Canadian Forces in Europe

Around 400 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members plus their families are living and working in various locations throughout Europe. CAF soldiers, sailors, air men and women of Formation Europe serve in 19 different European nations plus in Norfolk in the United States, a handful of which reside in as far away as Stavanger, Norway or Izmir, Turkey. 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, to the rank of Lieutenant-General or Vice-Admiral, 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 a Canadian Ambassador, the Permanent Representative of Canada to the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest decision making body. The Canadian team employed under within the International Military Staff (IMS) at BNATO reports to Formation Europe.

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 the 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 Armed Forces members, Public Servants, School Teachers and their respective families across Europe. CFSU(E) was formed on 30th June 1993.

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 19 European countries plus Norfolk, in the United States, in dozens of different locations, with financial transactions carried out in 5 different currencies.