Canadian Usage
While the original pre-unification Royal Canadian Air Force followed the British pattern, the modern Royal Canadian Air Force is an example of a Commonwealth air force which does not follow British usage. The size of a wing (base) follows US usage (see below); it varies greatly and may comprise personnel numbering in the thousands.
In the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command (the post-1968 RCAF until 2011) altered the structure of those bases under its control, declaring them to be Wings under the overall control of 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg. For instance, CFB Trenton in Ontario was redesignated 8 Wing Trenton. The base commander of these bases (as well as other wings whose headquarters were stood up on bases not controlled by Air Command, such as 16 Wing at CFB Borden and 1 Wing at CFB Kingston) were re-designated Wing Commanders (or Wg Comd). As well as continuing their functions as the commanding officers of the bases they were assigned to, they also serve as formation commanders to all squadrons and units duly assigned to them by 1 CDN AIR DIV HQ and AIRCOM HQ (regardless if they are physically located on the base in question or elsewhere; as witness 12 Wing in Nova Scotia, which has one unit, 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based at Patricia Bay near CFB Esquimalt in British Columbia, on the other side of the country from Shearwater).
Read more about this topic: Wing (military Aviation Unit)
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