The Canadian Army
Canada's Army is composed of about 35,000 soldiers (19,500 Regular and 16,000 Army Reserve) and 4,100 civilian employees. The mission of the Army is to generate and maintain combat capable, multi-purpose land forces to meet Canada's defence objectives. This broad mission is broken down into the following mission objectives: defending Canadian territory and helping to maintain Canada's sovereignty by providing land surveillance and combat-ready forces; contributing to the collective defence of North America; providing armed and unarmed assistance to civil authorities when needed to maintain public order and security or to assist in emergency relief; and supporting Canadian interests abroad, including forces for United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other multilateral operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance.
Experience on missions of the last few years has confirmed and reinforced the vision that Canada's Army must be prepared to fight and win the three-block war. Within the same mission it will engage in combat against the armies of failed or failing states, conduct stabilization or peace support operations including counterinsurgency and deliver humanitarian aid or assist others doing it. As a result, the Army will be transforming to a knowledge-based and command-centric institution capable of continuous adaptation across the spectrum of conflict.
The Land Force maintains three Regular Mechanized Brigade Groups and ten smaller Reserve Brigade Groups, located in more than 100 communities across the country. The Army has eight support bases throughout Canada and two combat training centres. The focus for Army expansion as announced by the government of Canada is on increased capacity, both in terms of sustaining domestic and international operations as well as enhancing the Army's command and control and Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), force generation and potential operational output.
Because the Army has already begun its transformation process, it is in a particularly strong position to support the Chief of Defence Staff's (CDS) vision. The CDS and the new defence policy do not change the direction, plan or the rate of Army transformation. For example, specific capability requirements already underway, like the Mobile Gun System (MGS) weapons system, will not be affected by the changes coming to the overall military.
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