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45-452: Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt ( CFB Esquimalt ) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. As of 2018, 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians work at CFB Esquimalt. The base occupies approximately 41 km (10,000 acres) at the southern tip of Vancouver Island on the Strait of Juan de Fuca , in

90-594: A number of Canadian Ranger patrols. In all cases, it is the job of the Army full-time staff (mostly Class-B Reserve personnel, except for 1 CRPG whose full-time staff are predominantly Regular Force) allocated to the CRPGs to lead and administer the Canadian Ranger patrols in their unit. The patrols themselves are located in various remote, isolated, and/or coastal communities around Canada and each Canadian Ranger patrol

135-513: A single province as its area of operations (AO), while 4 CRPG with its headquarters in Victoria, British Columbia, has four provinces. Thus the unit structures between 3 CRPG and 4 CRPG are very different. 3 CRPG has a unit HQ that contains all its full-time staff and has a number of Canadian Ranger patrols throughout the northern region of its province, whereas 4 CRPG has a unit HQ, a number of traditional sub-units ("companies"), and each company has

180-688: A unit of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserve made up of Inuit , First Nations , Métis , and other Canadians. Though there is a misconception that the Canadian Rangers is a First Nations unit, many Rangers are not; the makeup of each unit simply depends on where the patrol resides. The Canadian Rangers provide a limited military presence in Canada's remote areas and receive 12 days per year of formal training (often more days of training are offered but attendance

225-630: Is assisted by a corporal. Modern Canadian Rangers can trace their heritage back to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers (PCMR). Formed on March 3, 1942, the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers were volunteers who patrolled, performed military surveillance, and provided local defence of the coastline of British Columbia and in Yukon against the wartime threat of a possible Japanese invasion. At their height,

270-416: Is based on such a community. Canadian Ranger patrols are (on average) approximately 30 members strong (the equivalent of a platoon in a conventional Canadian Army unit) and are led by sergeants. The patrols are further divided into the patrol HQ consisting of the patrol commander (sergeant) and the patrol second-in-command (2IC, a master corporal) and 10-member sections, each commanded by a master corporal who

315-581: Is not mandatory). They are considered to be somewhat always on duty, observing and reporting as part of their daily lives. Canadian Rangers are paid when formally on duty according to the rank they hold within their patrol and when present on operations or during training events. They are paid in accordance with the standard rates of pay for Class-A (part-time) or Class-B (full-time) Reserve forces, except when they are called out for search and rescue missions or domestic operations (such as fighting floods and wildfires), when they are paid as Class-C Reserves and receive

360-561: Is responsible for the operation and readiness of all warships, auxiliaries and support vessels. MARPACHQ is at CFB Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia , near Victoria . Whiskey 601 is the regularly used name for an often used naval weapons exercise area off the west coast of Canada. The area's official title was "W-601". The name was usually shortened to "Whiskey" by sailors in the Royal Canadian Navy . Whiskey 601

405-542: Is the base newspaper, which covers local, national and international news with specific interest to Navy and Canadian Forces members and family issues. Other properties that are part of CFB Esquimalt include the Albert Head training area near Albert Head, Metchosin , located approximately 30 km (19 mi) by road southwest of downtown Victoria . It occupies approximately 88 hectares (220 acres), four of which are developed as training facilities. Fort Albert Head

450-544: The Fraser Valley houses transmitting and receiving equipment for long-distance communications. Also, the CFB Esquimalt Base Fire Hall & Emergency Response Centre was founded to provide services to CFB Esquimalt and the civil community in the way of fire intervention and emergency response . Maritime Forces Pacific The commander of Maritime Forces Pacific (COMMARPAC) is also

495-915: The Royal Navy 's Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard (1842–1905) and was the Royal Navy's Pacific Station until 1911. Today it serves as the Canadian Naval Headquarters in the Pacific. Major units of the base are: Due to their significance in Canadian naval history , four sites at CFB Esquimalt (the Dockyard , the former Royal Navy Hospital, the Veterans' Cemetery, and the Cole Island Magazine) have been designated

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540-513: The Winchester 1894 and Marlin 36 would be easy for the PCMR members to use, as they more than likely had experience with the type already. As a stop-gap until Enfield Rifles became available in numbers for issue, some 3000 Winchesters and an estimated 1800 Marlins were promptly acquired direct from North Haven (likely all these firms had on hand). Guns were issued as needed to senior members of

585-707: The Canadian Arctic environment. With the issue of the Colt Canada C19 as their new service rifle in 2015, the Canadian Rangers were officially gifted their retired Lee-Enfields by the Canadian Armed Forces. Owing to the decreasing availability of spare parts, the replacement of the Lee–Enfield rifle had long been expected, and in August 2011, after user requirements had been determined,

630-707: The Canadian Army has a small cadre of CRNA staff in Ottawa, headed by a Class-A (part-time) lieutenant-colonel and consisting of a full-time major and a small number of captains and master warrant officers. The conduit between the CRNA staff and the ACOS REs is the director Army Reserve (DARes), a full colonel. These CRNA staff act as a conduit for information, assist with general development and improvement, assist in generating, modifying, and maintaining policy that addresses

675-650: The Canadian Forces officially issued a tender request for a bolt-action rifle compatible with 7.62×51mm NATO and .308 Winchester ammunition. Approximately 10,000 rifles were to be bought giving the system a service life of about 30 years. Project management was provided by the Canadian Army's , Director Land Resources (DLR). The new rifles are a Finnish SAKO design, based on the Tikka T3 Compact Tactical rifle (CTR). The rifle

720-589: The Canadian Rangers employs around 5,000 Rangers. The Canadian Rangers are responsible for remote, isolated, and sparsely-populated regions of Canada, such as Northern Canada and the coastlines. They regularly conduct surveillance, sovereignty patrols (SOVPATS), and inspections of the North Warning System . They also act as guides, scouts, and subject-matter experts in such disciplines as wilderness survival when other forces and Army components are in their area of operations. The Canadian Rangers are

765-647: The Canadian Rangers was generally very positive, with only minor adjustments required, and was incorporated in the final production rifles. The rifle features a heavy-taper stainless steel barrel, a detachable 10-round double-stack box magazine, custom iron sights calibrated from 100 to 600 metres, a specially laminated wooden stock with a unique reddish-grey pattern in the wood grain, stainless steel construction with extra corrosion resistant coatings, and enlarged trigger guards and bolt handles so they can be used without removing gloves. The barrel, bolt and receiver are made by Colt Canada under licence from SAKO. In addition to

810-534: The Canadian Rangers. Each patrol area is directly controlled by the headquarters unit of a Canadian Ranger patrol group or CRPG ( French : groupe de patrouilles des Rangers canadiens, GPRC ). The Junior Canadian Rangers (JCR) Programme was created on May 31, 1996, and has more than 3,400 members in 119 locations. Each CRPG is responsible for facilitating the JCRs and receive separate national funding for JCR activity facilitation. Each Canadian Ranger patrol has at least

855-716: The Esquimalt Naval Sites National Historic Site of Canada . In March 2013, CFB Esquimalt services the following ships assigned to Canadian Fleet Pacific CFB Esquimalt contains several recognized and classified federal heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. The Institute for Stained Glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at the Multi-Faith Naval Chapel and

900-475: The PCMR consisted of 15,000 volunteers in 138 companies under three major patrol areas, which were Vancouver Island , the lower Fraser Valley and the Bridge River area. Some of the principal officers of the PCMR were Lieutenant-Colonel Cyrus Wesley Peck VC, Lieutenant-Colonel A.L. Coote and Major H. Ashby. The Pacific Coast Militia Rangers were disbanded on September 30, 1945, after Japan's surrender in

945-534: The RCN's Pacific Command assignments: Canadian Rangers#Patrol areas The Canadian Rangers (French: Rangers canadiens ) are a sub-component of the Canadian Army under the Canadian Armed Forces reserves that provides a limited military presence in regions of Canada where stationing conventional Army units would not be practical or economically viable. Formally established on May 23, 1947,

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990-469: The Second World War. Each Canadian Ranger is issued a red Canadian Ranger sweatshirt , CADPAT pants, combat boots , baseball cap , safety vest, rifle and navigation aids. They are expected to be mostly self-reliant regarding equipment. However, they are also provided with a small amount of patrol-level stores (mostly camp stores – tents, stoves, lanterns, axes, etc.). They are reimbursed for

1035-890: The cadet program. Albert Head currently houses the British Columbia Patrol Company of the 4th Canadian Rangers Patrol Group , training facilities for the Naval Tactical Operations Group , as well as a cadet summer training centre: Albert Head CTC. Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range at Nanoose Bay is also part of CFB Esquimalt. The facility provides non-explosive technical testing of sonobuoys , torpedoes and other equipment. Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot (CFAD) Rocky Point store excess ammunition for Maritime Forces Pacific and provides maintenance for missiles and torpedoes. The grounds are also used for by Albert Head CTC for survival training. Naval Radio Section Aldergrove in

1080-493: The commander of Joint Task Force Pacific (COMMJTFP), holding the rank of rear admiral. COMMJTFP is responsible for all Canadian Forces operations (such as search and rescue or disaster aid) in British Columbia and its adjacent territorial waters. Reporting to the commander is the commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific (COMCANFLTPAC), holding the rank of commodore. This officer commands Canadian Fleet Pacific (CANFLTPAC), and

1125-442: The commander of the Canadian Army. Command and control of the respective Canadian Ranger units (known as Canadian Ranger patrol groups or CRPGs) is devolved from the commander of the Canadian Army down to his subordinate commanders of the various regional divisions. There are five CRPGs and each CRPG corresponds to one of the regional divisions (as seen below). The CRPGs tend to be provincially oriented, apart from 1 CRPG, which covers

1170-404: The companies, but stocks of .30-30 ammunition was so limited that only six rounds were issued with the rifle while the rest was locked up in the company's armoury, typically in the vault of the local bank. The bolt action Lee–Enfield was then issued to the PCMR as the standard rifle later during the war and it continued to be used by the Canadian Rangers when they were established in 1947. Due to

1215-476: The economy of the .303 (there were thousands left over after the war) and the robust nature of the rifle (especially in conditions such as extreme cold), it was not replaced for use even after being taken out of general service in the remainder of the Canadian military in the 1950s. It has remained in service with the Canadian Rangers for over 70 years and has proven to be most reliable in adverse conditions even in

1260-510: The full Regular Force pay and benefits. The 5,000 Canadian Rangers are split between five Canadian Ranger patrol groups (CRPGs), commanded by lieutenant-colonels and each allocated to a Canadian division (except 1 CRPG, which is currently allocated to Joint Task Force North). Each CRPG is unique in its make-up, according to its area of responsibility, its geography, and its ethnic make-up. For instance, 3 CRPG, headquartered in Borden, Ontario, has

1305-481: The like). Since 1947, the Canadian Rangers have been issued the Lee–Enfield No ;4 rifle in .303 British calibre, with each user being provided with 200 rounds of ammunition every year. At the outset of the Second World War, the rest of the Canadian Army was equipping with Enfield rifles, Bren guns , Webley Revolvers , and Browning-Inglis Hi Power pistols and Canadian production of these weapons

1350-678: The municipality of Esquimalt , adjacent to the western limit of the provincial capital, Victoria . CFB Esquimalt comprises facilities that include Naden (formerly HMCS Naden ), His Majesty's Canadian (HMC) Dockyard Esquimalt, Fleet Maintenance Facility – Cape Breton (FMF CB), a Fire Fighting and Damage Control School, the Naval Officer Training Centre (NOTC) Venture, and extensive housing including 716 personnel married quarters at nine sites such as Belmont Park, WorkPoint, and Royal Roads . The present dockyard and dry dock , known as HMC Dockyard Esquimalt, dates to

1395-729: The new rifle based on the CTR were delivered to the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (4 CRPG) in Victoria, British Columbia, in June 2015, while Canadian Ranger instructors from across all CRPGs concurrently attended "train-the-trainer" training at the Small Arms section at the Combat Training Centre , CFB Gagetown , New Brunswick. "Uncontrolled testing" was completed with 100 rifles in Nunavut in August 2015, while controlled testing

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1440-835: The rifle stock is engraved and in black relief. The rifle is designated the C19 rifle. Ammunition for the C19 is a proprietary .308 Winchester round made in Quebec solely for the C-19 and consists of the pairing of existing Canadian Forces' match (sniper) brass cases, paired with the Nosler Accubond 180-grain (12 g) bullet. The ammunition designation is the C-180 round. As of 2015 the DND planned to buy 6,820 rifles. Including development costs, spare parts, and two million rounds of ammunition,

1485-440: The rifle, the accessories package includes a custom-moulded Pelican hard transport case (suitable for commercial aircraft transportation), plus a soft transport case for vehicles, such as snowmobiles and ATVs. The rifle is also outfitted with a custom sling, extra magazines, a trigger lock and custom cleaning kit. The rifle's hard case and soft case, as well as the rifle butt stock feature the Canadian Ranger badge. The Ranger badge on

1530-637: The rifles were expected to cost $ 28 million. The Canadian Rangers became part of the Canadian Army in October 2007, having previously been under the vice chief of the Defence Staff for the Canadian Armed Forces . The commander of the Canadian Army is the Canadian Ranger National Authority (CRNA), but, this role is delegated down to the Army chief of staff reserve (ACOS Res), a brigadier-general. The commander of

1575-622: The stained glass at the Old Naval and Garrison Church (1866), now known as St Paul's Anglican. CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum is at HMCS Naden . Building 20 (c. 1891), part of Naden Museum Square is a Municipal Heritage Property. Building 37 (c. 1889) part of the Naden Museum Square is also a Municipal Heritage Property and is also on the Canadian Register of Historic Places . HMCS Naden

1620-718: The town or village they are from (the Terrace Patrol, in British Columbia, for instance). Prince Charles (since September 8, 2022, Charles III , King of Canada ) was made honorary head of the Canadian Rangers and he and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (now Queen Camilla ), were each given the Rangers' red sweatshirt and baseball cap by David Illituk of Kugaaruk , Nunavut; Joseph Catholique of Łutselk'e , Northwest Territories; Michael Cameron of Salluit , Quebec; and Kelly Suits of Carcross , Yukon, at Rideau Hall on November 10, 2009. There are five main patrol areas of

1665-414: The unique nature of the Canadian Rangers (including administrative policy, unit establishment and structure, training policy, and logistical policy), and with the financing (overall funding model) of the Canadian Rangers. These staff are not directly within the chain of command and have no authority over the CRPGs, but, are instead seen as the technical and advisory link between the Canadian Ranger units and

1710-430: The use of personal vehicles and equipment and are paid for this use according to the nationally established equipment usage rates. Items that a Canadian Ranger could be reimbursed for include snowmobiles (called light over-snow vehicles, or LOSVs, in the military), all-terrain vehicles , watercraft , trailers, pack horses, sled dog teams, and a variety of tools and equipment (such as radios, chainsaws , generators, and

1755-473: The whole of northern Canada north of the 60th parallel , and 4 CRPG which covers the four western provinces ( British Columbia , Alberta , Saskatchewan , and Manitoba ). Each CRPG has a headquarters and a number of patrols, albeit that 4 CRPG's patrols are managed within a company construct, with provincially oriented companies each commanding their own patrols. The patrols tend to be centred on remote communities throughout Canada and are frequently named after

1800-482: Was badly needed for overseas service. The Pacific Coast Militia Rangers thus had to make do with what was readily available, often patrolling with their own rifles and shotguns. This led Canadian purchasing agents to look to American sources for rifles. At the time the most popular style of rifle in the North American West was the .30WCF (.30-30 calibre) lever action . As such, purchasers considered that

1845-421: Was being manufactured under licence by Colt Canada , set to be in service by 2018. The tender was cancelled in October 2011 due to contractual issues and a new tender was issued in 2014 for replacement rifles with a selection competition in 2015 and the winning design entering service between 2015 and 2019. In April 2015, Colt Canada was selected to produce the rifle under licence. Thirty-three initial examples of

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1890-522: Was conducted in November 2015 in the British Columbia interior, facilitated by 4 CRPG. The rifles were tested to ensure they would fire properly and remain accurate at temperatures as low as −51 °C (−60 °F) (laboratory conditions), as well as remain robust and serviceable amidst the rigours of transportation in vehicles and in particular on all-terrain vehicles. They are expected to stop all large predators, including polar bears . Feedback from

1935-496: Was established in the late 1800s along with Fort Rodd Hill and other installations, to provide shore defence for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Victoria Harbour . The training area is used for Regular and Reserve Force training throughout the year and was previously home to the Regional Cadet Instructor School (Pacific) that trained Canadian Forces Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) Branch that deliver

1980-616: Was named after the Dominion Government Ship Naden , which was commissioned as a tender for the Royal Naval College of Canada from 1918 to 1922 for training in sail. The museum is affiliated with: Canadian Museums Association (CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Organization of Military Museums of Canada (OMMC) and Virtual Museum of Canada . CFB Esquimalt operates a bus service to provide intra-base transportation. The Lookout

2025-413: Was notorious for rough seas and bad weather. Whiskey 601 was decommissioned as an exercise area in the 1990s. The RCAF unit 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron is part of 12 Wing Shearwater but is headquartered at Patricia Bay near CFB Esquimalt and works closely with MARPAC. The squadron provides the onboard helicopter detachments for CANFLTPAC ships. After World War II to prior to Unification in 1968

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