Canadian Forces Medical Service

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CFMS badge

Queen Mother's Banner

The Canadian Forces Medical Service (CFMS) provides medical support for the Canadian Forces (CF) both at home and abroad. It is also a personnel branch of the CF. The CFMS along with the Canadian Forces Dental Service (CFDS) form the Canadian Forces Health Services Group (CF H Svcs Gp).

1 Roles and identification
2 Uniforms
3 Motto and march
4 History
5 Order of precedence
6 External links

[edit] Roles and identification

Medical personnel of the CF H Svcs Gp provide operational (deployed) and operational readiness (in-garrison) medical care to entitled personnel.

[edit] Uniforms

CFMS personnel wear the same uniforms as other members of the CF with unique identifiers depending on which distinctive environmental uniform (DEU) they are assigned (Navy, Army, Air). Regardless of environment, all officers and non-commissioned members (NCMs) wear the same cap badge. The only difference between the cap badges is that the NCMs have a gold snake and staff of Asclepius and the officers have a silver one.

Naval medical officers wear a scarlet distinction cloth between the braids of their rank, while other health care officer classifications (non-physicians) wear a dull cherry distinction cloth. NCMs wear a trade badge on their jackets.

All army health care officer classifications and non-commissioned members wear a "Medical" shoulder bar on the service dress jacket, and a tab bearing either the title "MEDICAL" or a unit identifier (e.g. "15 FD AMB") on slip-ons for other uniforms. NCMs below the rank of warrant officer wear a trade badge on the sleeve of the service dress jacket.

All air force medical branch officers and non-commissioned members wear a distinctive metal badge over their name tag on both their dress uniform jacket and short-sleeve order of dress.

[edit] Motto and march

Militi Succurrimus (We hasten to aid the soldiers) is the official branch motto. "The Farmer's Boy" is the branch march.

[edit] History

It has its origins in the Dominion government's 1885 response to the North-West Rebellion, with the appointment of Canada's first surgeon general, Doctor Darby Bergin of Cornwall, Ontario, and the mobilization of two field hospitals.

It suffered significant budgetary cutbacks after the 1994 Broadbent Report following the end of the Cold War, with three of its six military hospitals being closed.

More the CFMS History can be found at the CF Health Services web site.