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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

Following Unification of the three armed services in 1968, Canada's Force Mobile Command became in effect the "Canadian Army" though the "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. In 1997, Force Mobile Command was officially redesignated Land Force Command of the Canadian Forces.

Army bases and training centres

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 adopted by Canadian regiments as well.

Armoured

Regular Force units include:

Artillery

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

Combat Engineers

  • 1 Combat Engineer Regiment
  • 2 Combat Engineer Regiment
  • 4 Engineer Support Regiment
  • 5 Combat Engineer Regiment

Infantry

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 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 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.

Special forces

Structure

See Article Structure of the Canadian Army.

Equipment

Vehicles

BuilderModelTypeNumberDatesDetails
Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen 4 × 4 light utility vehicle N/A 2006 replaced the Iltis light trucks in Afghanistan
Bombardier Iltis light utility vehicle 1,900 1980s replaced by the G-Wagen in 2006
BAE Systems Land Systems Mamba/Nyala landmine-resistant 4×4 armoured personnel carrier 50 2006 a further 25 have been ordered
General Motors Corporation/Bombardier MLVW medium logistic vehicle, wheeled N/A 1980s based on M35/M36 series trucks
Bombardier LSVW light support vehicle, wheeled N/A 1980s
Urban Transportation Development Corporation HLVW heavy lift vehicle N/A 1980s based on Austrian Steyr Percheron truck chassis
N/A ROWPU reverse-osmosis water purification unit N/A 1990s
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division Cougar AVGP 6 × 6 armoured vehicle (general purpose) N/A 1990s (armoured fire support)
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division > Grizzly AVGP (armoured personnel carrier) N/A 1990s
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division Husky armoured recovery N/A 1990s
FMC Corp. Lynx reconnaissance vehicle armoured reconnaissance 174 1968–early 1990s
General Dynamics Canada/General Motors Diesel Division Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle (8×8) armoured reconnaissance 203 1990s
FMC Corp. M113A3 tracked armoured personnel carrier N/A 1980s
General Motors Diesel Division MTVL (mobile tactical vehicle, light) N/A N/A 1980s
General Motors Diesel Division LAV III 8 × 8 light armoured vehicle N/A 1990s
United Defense Limited Partnership ADATS air-defence, antitank system N/A 1990s
Krauss-Maffei/MaK Leopard C1 main battle tank N/A 1980s
Krauss-Maffei/MaK Leopard C2 main battle tank N/A 1980s
United Defense Limited Partnership M109 self-propelled howitzer N/A 1980s-1990s
BAE Systems Land Systems Bv206 tracked vehicle N/A 1980s
Bell Helicopter Textron CH-146 Griffon tactical transport helicopter N/A 1980s-1990s
Ford M151A2 light truck 935 1974-1975 replaced by the Volkswagen Iltis truck in 1983

Weapons

Rank structure

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.

  • 1 Honorary/War time rank.
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Battles involving the Canadian army

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

External links

  • Canadiansoldiers.com: http://www.canadiansoldiers.com

Publications

  • Canadian Military Journal: http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca
  • Canadian Army Journal: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/

See also

Canadian Forces Land Force Command

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Canadian Forces Land Force Command".

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