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Index
Cover
Table of Contents
FOREWORD
PRÉFACE
INTRODUCTION: THE CANADIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS LEGACY On February 1, 2016, the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) celebrated its tenth anniversary. This anniversary passed largely unheralded. After all, few Canadians even realize their nation possesses special operations forces. Even fewer yet understand that Canada has a long and distinguished history with forces capable of conducting special operations. Indeed, Canada’s history with special operations goes back to its beginnings as a French colony. Specifically, Canada’s SOF traditions can be traced back to la petite guerre conducted by the French-Canadian raiders during the struggle for colonial North America. Their daring and aggressive raids allowed the embryonic nation to punch above its weight in the battle for North America. During these conflicts, small teams of French-Canadian raiders and Natives struck deep into the Anglo-American colonies, creating terror and often paralyzing their opponents and preventing any retaliatory response. In due course, in response to the threat Britain created Goreham’s Rangers and Rogers’ Rangers. They, together with the French-Canadian warriors, carved out the Ranger tradition, which embodied the concept of individuals who were seen as mavericks when set against the conventional military institution and its mentality — men who were adaptable, robust, and unconventional in their thinking and war fighting; men who could persevere against the greatest hardships and, despite an inhospitable environment and a merciless enemy, achieve mission success. This tradition created a legacy that lives on to this day in the nation’s SOF forces. It was next resurrected in the Second World War as Canadians wrote a new chapter of national SOF history. Canadian participation in the British Special Operations Executive, responsible for sabotage and subversion in Occupied Europe, was the earliest example. Canada also created the Viking Force, its own version of the famous British Commandos, as well as the Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando “W.” Also sent into action were the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, which boasted a 30 percent selection rate, as well as the Canadian component of the First Special Service Force, known as the “Black Devils.” All contributed to a proud national record in the conduct of special operations. The special operations mandate in the post-war era fell to the Canadian Special Air Service Company, which existed from 1948 to 1949, and then to the Canadian Airborne Regiment (Cdn AB Regt), which spanned the years 1968 to 1995. The Cdn AB Regt’s mandate was to deploy into an operational theatre within 48 hours to provide “a force capable of moving quickly to meet any unexpected enemy threat or other commitment of the Canadian Armed Forces,” as well as “special forces types of tasks.” In was not until the mid-1990s, however, that Canada’s modern SOF capability began to truly take shape. On April 1, 1993, the Department of National Defence (DND) took over the national hostage rescue and counterterrorism responsibility when it created Joint Task Force Two (JTF 2) to replace the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Special Emergency Task Force (SERT). The deployment of a JTF 2 special operations task force to Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks became a turning point for the unit, and for Canadian SOF at large. Like many of its predecessors, JTF 2 carved its reputation in combat and earned its recognition internationally as a Tier 1 SOF unit. Continued combat duty in Afghanistan from 2005 until the end of Canadian combat operations in 2011 simply reinforced its international credibility. Importantly, in 2005, the Chief of the Defence Staff asserted that “we need an integrated Canadian Forces that consists of maritime, air, land and special forces, woven together to make a more effective military.” Subsequently, he declared that he would be “bringing JTF 2, along with all the enablers that it would need, to conduct operations successfully into one organization with one commander.” As a result, on February 1, 2006, the Chief of the Defence Staff created CANSOFCOM as part of his larger transformation initiative. The Command included a headquarters, JTF 2, the Canadian Joint Incident Response Unit (CJIRU), the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR), and 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (SOAS). Ten years into its existence, CANSOFCOM has proven itself as an integral national asset. It has conducted operations in Canada and around the world, particularly in combat theatres and countries at risk. Throughout the past decade its members have demonstrated a high level of professionalism and expertise. Importantly, the Command has provided DND and the government of Canada with a unique capability that is unmatched elsewhere in the Canadian Armed Forces or any other government department.
INTRODUCTION: L’HÉRITAGE DES OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES DU CANADA
THE CANADIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES COMMAND
LE COMMANDEMENT DES FORCES D’OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES DU CANADA
JOINT TASK FORCE TWO (JTF 2)
LA FORCE OPÉRATIONNELLE INTERARMÉES DEUX (FOI 2)
THE CANADIAN JOINT INCIDENT RESPONSE UNIT (CJIRU)
L’UNITÉ INTERARMÉES D’INTERVENTION DU CANADA (UIIC)
THE CANADIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS REGIMENT (CSOR)
LE RÉGIMENT D’OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES DU CANADA (ROSC)
427 SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION SQUADRON (427 SOAS)
LE 427E ESCADRON D’OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES D’AVIATION (427 EOSA)
THE CANADIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS TRAINING CENTRE (CSOTC)
LE CENTRE D’ENTRAÎNEMENT DES OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES DU CANADA (CEOSC)
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CANADIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES COMMAND: A PICTORIAL HISTORY
L’ÉVOLUTION DU COMMANDEMENT DES FORCES D’OPÉRATIONS SPÉCIALES DU CANADA: SON HISTOIRE ILLUSTRÉE
THE RISE OF CANSOFCOM 2006–2016
LA CRÉATION DU COMFOSCAN DE 2006 À 2016
CANSOFCOM INTO THE FUTURE
L’AVENIR DU COMFOSCAN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PHOTO CREDITS
REMERCIEMENTS
RÉFÉRENCES PHOTOGRAPHIQUES
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