This web page has primarily focused on the military of the past and what we have lost in regards to military establishments. However, times are changing yet again, and the Canadian government is indeed spending money on revitalizing the military. New equipment is being bought, certain bases are being expanded and some new facilities are being constructed.
ARMY
2nd Canadian Division
* 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Montreal
* 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier
* Farnham Garrison
3rd Canadian Division
* Edmonton Garrison (3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton)
* 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Suffield
* 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre Wainwright
* 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Shilo
4th Canadian Division
* CFB Kingston
* CFB Borden
* Petawawa Garrison (4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa)
* 4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford
* Joint Task Force 2 Base Dwyer Hill
* Connaught Range and Primary Reserve Training Centre
* Joint Task Force North (Whitehorse & Yellowknife)
* Cedar Point Firing Range and Training Centre
* Winona Firing Range
* Four Mile Point Live Firing Range
5th Canadian Division
* 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown
* 5th Canadian Division Training Centre Aldershot
* Moncton Rifle Range
* Canadian Forces Station St. John’s
ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
There are a total of 13 Wings air force wings across Canada, 11 operational and 2 used for training. Wings represent the grouping of various squadrons, both operational and support, under a single tactical commander reporting to the operational commander. Ten wings also include a Canadian Forces base along with other operational and support units.
1 Canadian Air Division
1 Wing Kingston
Located at CFB Kingston, its tactical helicopter squadrons are spread out across Canada; six operate the CH-146 Griffon helicopter and one operates the CH-147F Chinook helicopter. 1 Wing provides airlift support of troops and equipment anywhere in the world. Its six tactical helicopter and training squadrons are spread out all across Canada.
* 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron – based at CFB Borden
* 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron – based at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown
* 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron – based at Edmonton Garrison
* 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron – based at Petawawa Garrison
* 430 Escadrille tactique d’helicopteres – based at 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier
* 438 Escadrille tactique d’helicopteres – based at St. Hubert Garrison
* 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron – based at Petawawa Garrison
Since 2014-15, 408, 430, 450 and 427 Squadrons actively support the army for airmobile and armed escort. The remainder have a dedicated maintenance and aircrew training purposes.
3 Wing Bagotville
Located in Quebec’s Saguenay region, 3 Wing provides general purpose, multi-role, combat-capable forces in support of domestic and international roles of Canada’s air force. It also provides search and rescue missions.
* 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron
* 439 Combat Support Squadron
* 414 Electronic Warfare Support Squadron, is a part of 3 Wing Bagotville, but is based at the Gatineau Airport in Quebec. The squadron’s role is to operate the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet provided by Top Aces Consulting.
4 Wing Cold Lake
The busiest fighter base in Canada, 4 Wing provides general purpose, multi-role, combat-capable forces in support of domestic and international roles of Canada’s air force. Home of fighter pilot training for the Canadian Forces, 4 Wing attracts top gun crews from all over the world to its annual air combat exercise, Maple Flag. It also oversees the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, used to test the U.S. cruise missile in the 1980s.
* 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron
* 417 Combat Support Squadron
* 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron
5 Wing Goose Bay
The site of NATO tactical low-level flight training in Canada, 5 Wing, located in Labrador, is home to permanent detachments from the German Luftwaffe, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Italian Aeronautica Militare and temporary training deployments from the Royal Air Force (United Kingdom). 5 Wing also serves as a NORAD CF-18 Hornet deployed operating base and airfield supporting a mix of aviation activities, military and civilian, in eastern Canada.
* 444 Combat Support Squadron
8 Wing Trenton
The heart of Canada’s air mobility forces and the major transport base in Canada, from delivering supplies to the high Arctic (CFS Alert) to airlifting troops and equipment worldwide. 8 Wing Trenton is also responsible for search and rescue in central Canada and maintains a detachment at the former RCAF Station Mountainview for use as a storage facility and by various lodger units.
* 412 Transport Squadron (based at CFSU (Ottawa) at the Ottawa – Uplands Airport)
* 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron
* 426 Transport Training Squadron
* 429 Transport Squadron
* 436 Transport Squadron
* 437 Transport Squadron
* Multi-Engine Utility Flight
* 2 Air Movements Squadron
* 8 Air Maintenance Squadron
* 8 Wing Air Reserve Flight
* Skyhawks Parachute Team
* Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre
* Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre
* Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (Mountainview)
* 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron (Point Petrie)
* Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School (Mountainview)
9 Wing Gander
Providing search and rescue (SAR) services to eastern Canada and the western Atlantic Ocean. SAR crews at 9 Wing Gander fly the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and are responsible for a massive area, covering the lower Arctic, Labrador, Newfoundland, the Maritimes and the North Atlantic from the shores of Newfoundland to 30° west.
* 103 Search and Rescue Squadron
12 Wing Shearwater
The centre of naval aviation in Canada, 12 Wing is home of the CH-124 Sea King helicopter, and supports Maritime Command with helicopter air detachments for surface warships in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.
* 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron
* 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron
* 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron – based at the Patricia Bay/Victoria Airport
14 Wing Greenwood
Located in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, 14 Wing’s CP-140 Aurora crews conduct sovereignty and surveillance missions over the Atlantic Ocean routinely, while SAR capabilities for the Maritimes, eastern Quebec and the eastern Arctic are provided by CH-149 Cormorant helicopters and CC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft.
* 404 Maritime Patrol and Training Squadron
* 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron
* 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron
17 Wing Winnipeg
Comprising three squadrons and six schools, 17 Wing also provides support to the Central Flying School, as well as headquarters and administration support for NORAD operations.
* 402 City of Winnipeg Squadron
* 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron
* 440 Transport Squadron (a lodger unit attached to 17 Wing Winnipeg.) Operates the CC-138 Twin Otter based out of Yellowknife, NT.
19 Wing Comox
Located on Vancouver Island, its Aurora crews provide surveillance of the Pacific Ocean and western and Arctic regions. The Buffalo and Cormorant crews are responsible for search and rescue in British Columbia, Yukon and the North Pacific Ocean. The base is also used for training fighter pilots in tactical procedures on nearby ranges.
* 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron
* 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron
22 Wing North Bay
Represents one of Canada’s major contributions to the North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) agreement. From its underground complex at the Sector Air Operations Centre, technicians watch over Canada’s airspace 24 hours a day, using state-of-the-art sensors, computer and communications equipment.
* 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron
* 51 Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron
* 22 Wing Air Reserve Flight
* 2 First Air Force Detachment (United States Air Force)
2 Canadian Air Division
15 Wing Moose Jaw
The site of the NATO Flying Training Program in Canada which is supported by 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School or 2CFFTS “The Big 2”, 15 Wing is also home to the Snowbirds, the air force’s aerobatic team.
* 431 Air Demonstration Squadron
16 Wing Borden
16 Wing oversees 3 training schools: Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering, which trains almost half of all Air Force personnel, RCAF Academy, which provides Air Force leadership and Professional Development training and Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations, located at the NAVCAN Training School in Cornwall, who provide training to military air traffic and weapons controllers. It is the historic birthplace of the RCAF.
* Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering
* RCAF Academy
* Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations
* 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Part of 1 Wing Kingston)
* 16 Wing Air Reserve Flight
Although this is not a current formation, I did want to make note of Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing, which stood down with Canada’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The formation consisted of:
* Air Wing Kandahar, Afghanistan (stood up 6 December 2008, flew first mission 6 January 2009). The organization is composed of four units:
o Canadian Helicopter Force (Afghanistan):
+ 6 – CH-147D Chinook heavy-lift helicopters
+ 8 – CH-146 Griffon tactical support helicopters – armed
+ (6 – Mi-8 medium-lift helicopters – see below)
o Theatre Support Element
+ CC-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft;
o Canadian Heron UAV Detachment
+ Heron unmanned aerial vehicle
As the tasking authority responsible for the Canadian Contracted Air Transport Unit, the Wing Commander provides advice, co-ordination and supervision over its six leased Mi-8 medium lift helicopters. The Air Wing has about 450 personnel, serving with the Theatre Support Element in the Persian Gulf region and the Tactical UAV Flight at Kandahar Airfield.
Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering
The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE), located in Borden, Ontario delivers Aerospace Engineering Officers and conducts apprentice level training for various trades, including Avionics, Aviation, Aircraft Structures and Imagery technicians. The role of CFSATE is to provide the Air Force with qualified personnel to ensure Aircraft serviceability. CFSATE develops and carries out individual aerospace engineering training in accordance with approved doctrine and standards.
NAVY
* Maritime Forces Pacific Esquimalt
* Maritime Forces Atlantic Halifax
* Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges
COMMUNICATIONS COMMAND
* Canadian Forces Station Leitrim
* Canadian Forces Station Alert
MATERIEL COMMAND
* Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Bedford
* Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Angus
* Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn
* Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Rocky Point
TRAINING COMMAND
* Canadian Forces Base Borden
* Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School St-Jean
ALL SERVICES
* Department of National Defence Headquarters, Carling Campus & Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) – Uplands Site
* Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Whitehorse, Yukon
* Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
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