CFB Wainwright - CFB Wainwright

CFB Wainwright

The February 1, 1968 merger of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force to form the Canadian Forces was predated by a number of major changes to Canada's military structure. One of these saw Camp Wainwright transferred on January 1, 1967 to become an auxiliary satellite training camp of CFB Calgary. This was reverted on August 1, 1967 due to command and control problems and Camp Wainwright became Canadian Forces Base Wainwright (CFB Wainwright) as a separate entity within the establishment of CFB Calgary.

An airfield was opened at CFB Wainwright in October 1967 and at the time of official unification, CFB Wainwright became a component of Training Command as the facility was tasked as a training area. CFB Wainwright offered both officer and basic training courses, battalion level unit operations and acted as a host for training foreign detachments. Wainwright also offered administrative support services for 1 Canadian Brigade Group units.

Subsequent changes to the force structure saw Wainwright's role as a training facility evolve, particularly as the garrisons at CFB Calgary and CFB Edmonton shifted some of their training to the newly-established and much larger CFB Suffield.

On July 15, 1974, the 1 Combat Group Operational Training Detachment was formed at CFB Wainwright to conduct individual training for two or more units of Mobile Command's 1 Combat Group.

In 1983, CFB Wainwright consisted of the training facilities, the 742 Communication Detachment and a British Army liaison detachment.

Defence cuts following the end of the Cold War during the 1990s resulted in the closure of CFB Calgary and consolidation of units at CFB Edmonton. CFB Wainwright was also impacted by defence cuts and was reduced to an Area Support Unit (ASU). ASU Wainwright, as the facility is also called, has 690 military personnel and 300 civilian workers. As part of 1 Area Support Group (ASG), it hosts the Land Force Western Area Training Centre (LFWATC) and the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre (CMTC), as well as the following units:

• 742 Signal Squadron Detachment
• 1 Field Ambulance Detachment
• 1 Dental Detachment
• 1 Garrison Military Police Company detachment

The transient military population averages over 1,000 personnel at any given time, and in the summer it grows significantly when hundreds of primary reservists undertake annual training. As of 2009 it is the main training base of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, including Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and covers an area of 609 km2 (235 sq mi), which includes 25 weapons ranges. Although primarily a training base for the Canadian Army it is also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force to train fighter bombers and search and rescue practise. The base also includes Wainwright/Wainwright (Field 21) Airport (52°49′50″N 111°06′02″W / 52.83056°N 111.10056°W / 52.83056; -111.10056 (Wainwright/Wainwright (Field 21) Airport)) located 9 NM (17 km; 10 mi) west of Wainwright, approximately 7 NM (13 km; 8.1 mi) west of CFB Wainright, with a 7,349 ft (2,240 m) asphalt runway.

The Wainwright Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC), located on CFB Wainwright, provides resources and support for military families.