- published: 16 Nov 2014
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A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (French Base des forces canadiennes or BFC) is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units (e.g., army regiments, navy ships, air force wings).
Minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS (French Station des forces canadiennes or SFC). A Canadian Forces Station could host a single minor unit (e.g., an early warning radar station). Many of these facilities are now decommissioned for administrative purposes and function as detachments of a larger Canadian Forces Base nearby.
Note: Primary lodger units at Canadian Forces Bases used by the Canadian Army are regiments of the Canadian Army.
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; French: Forces armées canadiennes, FAC), or Canadian Forces (CF) (French: les Forces canadiennes, FC), is the unified armed force of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."
This unified institution consists of sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Personnel may belong to either the Regular Force or the Reserve Force, which has four sub-components: the Primary Reserve, Supplementary Reserve, Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service, and the Canadian Rangers. Under the National Defence Act, the Canadian Armed Forces are an entity separate and distinct from the Department of National Defence (the federal government department responsible for administration and formation of defence policy), which also exists as the civilian support system for the Forces.