Sub-components
Elements of the Reserve Force
- The Naval Reserve
- The Army Reserve
- The Air Reserve
- The Health Services Reserve
- The Judge Advocate General Reserve
- Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Reserve
- Supplementary Reserve
- The Cadet Instructors Cadre
- The Canadian Rangers
The Naval Reserve
The Naval Reserve is comprised of 24 Naval Divisions across the country. They provide an expansion base for the navy during mobilization. The Naval Reserve is led by a commodore who is a reservist. The commodore is responsible, to the Commander Maritime Command, for the recruiting, administration, training, and operation of the Naval Reserve.
Naval Reserve training is conducted both in and out of unit. It includes basic training, occupation training, and operational training.
In-unit training is conducted at Naval Reserve Divisions, primarily between September and May with units normally parading two evenings per week and occasionally on weekends.
Out-of-unit training is available year-round at fleet schools and within Maritime Operation Groups in the form of trade specialty courses, on-the-job training and participation in coastal defence exercises. In depth operational experience is gained through available long-term service callouts onboard coastal patrol ships, which are manned year-round exclusively by reserves.
The Army Reserve
The Army Reserve is a component of Land Force Command.
Land Force Areas and Brigade Groups base the organization of the Army Reserve on the geographical grouping of units. All Army units in an area, Regular and Reserve, are under command of the Land Force Area Commander. Normally, the area commander is a Regular Force brigadier-general and his deputy is a Reserve brigadier-general. However, a reservist has served as an area commander and several deputies have served as acting area commander for periods of up to one year.
Individual training and local area collective training are generally conducted from September to June at units where reservists normally parade one evening per week and one weekend per month.
During the summer, reservists attend career and specialty courses and conduct formation level collective training.
The Air Reserve
Canada's Air Force comprises an integrated establishment of air command units and formations made up of Regular, Primary and Supplementary Reserve components. Units of the total Air Force can be comprised of any mix of Regular and Reserve personnel and equipment.
As an integral part of this total Air Force structure, the role of the Air Reserve is to augment the Regular Force where and when needed.
Flying squadrons and Air Reserve Augmentation Flights (ARAFS) that are found within all Air Command wings and groups are a cadre of trained personnel that provide peacetime augmentation and a base for expansion.
The Health Services Reserve
With over 1,500 members, the Health Services Reserve provides essential health services support to the Canadian Forces at units and clinics, at home and abroad.
Many reservists have full-time careers outside the Canadian Forces (CF) in a wide range of civilian health care professions, including medicine, nursing and social work, while others are full-time students or members of other trades or professions. Reservists are typically employed in Primary Reserve units located in 14 cities across Canada or on the national Primary Reserve List.
The Health Services Reserve Home Page
The Judge Advocate General Reserve
The Office of the JAG comprises Regular Force and Reserve Force legal officers. The Regular Force legal officers are employed throughout the CF, in Canada and abroad.
In addition, legal officers are also employed in the Office of the DND/CF Legal Advisor and the CF Military Law Centre.
Like their Regular Force colleagues, Reserve Force legal officers are employed throughout the CF and on operations. They are also integrated into the defence and prosecution functions of the military justice system.
The Judge Advocate General Reserve Home Page
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Reserve
CANSOFCOM is composed of the Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2), the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR), 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS), and the Canadian Joint Incident Response Unit - Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CJIRU - CBRN).
CANSOFCOM core tasks are as follows:
- Counter-Terrorism (CT) Operations - offensive and defensive measures taken to prevent, deter, pre-empt and respond to terrorism;
- Maritime Counter-Terrorism (MCT) Operations - CT operations within the extremely complex maritime environment; and
- High Value Tasks (HVT) - other missions, at home or abroad, kinetic or non-kinetic, that may be assigned by the Government of Canada: counter-proliferation; special reconnaissance; direct action; defence, diplomacy and development; and non-combatant evacuation operations.
The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command Reserve Home Page
Supplementary Reserve
The Supplementary Reserve provides individual augmentation, on a voluntary basis, in order to enable the CF to mount and sustain operations in all stages of mobilization. Members are not required to perform duty or training except when on active service. Members of the Supplementary Reserve are obliged to serve only when placed on active service by the Governor in Council or when called out in an emergency. Members of the Supplementary Reserve may, with their consent, be attached posted to another sub-component of the Reserve Force for employment or training.
The Supplementary Reserve Home Page
The Cadet Instructors Cadre
The Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) consists of approximately 4,500 commissioned officers of the Canadian Forces whose primary duty is the safety, supervision, administration, and training of over 54,000 cadets. As members of the Canadian Reserve Force, they represent the three elements: Sea, Army and Air. Their mission is to ensure that cadets benefit from the best training possible and that they develop their skills to the fullest.
The majority of CIC Officers wear the uniform on a part-time basis while studying or pursuing a civilian career. CIC Officers generally parade with cadets at a unit one or two evenings per week during the school year, with additional nights or weekends spent providing training for optional activities, special events, and leadership training.
During the summer, these officers form the majority of the staff who provide the training for over 23,000 cadets who learn valuable skills while attending one of the 28 Cadet Summer Training Centres across the country. Other CIC Officers may work full-time or part-time during the year in staff positions at one of the regional centres or at the National Cadet Staff Establishment.
CIC Officers come from a widely diversified background. Many are former cadets, others are retired Regular or Reserve Force members and some are parents or members of the local community. All of these individuals have similar goals: to provide training to the youth of today so that they become Canada's leaders of tomorrow.
The Cadet Instructors Cadre Home Page
The Canadian Rangers
The Canadian Rangers, a sub-component of the Canadian Forces (CF) Reserve, provide patrols and detachments for employment on national-security and public-safety missions in those sparsely settled northern, coastal and isolated areas of Canada which can not conveniently or economically be covered by other elements or components of the CF. Formally established in 1947,the Canadian Rangers protect Canada's sovereignty by reporting unusual activities or sightings, collecting local data of significance to the CF, and conducting surveillance or sovereignty patrols as required.
