The current structure, with
assorted name changes has endured for well over twenty years, but it was not
always thus.
Between 1953 and 1971 the
Regular Canadian Infantry consisted of seven regiments. The order of battle
included the three present Regular infantry regiments along with three further
regiments, the Canadian Guards, the Queens Own Rifles and the Black Watch, each
with two battalions. The Royal 22e Regiment had three battalions while the
Canadian Guards, at least for a while, had four battalions.
There was also the Canadian
Airborne Regiment, which was divided into three commandos.
In 1968 the name
"Canadian Army" was no longer in use as the Royal Canadian Navy,
Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form a single
service called the Canadian Armed Forces. The Army was then known as “Mobile
Command” and then later renamed Land Force Command in a 1993 reorganization. In
August 2011, Land Force Command reverted to the pre-1968 title of the Canadian
Army
All these reorganizations and
name changes were accompanied by continuing reductions in actual strength.
Following unification in
1968, the Regular Force battalions of the Queens Own Rifles and the Black Watch
were dissolved. In the 1970’s the Regular regiment of The Fort Garry Horse was
disbanded and the Canadian Guards was dissolved with the unit's soldiers and
officers becoming the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
What remained of the Canadian
Airborne Regiment was disbanded in 1995.
On July 8, 2013 it was
announced that the Government of Canada’s intended to restore Canadian Army
rank insignia, names and badges to their traditional forms. The changes
included the re-introduction of divisional nomenclature and patches for the
then current Land Force Areas. Beginning in late April of 2014 divisions across
the Canadian Army held a series of “patching” and flag raising ceremonies to
mark their stand-ups and officially issue their respective divisional patches.
The Army is currently divided
into five divisions. They are:
1st Canadian Division
2nd Canadian Division
(formerly Land Force Quebec Area)
3rd Canadian Division
(formerly Land Force Western Area)
4th Canadian Division
(formerly Land Force Central Area)
5th Canadian Division
(formerly Land Force Atlantic Area)
Needless to say, all of these
changes in nomenclature were not accompanied by any actual change in size, or
even organization.
As it stands now, 1st
Canadian Division serves as a deployable headquarters in the event of a major
mobilization of Canadian forces on operations, and has taken the place of the
previous Canadian Joint Forces HQ.
The other four divisions have
replaced the previous land force areas, and are responsible for administering
all regular and reserve force units within them. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Canadian
Divisions have a Regular army mechanized brigade group under their command,
together with two or three Reserve brigades.
The three Regular army
brigade groups contain three infantry battalions, an armoured regiment, an
artillery regiment, and a combat engineer regiment. They also contain a service
support battalion and a signals unit.
The Reserve Brigade groups
typically support ten to twelve geographically related Reserve units and a
Brigade headquarters.
All of these “divisions” are
not created equally and 5th Canadian Division is a good example.
Originally created as “Land Forces Atlantic Area” (LFAA) in 1991 the formation
then took command of what were previously the militia areas and the Regular
Force Army units and formations in Atlantic Canada. At that point the previous
Militia Areas ceased to exist, and the subordinate Militia Districts were
eventually reorganized into two Canadian Brigade Groups.
In 2013, LFAA was renamed 5th
Canadian Division. Among other regular units it is currently responsible for C
Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons and
2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment both of which are actually
under command of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, which is a unit of 4th
Canadian Division. 5th Division also takes responsibility for the
Combat Training Centre in Gagetown,
New Brunswick. On paper, at least, its main operational
units are 36 Canadian Brigade Group (Reserve, headquartered in Halifax
and 37 Canadian Brigade Group (Reserve) headquartered in Moncton.
In contrast is 3rd Canadian
Division, formerly Land Forces Western Area, is currently responsible for
all four western provinces and has one active and three reserve brigades under
command.
The current Army
organizational structure has survived numerous changes in nomenclature for over
twenty years. The last real major changes were made in the 1970’s. From the end of
the cold war to the end of Canadian military participation in Afghanistan and beyond, this
structure, based largely on three infantry regiments of three battalions each
organized into three brigades, has endured.
The question is, why?
The current organization may
serve the services, but does it serve the country? It did not serve to support
Canadian activities in Afghanistan
where the army had to admit by the end of our involvement in that conflict that
the high tempo of deployments had left them incapable of any action for at
least a year. It is hard to see how it serves the country to have the closest
army units to the Pacific coast, which is both our gateway to Asia and an
area with a high potential for natural disasters, to be in Edmonton.
What Canada needs is more, smaller,
brigades with a greater geographic footprint. Canada should have at least 6
divisions. First Division for expeditionary or active duty requirements and one
each for the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, the West (that is Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta) and one for British Columbia. One of 3rd Canadian
Division’s current reserve brigades is headquartered in Vancouver and could form the base for a 6th
Canadian Division responsible for Army activities on the west coast. It would
not be difficult to do and such an organization, which might at first resemble
5th Division in the Maritimes, would provide a foundation for a division which
could better serve both Canada and the Army
Ideally each of the five regional divisions
would have eventually have one regular force brigade with two maneuver
battalions (a unit not unlike a U.S.Brigade Combat Team) and supporting units along with the reserve
brigades associated with the area.
To achieve these changes it
is not necessary to create another 3 battalion regiment. It may come as a shock
to some, but the army does not exist to meet the needs of the regiments. In fact regiments can be of any size that
suits the needs of the Army.
The present army structure
has been shown to be sub-optimal. Changes in cap-badges and shoulder flashes
will not fix the problem. Reorganizations that shuffle head quarters units will
not add any strength to the front line. Now is the time, when defence budgets
are tight and the need for positive changes is at a premium, to create the
Canadian Army of the future.
A NEW MODEL (CANADIAN) ARMY
http://jgmjgm516.blogspot.ca/2012/12/new-model-canadian-army.html