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Canadian Army

The Canadian Army (French: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also responsible for the Army Reserve, the largest component of the Primary Reserve. The Army is headed by the Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff, who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Army is also supported by 3,000 civilian employees from the public service.

Canadian Army

19 May 1855 (1855-May-19)[1]
(169 years, 35 days ago)[note 1][5]

Canada[note 2]

44,000 (22,500 active personnel, 21,500 reserve personnel, and 5,300 Canadian Rangers)[6]

Vigilamus pro te (Latin for 'We stand on guard for thee')[7]

Rifle green and gold

Juno the Bear[8]

Major-General Peter Scott

Formed in 1855, as the Active Militia, in response to the threat of the United States to the Province of Canada after the British garrison left for the Crimean War. This Militia was later subdivided into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia. Finally, in 1940, an order in council changed the name of the Active Militia to the Canadian Army.


On 1 April 1966, prior to the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, the land forces were placed under a new command called Mobile Command (French: Commandement des forces mobiles).[9] For two years following, the Army existed as a distinct legal entity before its amalgamation with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force to form the Canadian Armed Forces. In the 1990s, the command was renamed Land Force Command (French: Commandement des Forces terrestres), until it reverted to its original name in August 2011.[10]


During its history, the Canadian Army has fought in a variety of conflicts, including in the North-West Rebellion, the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, Korean War, and more recently with the Gulf War, and in the War in Afghanistan.

2nd Canadian Division

4 Intelligence Company

3rd Canadian Division

6 Intelligence Company

4th Canadian Division

2 Intelligence Company

5th Canadian Division

3 Intelligence Company

The Regular Officer Training Plan, where candidates are educated at the (RMC) or at civilian Canadian universities.

Royal Military College of Canada

Direct Entry Officer Plan, for those who already hold a university degree or technology diploma.

Continuing Education Officer Training Plan, addresses shortages in certain officer occupations, and is intended to attract candidates who are otherwise qualified for service as officers, but who lack a degree. Candidates complete their degrees while serving in the Army.

[31]

University Training Plan (Non-Commissioned Members), designed to develop selected serving non-commissioned members for service as career officers in the Regular Force. Normally, candidates selected for this plan will attend RMC or a civilian university in Canada.

[32]

Commissioning from the Ranks Plan, provides officers to augment the number of officers commissioned through other plans and applies exclusively to those who have acquired some military experience and possess the necessary qualities that make them suitable for employment as officers.

[33]

Special Requirements Commissioning Plan, is designed to meet the needs of the officer occupations. It allows the Canadian Forces to profit from the skills and experience of senior non-commissioned members and may provide an opportunity for career advancement for selected deserving Chief Warrant Officers.

[34]

Subsidized special education, which includes the Medical Officer Training Plan or Dental Officer Training Plan.

[35]

St. Edward's Crown

Three red maple leaves on one stem

Crossed swords

The badge of the Canadian Army consists of:[43]

Canadian Army Journal[edit]

Since 1947, the Canadian Army has produced a peer-reviewed academic journal called the Canadian Army Journal. In 1965, prior to the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, the journal was merged with similar publications from across the services. In 1980, the Canadian Army Doctrine Bulletin began printing as the successor to the original journal, and in 2004 the publication returned to its original name.[44]

ABCANZ Armies

Arctic Response Company Group

Canadian Army Trophy

Royal Canadian Armoured Corps

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps

Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery

Canadian Military Engineers

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command

Formation patches of the Canadian Army

List of units of the Canadian Army

Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

Canadian Military Bands

Soldier Apprentice

Combat Team

Supplementary Order of Battle

List of historical equipment of the Canadian military

Nicholson, G.W.L. (1962). (PDF). Ottawa: Roger Duhamel, Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery. Retrieved 9 November 2022.

Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919

Stacy, C.P. (1 January 1956). (PDF). Vol. I, Six Years of War. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. Retrieved 9 November 2022.

Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War

Kasurak, Peter. A National Force: The Evolution of Canada's Army, 1950–2000 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2013)

Edit this at Wikidata

Official website

at Library and Archives Canada

Faces of War: The Canadian Army

- Army.ca, a web forum and interactive wiki dealing with both current and historical issues related to the Canadian Army.

army.ca

by J.R. Grodzinski

Battle Honours in the Canadian Army

Canadiansoldiers.com

Salute to the Canadian Army