Sherman tank displayed outside of Waterloo Officers' Mess at CFB Borden

Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden) is a Canadian Forces Base located in Borden, Ontario.

The 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). CFSTG reports to the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) in Kingston. The Canadian Forces Recruiting Group is located at Borden and is responsible for the administration of nation-wide recruiting. Although originally an air force training base it is now a training base for several elements in the military. The air element, known as 16 Wing Borden, consists of three schools. The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE) and the Air Command Academy (ACA) are located at Borden. The third 16 Wing school, the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations (CFSACO), is located offsite at Cornwall. The expansive training area houses a number of training schools for various branches of the Canadian Forces. Total area of the base is approximately 22,300 acres. As well, the base houses the Naval Reserve Training Division (NRTD), where reserve force non-commissioned members undergo a 10 week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course.

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 armored vehicles and aircraft displayed outside in Worthington Park and around the base.

1 History
2 Trivia
3 Lodger formations and units
4 External links

[edit] History

At the height of the First World War, the Borden Military Camp opened at a location on a glacial moraine west of Barrie, Ontario in 1916 to train units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. 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 Program (BCATP). The BCATP's No. 1 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) was located here until 1946. Relief (emergency) landing fields were located at Alliston and Edenvale.

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, NB. On the other hand, numerous "purple" (ie tri-service) schools were established or expanded from existing service training establishments, including the Canadian Forces School of Admininstration and Logsitics, the School of Aerospace Ordinance 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 Armed 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. Saskatchewan Boulavard is the longest road with houses in CFB Borden.

[edit] Trivia

During the Second World War RCAF Station Borden functioned as a training center for Royal Norwegian Air Force pilots, and the aerodrome is remembered in Norway as "Little Norway."

CFB Borden hosts the Blackdown Cadet Training Centre, a training establishment for Royal Canadian Army Cadets and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Ontario.

[edit] 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)
400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) (RCSU Central)
31 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre (31 CFHSC)
1 Dental Unit
Civilian Human Resources Centre (CHRC)

Lodger Training Establishments

Regional Cadet Instructor School (Central) (RCIS Central)
Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology & Engineering (CFSATE)
Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA)
Canadian Forces Medical Services School/Canadian Forces Dental Services School (CFMSS/CFDSS)
Canadian Forces Language School (CFLS)
Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency Training Centre Borden (CFPSA)
Air Command Academy (ACA)
Naval Reserve Training Division Borden (NRTD)

Training Establishments

Canadian Forces Fire Academy (CFFA currently amalgamated with CFNBCS)
Canadian Forces Chaplain School & Centre (CFCSC)
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)