Outline of the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War

The following is a hierarchical outline for the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations.

Following the 1967 Canadian Forces Reorganization Act the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force were amalgamated in 1968 as the Canadian Armed Forces. Since then the Chief of Defence Staff is directly responsible for all services and commands of the Canadian Armed Forces and advises the Canadian Government in all military matters. Policy is developed in the Armed Forces Council, which is made up of the commanders of the functional commands.[1]

In 1989 the Canadian Armed Forces had 84,600 active personnel, 7,800 of which were female, and 21,300 reserve personnel, 4,200 of which were female. Around three quarters of all military occupation were open to women in 1989 and the government actively pursued a policy to open more occupations to women. The 1987 Defence White Paper "Challenge and Commitment" called for an expansion of the reserve forces to approximately 90,000 troops, however with the end of the Cold War this plan was shelved.[2]

The article is based on the Canadian government's 1987 White Paper "A Defence Policy for Canada" (Link), which was published at the end of 1987. The White Paper served as basis for the overall structure and the equipment numbers. The article was then expanded with information from the Canadian Armed Forces Annual Historical Reports, which provided a complete listing of all units in existence in 1989. Additional information came from the linked Wikipedia articles, a German brochure about the Canadian Forces based in Germany (Link) and the current Canadian Armed Forces website and the unit histories listed there.

  1. ^ Challenge and Commitment – A Defence Policy for Canada (PDF). Ottawa: Ministry of Defence Canada. June 1987. p. 69. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  2. ^ Challenge and Commitment – A Defence Policy for Canada (PDF). Ottawa: Ministry of Defence Canada. June 1987. p. 82. Retrieved 14 October 2016.