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Canadian Forces Land Force Command
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Land Force Command (LFC) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces.
LFC maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada and is also responsible for the largest component of the Primary Reserve, the Army Reserve, which is often referred to informally by its historic name, 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.
HistoryFollowing 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.
Army bases and training centres- CFB Edmonton, Alberta
- CFB Suffield, Alberta
- CFB-TC Shilo, Manitoba
- LFWA TC Wainwright, Alberta
- CFB Kingston, Ontario
- CFB Borden, 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)
- Four Mile Point Live Firing Range - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
- Connaught Range and Primary Training Center
RegimentsSee:List of units of the Canadian 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.
Regular ForceSee:List of units of the Canadian Army
ArmouredRegular Force units include:
ArtilleryCanada's regular field artillery has traditionally been called the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Canada currently has four Regular Force regiments:
Combat engineers
InfantryRegular Force infantry regiments and battalions of the Canadian Army are:
- The Royal Canadian Regiment
- 1st Battalion - Mechanized Infantry
- 2nd Battalion - Mechanized Infantry
- 3rd Battalion - Light Infantry + Parachute Company
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
- 1st Battalion - Mechanized Infantry
- 2nd Battalion - Mechanized Infantry
- 3rd Battalion - Light Infantry + Parachute Company
- Royal 22e Régiment
- 1er Bataillon - Mechanized Infantry
- 2e Bataillon - Mechanized Infantry
- 3e Bataillon - Light Infantry + Parachute Company
Between 1953 and 1971, the regular Canadian infantry consisted of seven regiments, each of two battalions (except the Royal 22e Régiment, which had three, 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:
After 1971, the regular force battalions of the QOR and the Black Watch were dissolved (their Militia battalions remained in Toronto and Montreal, respectively) with their personnel distributed between the RCR and PPCLI, while the Canadian Guards were disbanded. The Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded in 1995.
Reserve ForceSee:List of units of the Canadian Army
StructureCommanders, Mobile Command
Chiefs of Land Staff
EquipmentVehicles
WeaponsOther equipmentHistoric equipment (World War II)Trucks Armoured carriers and armoured tractors Tanks Training tanks Self-propelled artillery Engineering vehicles Artillery Field artillery Anti-tank guns Anti-aircraft guns Black powder rifles, carbines and pistols Service rifles and carbines .303 rifles
Service pistols Approved private purchase and secondary side-arms Submachine guns Machine guns, light machine guns and miscellaneous weapons Infantry anti-tank weapons Grenades, mines and other explosives Infantry mortars Bayonets and combat knives Combat knives
Ammunition Uniforms, load bearing and protective equipmentUniforms
See also: Battledress, Uniforms of the Canadian Forces
Load bearing equipment
Head dress
Protective equipment
Rank structureComparison 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.
Battles involving the Canadian armyThe Canadian Army has participated in the following campaigns as a combatant:
Publications- Canadian Military Journal: http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca
- Canadian Army Journal: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/
See also
External links- - Official website of the Canadian Army
- - Army.ca a web forum and interactive wiki dealing with both current and historical issues related to the Canadian Army.
- by J.R. Grodzinski
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