This seems to breakdown what were geographical silos to create one big silo. Removing internal barriers, increasing transparency and aligning priorities should all be beneficial changes.
I think this is an excellent first step towards rebuilding division level capabilities in the Canadian Army, realization will take work, time and resources spread over the coming decade. The next question to be addressed is when will the CAF get serious about enabling the operational support capabilities required to sustain large scale deployments of single service or joint forces. There is a woeful lack of meaningful commitment to this problem space within the CAF that further capability growth will only exacerbate.
Thank you for that, I finally understand what army mod is actually for, or at least what it intends to accomplish, which was never very clear before. The way you described it sounds very positive, and I am quite excited to see what comes of it.
Do you have enough details to describe what Div 2 will look like? I keep hearing that the Defence of Canada division is still up in the air, and that is concerning to me. If the actual structure is still undetermined, what is the the desired outcome? Edward Hollet's comment points to one possible intention around sloting PRes members into Reg F units for deployment, but I'm sure that isn't the only purpose. I would even love to hear your speculation, if that's all you have.
2 Div, at least to start with, will comprise the existing 10x A Res CBGs, plus the Canadian Rangers (4x CROGs consolidated into a unified Brigade command). The intent, from last year's CAMO documentation, is to eventually have up to 10 Combined Arms Reserve Battalions in full time (Class B) service, that can be deployed i Canada & overseas. Babe steps though... We're still a ways away from that.
Policy Hawk - or your subscribers - can anyone add personnel numbers to the regular Forces regiments, mechanized brigade groups, etcetera. I just don’t have the knowledge to determine whether these groups/regiments are full strength units or more in name only. Thank you.
But while the Army today lacks the ability to deploy a full-sized brigade, when was the last time realistically, it had to do so?
Even in 1990, despite having an operational bde in Europe tasked to NATO, Canada lacked the bodies and equipment to do so.
I am interested personally not so much in how the Reg F division is organized since this basically recreates a very old approach to organization. I am more curious i how 2 Div will handle a hockey bag of brigades of varying types and abilities strung out from one end of the country to another. The old regional approach (LF Areas) and before that the old militia districts were administratively challenging but how will a single div for the whole country work, especially if they are supposed to either be the basis for mobilization or, more likely, filling slots and holes in whatever Reg F formation gets deployed.
BTW, as you know this tendency to deploy augmented battalions and calling them battle groups took off in the 1990s and even then you could see the btns running not like btns but mini-bdes.
2 Div managing 10 A Res Bdes (& the Ranger Bde) will certainly be a challenge... But in some ways, despite the wide geography & dispersion it represents, it might actually be easier than the current areas / geographic Div structures. In my experience, the actual Div C2 was almost entirely focused on the subordinate CMBG & divisional suport infrastructure. A Res Bdes were almost an afterthought, & were less integrated than they honestly could have/should have been... While dispersed, 2 Div will be more consistent & unified in mission/mandate & context, so it should actually be better for all. & 2 Div might actually be able to start looking at the equipment, training, infrastructure & other requirements that enable 2 Div / A Res to contribute more, not only to DOMOPs, but overeas operations (& not just individual augmentees... Which the Reg F have come to depend on to paper over holes) but actual formed elements.
The old structure was a mess. Nobody at the national level worked on divisional warfighting. Brigade level exercises could barely be called that. And every Division Commande was in effect an overseer of the CMBG while mostly being an administrator for the reserves in their AOR.
A dedicated manoeuvre and expeditionary brigade, for once, means a Division that is exclusively focused on fielding brigades and fighting at the Division level. While the domestic Division can properly administer and resource the Reserves. Hopefully there will be rationalization of units and massive investment in reserve facilities to enable their growth and higher proficiency.
This seems to breakdown what were geographical silos to create one big silo. Removing internal barriers, increasing transparency and aligning priorities should all be beneficial changes.
Hawkie. Just want to say that this is another great piece. And you've really captured some of the nuances of this change really well.
I think this is an excellent first step towards rebuilding division level capabilities in the Canadian Army, realization will take work, time and resources spread over the coming decade. The next question to be addressed is when will the CAF get serious about enabling the operational support capabilities required to sustain large scale deployments of single service or joint forces. There is a woeful lack of meaningful commitment to this problem space within the CAF that further capability growth will only exacerbate.
Thank you for that, I finally understand what army mod is actually for, or at least what it intends to accomplish, which was never very clear before. The way you described it sounds very positive, and I am quite excited to see what comes of it.
Do you have enough details to describe what Div 2 will look like? I keep hearing that the Defence of Canada division is still up in the air, and that is concerning to me. If the actual structure is still undetermined, what is the the desired outcome? Edward Hollet's comment points to one possible intention around sloting PRes members into Reg F units for deployment, but I'm sure that isn't the only purpose. I would even love to hear your speculation, if that's all you have.
2 Div, at least to start with, will comprise the existing 10x A Res CBGs, plus the Canadian Rangers (4x CROGs consolidated into a unified Brigade command). The intent, from last year's CAMO documentation, is to eventually have up to 10 Combined Arms Reserve Battalions in full time (Class B) service, that can be deployed i Canada & overseas. Babe steps though... We're still a ways away from that.
This sounds promising to my non-expert eyes.
I do love to see a fellow democracy taking defence more seriously, especially given the aggressive stance of Americans.
Policy Hawk - or your subscribers - can anyone add personnel numbers to the regular Forces regiments, mechanized brigade groups, etcetera. I just don’t have the knowledge to determine whether these groups/regiments are full strength units or more in name only. Thank you.
Great piece.
But while the Army today lacks the ability to deploy a full-sized brigade, when was the last time realistically, it had to do so?
Even in 1990, despite having an operational bde in Europe tasked to NATO, Canada lacked the bodies and equipment to do so.
I am interested personally not so much in how the Reg F division is organized since this basically recreates a very old approach to organization. I am more curious i how 2 Div will handle a hockey bag of brigades of varying types and abilities strung out from one end of the country to another. The old regional approach (LF Areas) and before that the old militia districts were administratively challenging but how will a single div for the whole country work, especially if they are supposed to either be the basis for mobilization or, more likely, filling slots and holes in whatever Reg F formation gets deployed.
BTW, as you know this tendency to deploy augmented battalions and calling them battle groups took off in the 1990s and even then you could see the btns running not like btns but mini-bdes.
2 Div managing 10 A Res Bdes (& the Ranger Bde) will certainly be a challenge... But in some ways, despite the wide geography & dispersion it represents, it might actually be easier than the current areas / geographic Div structures. In my experience, the actual Div C2 was almost entirely focused on the subordinate CMBG & divisional suport infrastructure. A Res Bdes were almost an afterthought, & were less integrated than they honestly could have/should have been... While dispersed, 2 Div will be more consistent & unified in mission/mandate & context, so it should actually be better for all. & 2 Div might actually be able to start looking at the equipment, training, infrastructure & other requirements that enable 2 Div / A Res to contribute more, not only to DOMOPs, but overeas operations (& not just individual augmentees... Which the Reg F have come to depend on to paper over holes) but actual formed elements.
Well put Mark.
The old structure was a mess. Nobody at the national level worked on divisional warfighting. Brigade level exercises could barely be called that. And every Division Commande was in effect an overseer of the CMBG while mostly being an administrator for the reserves in their AOR.
A dedicated manoeuvre and expeditionary brigade, for once, means a Division that is exclusively focused on fielding brigades and fighting at the Division level. While the domestic Division can properly administer and resource the Reserves. Hopefully there will be rationalization of units and massive investment in reserve facilities to enable their growth and higher proficiency.