Canadian Forces Land Force Command

Canadian Forces Land Force Command

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 Force Mobile Command (FMC) with the name being changed to Land Force Command in a 1990s reorganization of the Canadian Forces.

History

The Canadian Army evolved from the various British garrison forces on the North American continent in the 1800s. Upon Confederation of Canada in 1867, the ground forces in Canada were referred to as the Militia. Eventually, a Permanent Active Militia was designated, being the regular army of Canada (regular in the sense that they were full time professional soldiers) and the Non-Permanent Active Militia (or reserves, part time soldiers who had vocations in the civilian world who trained on evenings, weekends, and for short periods in the summer months).

In 1914, Canadian Expeditionary Force was created in response to the call for soldiers to fight in the First World War. The CEF was a separate entity from the Permanent Active Militia (by now also known as the Permanent Force, or PF) and the NPAM. Regiments and other units of the Militia were not mobilized, but rather transferred personnel to the CEF for overseas employment. The CEF was disbanded after the First World War.

In 1939, the Canadian Active Service Force was mobilized; similar to the CEF, this was a mobilization of prewar PF and NPAM units, who retained their traditional titles. In 1940, the land forces of Canada were retitled. The CASF became the Canadian Army (Overseas), the Permanent Force became the Canadian Army (Active) and the NPAM became the Canadian Army (Reserve). The Canadian Army (Overseas) ceased to exist after the Second World War.

Following unification of the armed forces in the late 1960s, the army was again retitled to become Force Mobile Command, with both a regular and a reserve component. The reserve component readopted the historic title Militia.

In the late 1980s, after reorganisation of the three services into distinct "elements", with the naval and air components returning to uniforms roughly comparable to the former RCN and RCAF, Force Mobile Command became Land Force Command, retaining a slightly-modified version of the unified "CF Green" uniform. Towards the end of the 20th Century, the term "Army" became once again unofficially used to refer to Canada's land forces, both Regular and Reserve.

Army bases and training centres

• CFB Edmonton, Alberta (1 CMBG, CTC Wainwright)
• CFB Suffield, Alberta
• CFB-TC Shilo, Manitoba
• LFWA TC Wainwright, Alberta
• CFB Borden, Ontario
• CFB Petawawa, Ontario (2 CMBG)
• LFCA TC Meaford, Ontario
• CFB Montreal, 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 of the Regular Force

Canadian army regiments are strongly rooted in the traditions and history of the British Army. Battle honours displayed by these regiments often date back to colonial times. Many regiments originated as Canadian detachments of British parent regiments and as Canadian colonial militia, resulting in a variety of colourful and historically familiar names.

Units of the regular force are divided so that two-thirds are anglophone units and one-third are francophone.

Armoured

• The Royal Canadian Dragoons
• Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
• 12^e Régiment blindé du Canada

Artillery

• 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
• 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
• 5^e 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
• 1^e, 2^e, et 3^e Batallions, Royal 22^e Régiment

Between 1953 and 1971, the regular Canadian infantry consisted of seven regiments, each of two battalions (except the Royal 22^e 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 QOR and the Black Watch were returned to the militia (with their personnel distributed between the RCR and PPCLI), while the Canadian Guards was disbanded. In the 1990s, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was also disbanded.

Special forces

• Joint Task Force 2

Structure

See Article Structure of the Canadian Army.

Equipment

Vehicles

• G-Wagen 4 × 4, light utility vehicle - replaced the Iltis light trucks
• Bombardier Iltis light trucks - 1,900 units ordered in 1983 and replaced by the G-Wagen in 2004
• Mamba and Nyala landmine-resistant 4 × 4 armoured personnel carrier
• MLVW medium logistic vehicle, wheeled
• LSVW light support vehicle, wheeled
• HLVW heavy lift vehicle
• ROWPU (reverse-osmosis water purification unit)
• AVGP 6 × 6 armoured vehicle (general purpose)
  • Cougar (armoured fire support)
  • Grizzly (armoured personnel carrier)
  • Husky (armoured recovery)
• Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle (8 × 8)
• M113A3 tracked armoured personnel carrier
• MTVL (mobile tactical vehicle, light)
• LAV III 8 × 8 (light armoured vehicle)
• ADATS (air-defence, antitank system)
• Leopard C1 main battle tank
• Leopard C2 main battle tank
• M109 self-propelled howitzer
• Bv206
• CH-146 Griffon tactical transport helicopter
• Ford M151A2 - 935 vehicles order in 1974-1975 and replaced by the 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

Main article: Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

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		OF-D-	Student Officer
Canada	No Equivalent											No Equivalent	coming soon
		General	Lieutenant General	Major General	Brigadier General	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant		Officer Cadet
		Général	Lieutenant-général	Major-général	Brigadier-général	Colonel	Lieutenant-colonel	Major	Capitaine	Lieutenant	Sous-lieutenant		Eleve-Officier
1 Honorary/War time rank.

NATO Code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4		OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Canada																											No insignia						No insignia
	Command Chief Warrant Officer Adjudant-chef du commandement		Base Chief Warrant Officer Adjudant-chef base		Chief Warrant Officer Adjudant-chef		Master Warrant Officer Adjudant-maître		Warrant Officer Adjudant		Sergeant Sergent						Master Corporal Caporal-chef						Corporal Caporal		Trained Private Soldat		Private Basic						Private (Recruit) Soldat (recrue)

Battles involving the Canadian army

The Canadian Army has participated in the following campaigns as a combatant:

• Second Boer War
• World War I
  • France and Flanders 1915-1918
  • Siberian Expedition
• World War II
  • Battle of Hong Kong
  • Dieppe Raid
  • Sicily and Italy
  • Juno Beach
  • Northwest Europe
• Korean War
• Gulf War
• U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan
  • Operation Apollo