RE: Questions regarding NAC ground units- CANADIAN units and stuff

Adrian,

Not sleep-inducing at all. I've never heard of JTF2 (and why should I
;-)
and the Rangers could make some interesting scenarios...

Thanks,
   Iain.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gzg-l@lists.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU
[mailto:owner-gzg-l@lists.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU]On Behalf Of
adrian.johnson@sympatico.ca
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2001 6:49 AM
To: gzg-l@scotch.csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: Questions regarding NAC ground units- CANADIAN units and
stuff

There is representation in the NAC from all originating nations, plus
stuff
created since.

2nd Drop Cavalry, comes to mind as a "new" example.  I think.

And there's the "Tacoma", "Ticonderoga", and "Valley Forge" class ships
in
the NAC navy.

And Gurkhas, of course.  Gotta have the Gurkhas...

>Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 21:19:13 EST
>From: Glenn M Wilson <triphibious@juno.com>
>Subject: Re: Questions regarding NAC ground units, was SG IF morale
>
>Gracias.
>
>Of course *now* I have to brush up on Canadian Military History....
>

If you're interested, take a peek at:

http://www.dnd.ca/eng/archive/2001/nov01/163PPCLI_b_e.htm

The Princess Pat's were formed in 1914 when a private citizen (his name
was
Gault, a Montreal businessman and a Captian in the Militia) offered the
government $100,000 to raise a regiment.  The government accepted, the
call
went out, but with the limitation that only veterans of military service
in
the Empire were eligible.  They filled the regiment (1100 troops - a
strong
battalion) in 8 days, and headed off to Europe.

The Regiment fought in both World Wars, then distinguished itself in
Korea
where 2nd Bn, PPCLI won the United States Presidential Unit Citation
(the
only Canadian unit to ever receive the honour, and 2PPCLI still wear the
badge, I believe).

They've been active ever since, and remain as one of the three regular
infantry regiments in the Canadian Army.

Their 3rd Battalion is currently on 48 hours notice to deploy, with
orders
for Afghanistan, though this is on hold after the Northern Alliance
refused
to let in more British troops.	3PPCLI is the regiment's "Light"
battalion,
organized the same as the other battalions (who are mechanized) but with
none of the mech vehicles, and with lighter equipment, etc.  They
maintain
a company of parachutists, a company of airmobile troops - light stuff.
The force ready to deply to Afghanistan also has a Squadron of Combat
Engineers, I believe.

Take a look at the link - there's a lot more about the Regiment and its
3rd
battalion.

The other two Regular infantry Regiments in the army are the RCR (Royal
Canadian Rifles) and the "Van Doos" (the Royal 22nd Regiment - and I
forget
how they word it in French.  The RCR are based in Ontario, with a
battalion
out in the maritimes.  The PPCLI are based in Western Canada, and the
Van
Doos are all-French-Canadian, and are based in Quebec.	We have three
mechanized brigades built around these regiments, and each has an
armoured
unit, artillery, engineers, etc.  The armoured regiments are the Lord
Strathcona's Horse (out West), the Royal Canadian Dragoons (here in
Ontario, with the RCR) and the "Deuxieme Regiment Blinde De Canada"
(12eme
RBC - otherwise known as the "Rubber Boot Company") - the French
armoured
unit.  Canada also maintains a unit called "Joint Task Force 2", who
manage
*very effectively* to remain unseen, and who are our primary Special
Operations force.  They may have deployed a number of troops, probably
in
the order of 150 to 200, to Afghanistan.  We think.  But the government
isn't talking...  (as they shouldn't).

There are a whole host of Reserve regiments that have huge long
histories
(well, in Canadian terms at least) that have at various times been part
of
the Regular forces (during wars) or were Regular until relatively
recently
and then demobilized as Regs and reactivated as reserves, with
downsizing.
The last two units of regular infantry to become reserve units were the
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (based here in Toronto - their museum is a
neat place, given that the unit has history that predates much of the
country, and they went to Africa during the Boer War and every major
conflict after that) and the Black Watch of Canada - based in Montreal.
Lots of *tiny* "Regiments* that are kept on strength to maintain a cadre
for wartime mobilization.  There have been *no* whole reserve units sent
on
deployment out of the country in decades, but almost all of the Canadian
overseas deployments in the past 20 years have had Reservists
participating, some at quite significant levels.

Somebody mentioned the Canadian Rangers.  That's quite an interesting
organization, being made up almost entirely of Northern Native
Canadians,
mostly Innuit but from other tribes also.  They're *expert* in Arctic
operations, but are not part of the Regular forces.  They are
reservists,
but certain units are on standby for stuff like Arctic Search and Rescue
(lots and lots of international air traffic over our Arctic, and these
guys
train in rescue if something bad happens).  They were also poised to
keep
the Soviets out of our turf during the Cold War, but I don't think were
ever intended for overseas deployment.	They also provide arctic warfare
training to our regular troops and our allies.

Anyway, there's a lot more out there if you're interested.  Tomb or I
can
probably give you links if you're keen - contact us off list if you want
it.

I don't want to put everyone else to sleep :)

Adrian

********************************************

Adrian Johnson
adrian.johnson@sympatico.ca