Canadian Forces in Europe

There are more than 400 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members plus their families living and working in various locations throughout Europe. CAF soldiers, sailors, air men and women serve in more than 10 different European nations, a handful of which reside in as far away as Stavanger, Norway or Izmir, Turkey, but the majority are in Germany, Belgium, Italy and The United Kingdom. The locations are as varied as the jobs our people do, but one thing is for certain, all CAF members in Europe contribute daily to the operational effectiveness of the CAF by furthering national interests within NATO and abroad.

The Canadian Military Representative, Vice-Admiral Bob Davidson, is the senior military officer within the Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO in Brussels and represents the Chief of the Defence Staff on the Military Committee, the Alliance’s highest military decision-making body. The Canadian Joint Delegation to NATO is headed by Ambassador Yves Brodeur, the Permanent Representative of Canada to the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest decision making body.

Two Canadian offices are located at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium - the National Military Representative (NMR) to SHAPE and the Canadian Forces Support Unit (Europe) Detachment Casteau. The NMR is the Chief of Defence Staff's representative to the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe (SACEUR) and is the formal channel for all communications between SACEUR and our national military authorities. The Deputy NMR for Canada also holds the title of Senior Canadian Officer at SHAPE which comes with the authority and responsibility of Commanding Officer for the Canadians at SHAPE.

Canadian Forces Support Unit - Europe (CFSU(E)), in Niederheid, Germany is the lead support unit in Europe and oversees the administrative and logistics requirements of Canadian Forces members, Public Servants, School Teachers and their families across Europe. CFSU(E) was formed on 30th June 1993. Its mission is to provide support services to Canadian Forces members and Department of National Defence personnel stationed in Europe.

A touch of uniqueness lends itself to the support operation in Europe when one takes into consideration that CFSU(E) provides a broad range of services to a Canadian community which is scattered throughout 10 countries, in dozens of different locations, with financial transactions carried out in 5 different currencies.