Operational Support in Canada

The CJOC operational support framework

The operational support framework of Canadian Joint Operations Command is designed for maximum flexibility to satisfy widely varying requirements of task forces deployed on continental and expeditionary operations.

Its core is comprised of the Canadian Forces Joint Operational Support Group (CFJOSG) and the Canadian Materiel Support Group (CMSG). CFJOSG and CMSG receive direction and staff support from CJOC Headquarters in Ottawa, and are made up of operational support units strategically located across Canada. The CFJOSG is augmented by an overseas network of operational support hubs.

The Canadian Forces Joint Operational Support Group

The CFJOSG is the high-readiness formation that generates task-tailored operational and support capabilities for employment in Canadian, continental, and world-wide theatres of operations and across strategic lines of communications.

To achieve this mission, the Canada-based operational support units carry out the following tasks:

• planning and executing the delivery of national-level operational capabilities and support for:
  • theatre activation
  • command support
  • engineering support
  • sustainment
  • termination of CAF operations
• deploying a full range of capabilities, including:
  • command support
  • communications
  • military engineering
  • health services
  • military police
  • logistics
  • movement control
  • land equipment maintenance
  • personnel support
  • resource management
• coordinating the delivery of materiel, equipment, personnel, supplies and mail along the strategic lines of communications to sustain deployed forces
• maintaining closely cooperative relations with mission partners, coalition allies and the governments and armed forces of foreign nations where Canadian Forces members serve

Headquartered at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston, the CFJOSG employs more than 1,100 military and civilian personnel, distributed throughout its formations and units across Canada. The CFJOSG includes the following units and formations:

• CFJOSG Headquarters in Kingston, Ontario
• Military Police Services Group (MP Svcs Gp), headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario
• the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment (CFJSR), based in Kingston, Ontario
• 1 Engineer Support Unit, based in Kingston, Ontario
• 3 Canadian Support Unit, based in Montréal, Quebec
• 4 Canadian Forces Movement Control Unit, based in Montréal, Quebec
• the Canadian Forces Postal Unit, based in Trenton, Ontario

Military Police Services Group

A formation under the command of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, the MP Svcs Gp is responsible for providing Military Police support to Canadian Forces continental and expeditionary operations. The following units of the MP Svcs Gp participate in operational support:

• MP Svcs Gp Headquarters, located in Ottawa
• The Canadian Forces Protective Services Unit, headquartered in Ottawa
• The Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks in Edmonton, Alberta

Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment

The CFJSR enables effective command and control of task forces deployed on continental and expeditionary operations by providing the communications and information systems (CIS) and connectivity they require for reliable, secure communications within the theatre of operations, and between the theatre of operations and their higher headquarters.

The CFJSR is built on the professional strength of its trained soldiers, who adapt evolving CIS technologies and concepts to meet the needs of Canadian Forces operations around the world. Some of these services include:

• establishing and maintaining deployable radio, telephone and data communication networks
• delivering information systems-support to deployed task forces through a 24/7 Deployed Network Support Centre service desk
• leading the implementation of communications and information systems tailored to the needs of deployed task forces
• planning and constructing strategic communications systems, including fibre-optic communications networks for Canadian Forces installations at home and abroad
• providing readily deployable signal support for rapid-response groups such as:
  • the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART)
  • Theatre Activation Teams
  • task forces deploying to conduct non-combatant evacuation operations

Canadian Materiel Support Group

CMSG is responsible for providing operational-level support through the delivery of materiel and assigned logistics services to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence.

CMSG comprises the following static units:

• 7 Canadian Forces Supply Depot in Edmonton, Alberta
• 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot in Montréal, Quebec
• Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Bedford in Bedford, Nova Scotia
• Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn in Dundurn, Saskatchewan
• Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Rocky Point near Victoria, British Columbia
• Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Detachment Angus at CFB Borden, Ontario

Links

Department of National Defence

• Canadian Armed Forces Provost Marshal / Military Police Services Group