Canadian Forces Land Force Command

From Roach Busters

Land Force Command (LFC) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. LFC maintains bases across Canada and is responsible for the largest component of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve — the Army Reserve, often referred to as the "militia". The Chief of Land Staff is Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie.

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 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Army bases and training centres 3 Regiments 3.1 Armoured 3.2 Artillery 3.3 Combat Engineers 3.4 Infantry 4 Structure 4.1 Land Force formations 4.1.1 Land Force Atlantic Area 4.1.2 Land Force Quebec Area 4.1.3 Land Force Central Area 4.1.4 Land Force Western Area 4.1.5 Land Force Doctrine and Training System 5 Equipment 5.1 Individual weapons 5.2 Armoured vehicles 5.3 Support vehicles 5.4 Artillery 5.5 Aircraft 6 Rank structure

[edit] History

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 officially redesignated Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces.

[edit] Army bases and training centres

• CFB Edmonton, Alberta (1 CMBG, CTR Wainwright)
• CFB Suffield, Alberta
• CFB-TC Shilo, Manitoba
• LFWA TC Wainwright, Alberta
• CFB Kingston, Ontario
• CFB Petawawa, Ontario (2 CMBG)
• LFCATC 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 Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre (formerly CPC)

[edit] Regiments

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 comprised of anglophone units, while one third is francophone.

[edit] Armoured

Regular Force units include:

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

[edit] Artillery

Canada's regular field artillery has traditionally been called the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Canada currently has four Regular Force regiments:

• 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

[edit] Combat Engineers

• 1 Combat Engineer Regiment
• 2 Combat Engineer Regiment
• 4 Engineer Support Regiment
• 5^e Régiment du génie de combat

[edit] Infantry

Regular Force infantry regiments and battalions of the Canadian Army are:

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, The Royal Canadian Regiment
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
• 1^er, 2^e, et 3^e Bataillons, Royal 22^e Régiment

[edit] Structure

The Canadian Forces Land Force Command is subdivided into four regional command areas:

• Land Force Atlantic Area
• Land Force Quebec Area
• Land Force Central Area
• Land Force Western Area

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.

[edit] Land Force formations

Regular Force formations are in bold face. Reserve Force units are in light face.

[edit] Land Force Atlantic Area

• 36 Canadian Brigade Group (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
• 37 Canadian Brigade Group (Moncton, New Brunswick)

[edit] Land Force Quebec Area

• 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CFB Valcartier, Quebec)
• 34 Canadian Brigade Group (Montreal, Quebec)
• 35 Canadian Brigade Group (Quebec, Quebec)

[edit] Land Force Central Area

• 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CFB Petawawa, Ontario)
• 31 Canadian Brigade Group (London, Ontario)
• 32 Canadian Brigade Group (Toronto, Ontario)
• 33 Canadian Brigade Group (Ottawa, Ontario)

[edit] Land Force Western Area

• 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CFB Edmonton, Alberta)
• 38 Canadian Brigade Group (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• 39 Canadian Brigade Group (Vancouver, British Columbia)
• 41 Canadian Brigade Group (Calgary, Alberta)

[edit] Land Force Doctrine and Training System

• Combat Training Centre Gagetown (CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick)
• Canadian Manouvre Training Centre (CFB Wainwright, Alberta)
• Peace Support Training Centre (CFB Kingston, Ontario)
• Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College (CFB Kingston, Ontario)
• Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre (CFB Trenton, Ontario)

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Individual weapons

• C9 machine-gun
• C7A1 rifle/C8A1 carbine/C-7A2 rifle
• C6 machine-gun
• Browning .50 calibre heavy machine-gun
• Browning-HP 9mm pistol
• P225, 226 pistol
• Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW)
• C3A1 sniper rifle
• C13 fragmentation grenade
• M203A1 grenade launcher
• Remington 870 shotgun
• M3 Carl Gustav 84mm SRAAW(M) anti-armour platoon gun
• ERYX short-range anti-armour weapon (heavy)

[edit] Armoured vehicles

• M1 Abrams main battle tank
  • M1 Grizzly Engineer Vehicle
  • M1 Panther II Remote Controlled Mine Clearing Vehicle
  • M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge
  • M1 Panther II Mine Clearing Blade/Roller System
  • M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle
  • M1 Armored Recovery Vehicle
  • M1A1
  • M1A2
    • M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Package)
• Air Defense Anti-Tank System
• Stryker Mobile Gun System
• M113 armoured personnel carrier
  • M113A3
    • M1068A3 Standard Integrated Command Post System
    • M113A3 Maintenance/Recovery
    • M1064A3 Armored Self-propelled Mortar
    • M577A3 Tracked Command Post Carrier
    • M58 Armored Tracked Vehicle
    • M1059A3 Smoke Generator Carrier
    • M901A3 Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV)
    • M981A3 Fire Support Team Vehicle (FIST-V)
  • M113A4 MTVL (Mobile Tactical Vehicle, Light)
    • M113A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicle Light (IFVL)
    • M113A4 Mobile Tactical Light Recovery Vehicle (MTVR)
    • M113A4 Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light, Cargo Carrier (MTVC)
    • M113A4 Mobile Tactical Light Fitters Vehicle (MTFV)
    • M113A4 Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light Universal Carrier (MTVL-UC)
    • M113A4 Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle (AMEV)
    • M113A4 Hazardous Materials Recovery Vehicle (HAZMAT)
    • M113A4 Engineering Squad Vehicle (ESV)
    • M577A4 Command Vehicle
• Bison armoured personnel carrier
• Mamba armoured personnel carrier
• LAV III (Light Armoured Vehicle)
• AVGP (Armoured Vehicle General Purpose)
  • Cougar AVGP
  • Grizzly AVGP
  • Husky AVGP
• Coyote reconnaissance vehicle
• Lynx reconnaissance vehicle
• RG-31 Nyala multi-purpose mine-protected vehicle
  • RG-31 Mk3A Nyala
  • RG-31 Sabre
  • RG-31 Mk5 Nyala

[edit] Support vehicles

• HLVW (Heavy Lift Vehicle, Wheeled)
• MLVW (Medium Logistic Vehicle, Wheeled
• LSVW (Light Support Vehicle, Wheeled)
• ROWPU (Reverse-Osmosis Water Purification Unit)
• TRILS (Tactical Radar Identification and Location System)
• Aardvark JSFU mine-clearing system
• G-Wagen 4×4 light utility vehicle
• KMK 2025 crane
• Solar 220LC-III track excavator
• Bandvagn 206 small unit support vehicle
  • Bv 206A: Ambulance version
  • Bv 206F: Fire appliance variant

[edit] Artillery

• LG1 Mark II 105mm towed howitzer
• C3 105mm close support howitzer
• M777 155mm lightweight towed howitzer
• M109 155mm self-propelled howitzer
• L16 81mm mortar
• M19 60mm mortar
• Oerlikon 35mm twin cannon

[edit] Aircraft

• CH-146 Griffon multi-purpose utility helicopter

[edit] Rank structure