Canadian Army | |
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Badge of the Canadian Army |
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Active | 1867 — Present |
Country | Canada |
Allegiance | Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada |
Type | Army |
Size | 19,500 regular personnel[1] 16,000 reserve personnel[1] 35,000 total personal Land Force Atlantic Area |
Part of | Department of National Defence Canadian Forces |
Headquarters | National Defence Headquarters |
Motto | Vigilamus pro Te (We Stand on Guard for Thee) |
March | "Celer Paratus Callidus" |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Chief of the Defence Staff | General Walter Natynczyk CMM, MSC, CD |
Chief of the Land Staff | Lieutenant-General Peter J. Devlin, CMM, MSC, CD |
Assistant Chief of the Land Staff | Major-General A.J. Howard, CD |
Insignia | |
Flag of the Canadian Army |
Military history of Canada |
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The Canadian Army (French: Armée canadienne), previously called Land Force Command, is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. The current size of the Army is 19,500 regular soldiers and 16,000 reserve soldiers, for a total of around 35,500 soldiers.[1] It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada and is also responsible for the largest component of the Primary Reserve, the Army Reserve. The Chief of the Land Staff is Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin.
The Canadian Army is a descendant of the Land Force Command which was the name of Canada's land forces from 1997 until 2011; however, the term "Canadian Army" was officially used beginning in 1940. 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. In August 2011, the Land Force Command was renamed to the pre-1968 title, the Canadian Army.[2] The Canadian Army as such only existed under that name from November 1940 to February 1968. However, the term has been traditionally applied to the ground forces of Canada's military from Confederation in 1867 to the present.
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Following unification of the three armed services in 1968, Mobile Command became in effect the "Canadian Army" though the term "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 renamed Land Force Command. On 16 August 2011, Land Force Command was officially redesignated the Canadian Army.
Army Headquarters are located at NDHQ in Ottawa and is subdivided into four regional command areas:
Each area is responsible for the regular army and militia forces located within its geographical purview - all except the Atlantic Area has a regular army mechanized brigade group under its command, together with between two and three militia brigades.
Each mechanized brigade group contains 3 infantry battalions, an armoured regiment, an artillery regiment, and a combat engineer regiment. Each brigade group also contains a service support battalion, signals squadron and military police platoon.
In addition to the four regional command areas, the Land Force Doctrine and Training System, commanded by a Major-General and headquartered at McNaughton Barracks, CFB Kingston, Ontario, is responsible for the supervision, integration and delivery of the Land Force training and the long-range planning of the Land Force training and doctrine development, including simulation and digitization. It includes a number of schools and training organizations, such as the Combat Training Centre at CFB Gagetown, NB, and the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre at CFB Wainwright, AB.[3]
The senior appointment within Canadian Land Forces was entitled Chief of the General Staff until 1964 when the appointment became Commander, Mobile Command with the unification of Canada's military forces.[4] The position was renamed Chief of the Land Staff in 1993.[5] Following the renaming of the Canadian Army in 2011, the position became Commander Canadian Army.
Officers are selected in several ways:
In addition there were other commissioning plans such as the Officer Candidate Training Plan and Officer Candidate Training Plan (Men) for commissioning serving members which are no longer in effect.
Occupational training for Canadian Army officers takes place at one of the schools of the Combat Training Centre for Army-controlled occupations (Armour, Artillery, Infantry, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, etc.) or at a Canadian Forces school, such as the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics or the Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre for officers from career fields controlled outside the Army.
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 maintained by Canadian regiments as well. Approximately two-thirds of the Regular Force is composed of anglophone units, while one third is francophone.
Between 1953 and 1971, the regular Canadian infantry consisted of seven regiments, each of two battalions (except the Royal 22e RĂ©giment, which had three, the Canadian Guards which had four battalions between 1953 and 1957 and the Canadian Airborne Regiment, which was divided into three "commandos"). The three present regular infantry regiments were augmented by three further regiments each of two battalions:
Following the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the Regular Force battalions of the QOR and the Black Watch were dissolved (their Militia battalions remained in Toronto and Montreal, respectively), the Regular regiment of The Fort Garry Horse was disbanded and the Canadian Guards were reduced to nil strength.
The 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards was disbanded on 1 October 1968. On 6 July 1970, the 2nd Battalion The Canadian Guards was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle, with the unit's soldiers and officers becoming the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
On 1 July 1970, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada were reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle, and the Reserve Force battalion automatically relinquished its numerical designation.
On 15 September 1968, the 2nd Battalion the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle, while when the 1st Battalion was reduced to nil strength and transferred to the Supplementary Order of Battle on 27 April 1970, with the unit's officers and soldiers forming the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The Reserve Force battalion automatically relinquished its numerical designation at that time.
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded in 1995.[11]
The Regular Force regiment of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's), formed in 1957, was converted to a mixed Regular and Reserve “Total Force” unit with the close-out of 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Lahr, Germany in 1994, before reverting to a Reserve regiment in 1997.[12]
The regular forces currently consist of the following regiments:
Regular Force infantry regiments and battalions of the Canadian Army are:
Canada's regular field artillery has traditionally been called the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Canada currently has four Regular Force regiments:
Regular Force units include:
Land Force Western Area | Land Force Central Area | Land Force Quebec Area | Land Force Atlantic Area | ||
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Alberta | Manitoba | Ontario | Quebec | New Brunswick | Nova Scotia |
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Canada is an industrial nation with a highly developed science and technology sector. Since the First World War, Canada has produced its own infantry fighting vehicle, anti-tank guided missile and small arms for the Canadian Forces. Army and Land Force Reserve operate state-of-the-art equipment able to handle modern threats through 2030–2035. Despite the financial cuts between 1960s–2000s, Army is well equipped.[14] The Army currently operates approximatively 10,500 utility vehicles including G-wagon and 7000-MV and also operates approximatively 2,700 armoured fighting vehicles including the LAV-III and the Leopard 2.[15] The Army also operates approximatively 150 field artillery pieces including the M777 howitzer and the LG1 Mark II.[16]
In the near future between 2011 to 2017 (see also the list of Future Canadian Forces projects), the Army will receive a new family of combat vehicles including 138 close combat vehicles meant to accompany the main battle tank into combat and to increase combat capabilities of Army. Army will also receive a new family of tactical armoured patrol vehicles which will eventually replace the RG-31 Nyala and Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle. The dismounted soldiers will be equipped with the long-awaited Integrated Soldier System designed to improve command execution, target acquisition and situational awareness. Army will receive a new family of engineering vehicles especially designed to clear pathways for troops and other vehicles through minefields and along roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices. This new family of vehicles will eventually replace the aging fleet of AEV Badger, ARV Taurus and AVLB Beaver.
Army infantry uses the C7 Rifle or C8 Carbine as the basic assault rifle, with grenadiers using the C7 with an attached M203 grenade launcher, and the C9 squad automatic weapon. Newer variants of the C7/C8 family have since been integrated into common use throughout the Canadian Forces. The C7 has most recently been updated in the form the C7A2. The major internal components remain the same, however, several changes have been made to increase versatility of the rifle. Changes include adding a TRI-Ad rail mount system to the front iron sight which allows accessories such as laser designators and tac lights to be added. Also, the fire control selector lever has been made ambidextrous in addition to the cocking lever. A much needed 4-position telescopic butt-stock has been added to better accommodate different sized shooters. But, perhaps most obviously the rifle has undergone some aesthetic changes, moving away from the traditional all black rifle to one with olive green in the hand guards, pistol grip and sight cover.[17]
Canada's battledress developed parallel to that of the British from 1900 to 1968, though always with significant differences, and then increasingly followed the US pattern of separate uniforms for separate functions, becoming distinctively "Canadian" in the process and utilizing CADPAT design. Prior to unification in 1968, the uniforms of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were similar to their counterparts in the forces of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, save for national identifiers and some regimental accoutrements. With unification in 1968 all branches started wearing the new rifle green uniform. The present distinctive environmental uniforms in different colours for the navy, army and air force were introduced in the late 1980s and are generally similar to their pre-1968 counterparts.
Field kitchens and catering are used to feed members of the Canadian Army personnel at bases and overseas operation centres. For personnel on patrol away from bases, they are supplied Individual Meal Pack.The IMP (Individual Meal Pack) is used by the Canadian Forces and Canadian cadets. Other types of rations are used by the Canadian Forces, notably fresh rations, or cooked meals provided directly from the kitchen or by haybox. There are also patrol packs, which are small high-protein snack-type foods (such as beef jerky or shredded cheese) and boxed lunches (consisting of assorted sandwiches, juice, fruit, pasta and a dessert) provided for soldiers to consume in situations in which meal preparation is not possible.
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. Some ranks may have different names depending on the customary tradition of certain army corps, and may not appear here. Two commonly heard examples are the rank of Sapper, referring to a trained private in the combat engineers, and Trooper, referring to a trained private in the armoured trade. In addition, in the artillery, the ranks Trained Private through Master Corporal are represented by Gunner, Bombardier, and Master Bombardier respectively.
Commander-in-Chief |
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NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student Officer | |
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Canada | No Equivalent | General | Lieutenant General | Major General | Brigadier General | Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant | No Equivalent | Officer Cadet |
Général | Lieutenant-général | Major-général | Brigadier-général | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Capitaine | Lieutenant | Sous-lieutenant | Élève-Officier | |||
NATO Code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Warrant Officer |
Master Warrant Officer |
Warrant Officer |
Sergeant | Master Corporal |
Corporal | Private | Private Recruit |
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Adjudant- chef |
Adjudant- maître |
Adjudant | Sergent | Caporal- chef |
Caporal | Soldat | Soldat Recrue |
The Canadian Army has participated in the following campaigns as a combatant:
Second Boer War | First World War | Second World War | Korean War | Afghanistan |
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Note: The Canadian army was involved in the battle of the Medak Pocket, but actual type of involvement is under dispute
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