CFB Edmonton

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CFB Edmonton

CFB Edmonton is a Canadian Forces Base

Canadian Forces base

A Canadian Forces Base or CFB refers to a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units ....
located in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canada Provinces and territories of Canada of Alberta. The city is located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies....
, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
, Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks".

History
The history of CFB Edmonton begins at an old airfield called Blatchford Field (named after a former mayor of Edmonton, Kenneth Blatchford), a few kilometres south from where CFB Edmonton would eventually be established. The airfield began operating after the First World War and became important to the opening up and development of the Canadian north.

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CFB Edmonton is a Canadian Forces Base

Canadian Forces base

Edmonton

Alberta

Canada

History

The history of CFB Edmonton begins at an old airfield called Blatchford Field (named after a former mayor of Edmonton, Kenneth Blatchford), a few kilometres south from where CFB Edmonton would eventually be established. The airfield began operating after the First World War and became important to the opening up and development of the Canadian north. During the Second World War Blatchford Field became a Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The Royal Canadian Air Force was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Forces....
(RCAF) training station under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, also known as the Empire Air Training Scheme, Empire Air Training Plan, Commonwealth Air Training Plan or simply "The Plan" or "The Scheme", was a massive air-training program involving the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia during the World War...
. No. 16 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 16 EFTS) and No. 2 Air Observers School (No. 2 AOS) used the aerodrome. The RCAF also ran No. 4 Initial Training School (No. 4 ITS) which was a ground school located offsite. No. 16 EFTS closed in 1942 and No. 2 AOS closed in 1944. After No. 2 AOS closed, the station formally became known as RCAF Station Edmonton. Many RCAF squadrons and units were located here, including a survival school and the RCAF Winter Experimental Establishment (WEE). A USAAF B-29 bomber detachment also used the station.

During the war the airfield became a staging point for the U.S. defence of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
and was heavily used by the U.S. military. Aircraft had to be ferried and transport aircraft used the aerodrome to support the construction of the Alaska Highway

Alaska Highway

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II and connects the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It runs from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon, Yukon....
. Air traffic increased significantly and flying activities were becoming hazardous. Since the old airfield could not be expanded because of its proximity to the city of Edmonton, the U.S. Government built a new air facility at Namao, about 11 kilometres north of the city. The Americans ran the Namao airfield until the end of the war when the Canadian Government took it over. RCAF Station Edmonton, located at the old Blatchford Field, developed some severe limitations and so all RCAF Squadrons and support units were transferred to the "new" RCAF Station Namao on 1 October 1955. Blatchford Field was turned over to the Edmonton municipal government.

During the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
RCAF Station Namao was used by the United States Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

The Strategic Air Command was both a major command in the United States Air Force and a "specified command" in the United States Department of Defense....
. The station also hosted the Edmonton Rescue Coordination Centre

National Search and Rescue Program

The National Search and Rescue Program is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue activities in Canada....
, and served as home base for United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
Food Aid flights, delivering much-needed aid to Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast....
, Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
, and Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkans peninsula of South Eastern Europe with an area of 51,129 square kilometres . Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is Landlocked#Nearly landlocked, except for 26 kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coas...
. Because Namao at that time had a runway, it was a designated an emergency space shuttle

Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System , is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions....
landing site by NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, responsible for the nation's public list of space agencies....
.

In 1968, when Canada's armed forces were amalgamated, RCAF Station Namao was redesignated Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (Lancaster Park) and was under command of the new Air Transport Command and later Air Command

Canadian Forces Air Command

Canadian Forces Air Command , also known as the Canadian Air Force, is the air force element of the Canadian Forces. AIRCOM is the descendant of the Royal Canadian Air Force , which was Canada's air force from its foundation in 1924 until February 1, 1968....
. Flying units based at CFB Edmonton were:

408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
418 "City of Edmonton" Air Reserve Squadron
435 Transport Squadron
440 Transport and Rescue Squadron
447 Transport Helicopter Squadron

With the formation of air force wings in the 1990s the base became 18 Wing.

Federal Government budget cuts forced the command of the air station to be transferred to the army in 1994. CFB Edmonton (Lancaster Park)/18 Wing Edmonton was redesignated CFB Edmonton.

CFB Edmonton today

CFB Edmonton has become one of the premier army bases in Canada. It is currently the headquarters of Land Forces Western Area, the highest military authority in western Canada, and a number of brigade groups, including 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of Land Forces Western Area of the Canadian army. Originally headquartered at CFB Calgary, it is currently based in CFB Edmonton in Alberta with two major units at CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and consists of seven Regular Force units:...
(1 CMBG), the only regular force

Regular Force

In the Canadian Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve....
brigade group in the region. The base itself is situated at Steele Barracks (named for Sir Sam Steele) just outside of the city. The area formerly known as CFB Griesbach

CFB Griesbach

CFB Griesbach is a former Canadian Army base in the north end of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The site is named after Major-General William Antrobus Griesbach , a veteran of the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War....
within the city itself is no longer operational, all buildings and land were sold and are no longer crown assets. The base as a collective is an important part of the community surrounding Edmonton and is home to some of the most prestigious and experienced units in the Canadian Military.

The 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is an infantry regiment in the Canadian Forces , belonging to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group ....
, along with elements of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)

Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)

Lord Strathcona's Horse is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group....
and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (all part of 1 CMBG) were chosen to be a part of Canada's military response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and were deployed on combat operations to Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
(including Operation Anaconda

Operation Anaconda

Operation Anaconda is the code name for an operation in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers working with allied Afghan military forces, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat....
) in 2001 and 2002. Units from the base are currently deployed or in the process of deploying to Kandahar

Kandahar

Kandahar, also spelled Qandahar, is the third largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of 324,800 . It is the capital of Kandahar province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level....
, Afghanistan as part of the Canadian Forces command takeover in that area as well. Units from Edmonton have also been deployed on domestic operations such as to assist with the Red River Flood

Red River Flood, 1997

The Red River Flood of 1997 was a major flood that occurred in April and May 1997, along the Red River of the North in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Southern Manitoba....
in 1997 (where the entire 1 CMBG was deployed) and, more recently, as a part of Operation Peregrine

Operation PEREGRINE

Operation PEREGRINE was a domestic Canada military operation that took place between August 3 and September 16 2003.In early August 2003, British Columbia was overwhelmed by over 800 separate forest fires....
in response to the forest fires in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
in 2003. Units from CFB Edmonton have also been deployed on innumerable peacekeeping operations, including to Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kosovo

Kosovo is a disputed region in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo . Serbia does not recognise the secession of Kosovo and considers it a United Nations-governed entity within its sovereign territory, the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija that was re-created by Slobodan M...
, among others.

The Area Support Unit (ASU) and CFB Edmonton provide infrastructure and support to 47 units located in and around Edmonton. The number of military personnel at these units includes 4,500 regular

Regular Force

In the Canadian Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve....
, and 500 reserve force soldiers. There are also 500 civilian employees and 7,800 family members, bringing the total population of the Edmonton military community to approximately 13,300.

CFB Edmonton

History

CFB Edmonton today

See also

External links