MND Peter MacKay launches the returned 1st Canadian Division

[PuckChaser]

I can get rid of that ninja star that adorns my DEUs. No more 'accident reports" every time there's a parade.  ;D

I think the ninja star is pretty cool, at least its not a white shield with a red maple leaf that has a tendency to fall off making it look like someone was keen and painted the leaves gold.

 

[armyvern]

I think the ninja star is pretty cool, at least its not a white shield with a red maple leaf that has a tendency to fall off making it look like someone was keen and painted the leaves gold.

That particular contract went by the wayside quite some time ago (at least 2.5 years). Anyone having one of the old, defective Command badges can exchange it at clothing stores for the new ones that don't fall apart.

 

[dapaterson]

That particular contract went by the wayside quite some time ago (at least 2.5 years). Anyone having one of the old, defective Command badges can exchange it at clothing stores for the new ones that don't fall apart.

...assuming, of course, that the local support base has them in stock, and that their clothing stores has hours of operation that permit normal people to get access, and don't randomly close for a day or so without notifying people through the base routine orders or by updating their website.  (CFSU(Ottawa) - this is you!)

 

[ArmyRick]

In this day and age of defence spending being what it is, why did we not "double hat" the Chief of Land Staff as Div commander? Seriously?

We have 3 understrength regular force brigades (in most armies 3 brigades equals a division) plus the "brigade" you can make from the LFC PRes (Each reserve brigade can at most put together a Battle Group).

Why do we need a commander for troops not on operations, another commander for troops on domestic operations, another one for troops on foreign operations?

If I ran my house like this, I could have myself as house commander, my wife as house operations commander, I'll bring in my sister as household director and maybe one of my cousins to be house coordinator. We could all essentially do the same thing. The best part I only have 2 kids, but what the heck? Why not 4 leadership elements?

 

[dapaterson]

The best part I only have 2 kids, but what the heck? Why not 4 leadership elements?

Obviously, you're not doing your part to contribute to force expansion...

 

[McG]

Not another HQ.  This is more like Transformers because 1 Cdn Div HQ became CFJHQ and is now reverting to 1 Cdn Div HQ.

... and the Army gets to take it back from the .COM world.

Some interesting supporting information from the CFJHQ intranet history page:

History
Simul Militmus - We Fight As One
Since the capture of Vimy Ridge in 1917, Canada's military has upheld the ideal "Simul Militamus - We Fight As One". Since then the Navy, Army, and Air Force has fought and won our nation's wars, protected Canadian sovereignty, supported our allies, and defended peace across the globe for nearly a century. Often this was achieved under joint operations command, and as we move towards the future, more and more operations will involve all arms of the Canadian Forces.

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History of the 1st Canadian Division (1914 - 2000)
In August 1914, the Canadian Army was mobilized in support of Britain's declaration of war against Germany. Within months the 1st Canadian Division sailed for France, fighting its first full engagement at Ypres in April 1915. By the end of the Great War the 1st Canadian Division had fought in over 30 battles. In the Second World War the 1st Canadian Division deployed once more, to campaigns in Sicily, Italy, and finally France and Germany. During the Cold War it supported Canada's contribution to forces in Europe, and finally as a command and control organization for CF operations worldwide. In 2000, it stood down to become the nucleus of the Canadian Forces Joint Operations Group CFJOG.

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On June 1, 2000, the Canadian Forces announced the creation of the Canadian Forces Joint Operations Group in Kingston. With its integrated naval, army and air force expertise, the CFJOG provided a rapidly deployable command-and-control capability to meet domestic and international commitments. At the time of reaching full-operational capability, the CFJOG had three assigned units, the Canadian Forces Joint Headquarters (CFJHQ), the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment (CFJSR), and the Canadian Forces Joint Support Group (CFJSG).

The CFJOG provided the command-and-control capability for the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). While assigned to the CFJOG, the DART deployed four times, once to Honduras in 1998 in response to a category 5 hurricane, then again in 1999 to Turkey due to a massive earthquake, once in January 2005 to Sri Lanka in response to the tsunamis that struck Southeast Asia and a final time to Pakistan in October 2005 due to an earthquake that hit Pakistan and India. Each time the DART provided humanitarian aid to the victims of these disasters.

In December 2005, the CFJOG stood down. The CFJHQ took over the responsibility of the DART and is now the deployable headquarters of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM). The CFJSR and the CFJSG now fall under the Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM).

... and more on the internet: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=00&id=1385

 

[Journeyman]

From the latest Maple Leaf:

1st Canadian Division re-established
by A/SLt Noelani Shore

It is said that the 1st Canadian Division (1 Cdn Div) always stood up in time of need, and that time came again October 7, thus making history.

I guess I missed it; what was that pressing "need" again? 

 

[Kat Stevens]

"Leading change" bubble in someones PER?

 

[jhk87]

I wouldn't go too hard on them. Having empty HQs is a long Canadian tradition that lies in the general separation between "force generators" and "force employers" that goes back to 1914, when the CEF was assembled separate from the Canadian Militia.

From what I can gather, 1 Cdn Div is an HQ designed with expeditionary capabilities in mind, basically, to go overseas and subsequently be filled by units generated at home. Now, whether this will actually happen cannot be seen. But at its root, it's not a bad idea, and it's always nice to see the Army tapping into its own history rather than using trendy American terms to name everything.

 

[Journeyman]

Yes, I understand the rationale; the number of General Officers in Kingston fell below that critical "half-dozen" mark. A new line-serial had to be created, lest we have BGens and MGens out panhandling.  :

 

[McG]

... at its root, it's not a bad idea ...

except that the idea and capability already existed.  There already was an existing deployable HQ in Kingston.

 

[Kiwi99]

Wonder how long it takes Fraser to walk his Div into an ambush them blame everyone else but his own dumb ***.... I give it a week!

Agreed

 

[Lex Parsimoniae]

...it's always nice to see the Army tapping into its own history rather than using trendy American terms to name everything.

I agree with you. 

 

[brihard]

If I'm allowed to suspecnd disbelief, reality, and bureaucratic static inertia for a second here, is there any reason for nearly all of the various commands not to be eliminated, and the entire field land force (including "joint" units operating on land, such as CFJSR) to be rolled into a no-shit 1 Can Div, and then use that CanDiv's staff to deal with things like expeditionary deployments, operational support, and all the other things that apparently manage their own command?

Why are the LFAs necessary? Could the respective reg force units not simply get 'be prepared to...' geographical AORs, and could the reserve units not simply be rolled en masse under the brigades for OPCOM purposes? Frankly, under a proper divisional structure I fail to see the need for land force areas- particularly when our land force is so damned small.

We go fully to war- 1 CanDiv calls the shots.

Expeditionary mission, such as Afghanistan- one of the brigades at a time is in charge; units are OPCOM or OPCON as necessary.

DOMOP- one of the brigades (or pick a size of unit; reg or reserve as appropriate) gets the lead, and resources are chopped as necessary.

I see a legitimate place for CANSOFCOM to remain as-is.

I'm sure there's a million reasons why I'm getting this all wrong, but none of them are so intuitive as to jump off the screen and kick me in the face. We don't have a force sized like the Americans. Why try to approximate the plethora of commands? None of this ought to be outside the capabilities of a properly constituted army division. And if they are, is it not in our interest to make that the case, and at the same time eliminate significant redundancy and maybe throw some troops back to the fighting units?

 

[captloadie]

The deployable HQ in Kingston trained alot for deployment, but rarely deployed. Unlike their neighbours in the building, and down the lane.

One also has to go away from army centric thinking, as the Army can't deploy on its own, nor do I believe it has enough support personnel to be self sufficient past a certain number of rotations. (Well, I guess it could deploy on its own if it used contracted sources, same as for support, but that would be silly wouldn't it?) I thought the idea of a joint HQ, and even CEFCOM if they were properly manned, allows the three elements to work together, saving face for all. Because lets face it, the Airforce or Navy don't want to be ordered what to do by the Army, they want to be asked.

My 2 cents

 

[Greymatters]

Because lets face it, the Airforce or Navy don't want to be ordered what to do by the Army, they want to be asked. 

... and vice-versa as well.

Thats actually kind of funny - no one in either element likes to be ordered what to do? 

 

[McG]

Not another HQ.  This is more like Transformers because 1 Cdn Div HQ became CFJHQ and is now reverting to 1 Cdn Div HQ.

... and the Army gets to take it back from the .COM world.

I hear 1 Cdn Div will be again leaving the Army and moving under the new amalgamation of CJOC, but not before the Div has been assessed as having met FOC.  This time, the 1 Cdn Div name will stay because the international community understands the concept of a division but was (apparently) a little confused as to what was a "CFJHQ" or "CFJOG".  The wheel will continue to turn.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I hear 1 Cdn Div will be again leaving the Army and moving under the new amalgamation of CJOC, but not before the Div has been assessed as having met FOC.  This time, the 1 Cdn Div name will stay because the international community understands the concept of a division but was (apparently) a little confused as to what was a "CFJHQ" or "CFJOG".  The wheel will continue to turn.

This is probably not news to you, but most in the CF are pretty confused about the 'alphabet soup' formations too!

 

[McG]

Here is what the Div is up to these days:  http://www.thewhig.com/2012/09/10/ready-to-play-a-major-role-in-exercise

Major event, major role
JointEx largest training event since Rendezvous series in early 1990s

The 1st Canadian Division Headquarters is building toward a major role in what is to be the largest military exercise in Canada in almost two decades.

In the next few months the Canadian Forces Base Kingston based headquarters unit is to take part in a series of exercises, peaking late next spring when staff from the headquarters are to join personnel from the army, navy and air force for JointEx, at CFB Wainwright. "What is unique about this is we're taking three major Canadian military exercises and what we're doing is overarching our exercise over top of them," said Lt.-Col. Roger Cotton of the division headquarters.

The training event, planned for mid-May to mid-June, is designed to link together three separate training events, including the army's Maple Resolve exercise, the Royal Canadian Navy's Trident Fury exercise off the west coast of Canada and the Royal Canadian Air Force's Maple Flag exercise at CFB Cold Lake.

…

Next spring, the division headquarters, which has about 90 full-time staff, is to be expanded to 960 for the Wainwright exercise.

"It's a major event," Cotton said.

JointEx is to be the largest training event since the Rendezvous series of training exercises ended in the early 1990s. Those events, staged every two years, involved thousands of military personnel.

Cotton said next year's exercise reflects an emphasis the government and military have put on joint development and training that spans the three branches of the Canadian Forces.

Cotton said the large-scale exercise will likely be held every two years.
The 1st Canadian Division Headquarters is responsible for organizing Canada's disaster response, the evacuation of Canadian civilians from crisis areas and the deployment of Canadian military forces.

So, in a nutshell, 1 Cdn Div was created from CFJHQ (which was previously 1 Cdn Div), and it is now doing everything that CFJHQ was supposed to do but not the stuff that 1 Cdn Div used to do.  Too bad we are not going to see a new RV out of this.  It would be interesting to see two or all three CMBGs in the field together.

 

[PuckChaser]

Here is what the Div is up to these days:  http://www.thewhig.com/2012/09/10/ready-to-play-a-major-role-in-exerciseSo, in a nutshell, 1 Cdn Div was created from CFJHQ (which was previously 1 Cdn Div), and it is now doing everything that CFJHQ was supposed to do but not the stuff that 1 Cdn Div used to do.  Too bad we are not going to see a new RV out of this.  It would be interesting to see two or all three CMBGs in the field together.

I think if the budget taps start flowing again we may yet see one. I haven't been in long enough to be on one, but it seems like an interesting concept.