Uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces



The Uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces are the official dress worn by members of Canada's military while on duty.

Prior to unification in 1968, the uniforms of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were similar to their counterparts in the forces of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, save for national identifiers and some regimental accoutrements. With unification in 1968 all branches started wearing the new rifle green uniform. The present distinctive environmental uniforms in different colours for the army, navy and air force were introduced in the late 1980s and are generally similar to their pre-1968 counterparts.

History


Shortly following unification, the service-specific uniforms (navy blue, khaki, and light blue) were abandoned in favour of the Canadian Forces rifle green, single-breasted, four-button tunic and pants, with beret or service cap uniform, commonly referred to as "CFs" or "CF greens". Though accommodation was made for army regiments' ceremonial uniforms (kilts for Highland and Irish Regiments, for example), no allowance was made for the Navy or Air Force, with the exception of a rifle-green wedge cap for optional wear by the latter. The traditional Navy and Air Force rank names were replaced by the army equivalents, with naval-style rank badges for officers and army-style for non-commissioned members. Navy rank names were restored a few years later. However, the Air Force retains what had formerly been considered "army" rank (but which is similar to that used by the air forces of many other nations).

For everyday work wear, in environments or occasions where the CF greens would not be appropriate, personnel were issued the Work Dress uniform. This consisted of rifle-green work trousers; a zippered rifle-green work jacket; a "lagoon green" work shirt; and beret. The jacket collar was worn open; the shirt was either worn with a tie, or with the collar open and over the jacket collar. For a brief period in the 1980s, ascots or "dickies" in regimental or branch colours were worn inside the open shirt collar. Army field units normally wore combat boots with work dress, "blousing" the trousers with elastic boot bands. Many Army regiments wore regimental shoulder flashes on the work dress jacket.

A notable exception was the Special Service Force (SSF), who wore a camouflage jump smock, regimental T-shirt, beret, and high-top paratrooper boots, with work dress or combat trousers as applicable.

Distinctive Environmental Uniform




Distinctive Environmental Uniforms (DEU) were issued to the CF beginning in 1986. Members of the sea, land and air forces were issued uniforms distinctive to their service or "environment". While the term "DEU" refers to all the different environmental uniforms, in practical usage it refers to what is more properly known as "No 3 (Service) Dress".

Different versions of the DEU are worn according to the occasion:


 * No. 1 (Ceremonial) Dress: Full formal dress uniforms for ceremonial parades and other special occasions. Uniforms include regimental full dress (such as scarlet tunics and bearskin hats of Guards regiments), patrol dress (a slightly less elaborate regimental uniform), and Service Dress (see below) uniform with ceremonial accoutrements (swords, white web belts, gloves, etc.). Regimental uniforms are normally not provided at public expense; purchase of these uniforms is done either by individuals or by various regiments out of non-public funds.


 * No. 2 (Mess) Dress: Formal evening attire for mess dinners. Uniforms range from full mess kit (with dinner jackets, cummerbunds or waistcoats, etc.) to Service Dress with bow ties. Mess Dress is not provided at public expense; however, all commissioned officers of the Regular Force are required to own Mess Dress within six months of being commissioned.


 * No. 3 (Service) Dress: Also called a "walking-out" or "duty uniform", it is the military equivalent of the business suit; it is the standard uniform for appearing in public (hence the moniker "walking-out dress"). The uniforms range from the tunic-necktie-undress ribbons to the more informal short-sleeve shirt dress. The Navy also has an optional white summer uniform with white high-collared tunic. With the exception of the high collar white option, "Service Dress" becomes No 2 (Mess) Dress by replacing the shirt and tie with a white shirt and bow tie, or to No 1 (Ceremonial) Dress by the addition of ceremonial web or sword belts, gloves, and other accoutrements.


 * No. 4 (Base) Dress: Known as "Garrison Dress" in the Army. It was a more informal uniform, originally for day-to-day wear in garrison or on base, out of the public eye. It usually consisted of work trousers and either a dress shirt or work shirt, with an optional sweater; Army personnel wore a disruptive-pattern jacket. It has been phased out; No. 5 dress (for the army) and No. 3 (for the air force and navy, became No. 3E) has been adapted to replace it.


 * No. 5 (Operational) Dress: Originally specialized uniforms for wear in an operational (i.e. combat) theatre, they have now superseded No 4 uniform for everyday wear in garrison. It consists of a CADPAT combat uniform for the Army and Air Force and Naval Combat Dress (NCD) for the Navy. Certain trades such as firefighters and military police wear working dress similar to their civilian counterparts.

Royal Canadian Navy



 * Ceremonial Dress
 * Mess Dress
 * Service Dress
 * Naval Combat Dress

Canadian Army
Land personnel were issued new tunics and trousers similar in style to the old CF greens, but with the addition of shoulder straps. They were issued in heavy-weight rifle green (worn with the old CF green dress shirt) for winter wear, and lighter weight tan for summer; in the latter case, headgear, neckties, belts and badges were still rifle-green or on rifle-green backing. Only the Army retained the branch or regimental collar badges on the dress jacket, such non-traditional devices having been abandoned on Navy and Air Force jackets. Army personnel were also issued epaulets that could be sewn to the old CF green service dress tunic to convert it to a "new" DEU tunic.
 * Service dress

Recently, the peaked service cap was retired for Land personnel (with the exception of regimental forage caps in the Governor General's Foot Guards and the Canadian Grenadier Guards), and the beret (except in Scottish and Highland regiments) is the universal Army headdress. Most recently, the heavy combat sweater was retired, replaced with a lighter-weight V-neck sweater for Service Dress wear, and with a fleece sweatshirt for Operational wear.

The unpopular work dress was replaced with "No. 4 (Garrison) Dress", which consisted of the old-style work dress pants, a disruptive-pattern jacket, a black web belt, a short-sleeve summer Service Dress shirt with the collar open and over the jacket collar, and high paratrooper-style garrison boots. The rifle-green crew-neck combat sweater doubled as a sweater for wear with Service Dress and Garrison Dress. Due to concerns over the number of uniforms Army personnel had to carry with them on postings and taskings, the tan summer DEU was eventually retired, and the winter uniform mandated for year-round wear. The garrison dress uniform was never popular with the combat arms, as the boots were easily scuffed, especially when doing manual labour; the jacket was hot (being heavily lined) and restrictive; the belt was designed to ride very high on the body and served no practical purpose. Army troops generally eschewed garrison dress for the combat uniform when possible, even in garrison. Land Force Western Area actually instructed its units to wear the combat uniform instead, and Land Force Command later adopted the practice across the rest of the country, authorizing combat uniform for all occasions where garrison dress was deemed appropriate. This authorization is often extended to Land environment personnel in other commands.
 * Garrison dress

Royal Canadian Air Force
Personnel in the Air element were issued a uniform of similar cut to the old CF greens, but in blue, with a light-blue shirt, black necktie, and air force blue wedge cap, forage cap and beret. No 4 (Base) Dress consists of blue work pants, light blue dress shirt (open-necked or with necktie), and optional V-neck sweater. Air personnel were eventually authorized to wear the Navy's work shirt, which was similar in dark blue, though this was recently replaced by a camouflage uniform similar to the Land combat uniform. Air personnel were issued a blue beret for wear when appropriate; it was soon authorized as was the blue flyer's jacket and Gore-Tex "line" jackets for use with work dress, then with service dress; the wedge cap is still popular. Forage caps are still authorized for wear by officers as an optional item. Non-aircrew personnel wear a "half-wing" trade badge on the right side of the service dress tunic above the right breast pocket.

The "purple" trades
For military occupations that are not specifically designated to a particular element (e.g. clerks, military police, medical personnel, etc.), an element is usually assigned or may be requested on enrolment. Due to the way that members of these "purple trades" frequently have environments different from their current assignments, many units of the Canadian Forces, when on parade in dress uniform, will display a mix of navy, army, and air force uniforms. As various specialty courses become more widely available, no longer restricted only to "soldiers" or "sailors", for example, it is not unheard-of to see a Navy clerk in a tactical air squadron with parachutist's wings, or an Air Force medic in a tank regiment with a submariner's "dolphins" badge.

Operational dress


Until the early 1960s, the Army Battle Dress uniform was worn both on parades and in combat. It was common to maintain traditional regimental distinctions, even in the thick of battle. A notable exception to this was the Highland regiments, who were ordered to cease wearing their kilts in 1939 in favour of more generic service dress, the kilt being deemed "unsuitable for modern war".

By the time of the Korean War, more comfortable combat clothing was being designed, notably "Bush Dress", in dark green cotton and bearing a resemblance to the Khaki Drill uniform of the Second World War. Lightweight Service Dress known as "T-Dubs" were issued for parades in the summer months.

In the early 1960s, Battle Dress was replaced for field wear by the combat uniform, often referred to merely as "combats". It was issued as a standard order of dress for the pre-Unification Army, and later Regular Force "army" personnel in field units of Force Mobile Command and for personnel in field units or detachments in Canadian Forces Communication Command, as well as for personnel in other organizations as required for employment in a land combat environment. Combat uniforms were not issued to Reservists until 1972, although they were permitted to wear it if they purchased it themselves (usually at war surplus stores).

The combat uniform consisted of a long-sleeve olive-drab (OD) shirt, with two voluminous cargo pockets at the hip and two slanted pockets (designed for the 20-round FNC1 rifle magazine) at the breast, and drawstrings at the waist and hem; OD trousers, with regular pockets at the front and back and a large cargo patch pocket on each thigh, drawstrings at the cuff, and buttons on the belt loops for the attachment of optional suspenders; an OD V-neck undershirt; and black combat boots, with trouser cuffs bloused over. The beret was often worn, but could be replaced by a soft OD field hat or the American M1 steel helmet as the tactical situation dictated (while the Canadian combat uniform was universally olive green, American style cloth helmet covers with two types of camouflage pattern were issued; the woodland pattern worn in Vietnam and an autumn pattern). At the time of adoption, the OD colour was a standard among NATO forces; however, as other NATO forces adopted camouflage uniforms (for example, the British DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material) uniforms, or the Americans their woodland camouflage BDUs (Battle Dress Uniforms)), the Canadian Forces quickly became one of the only first world militaries not to adopt camouflage garments.

Officers displayed their rank on slip-ons on the epaulets of the shirt or jacket; NCMs wore small OD versions of their rank insignia stitched in the centre of the upper sleeve, although for a period in the 1980s these were stitched onto slip-ons, ostensibly to save wear-and-tear on the uniforms, but also providing the ability to remove rank for security purposes. The national identifier consisted of a "CANADA" flash stitched on the upper shoulder just below the sleeve seam, and unit or trade identifiers were worn on slip-ons on the shirt's epaulets; however, personnel belonging to Canadian Forces Europe and other overseas missions wore full-colour Canadian flag patches on the upper sleeve. In the 1990s, the "CANADA" flash was replaced with a subdued olive-drab Canadian flag, worn on the upper left sleeve below the epaulet. Interestingly, these flag badges showed up in full-colour red-and-white when illuminated by a blue light.

Lightweight coats, rain suits, parkas, and other tactical clothing (in OD) were issued to deal with different weather conditions. For winter conditions, personnel were issued white mukluks, mitts, and balaclavas, as well as white camouflage covers for their parkas, trousers, helmets, and rucksacks.

In the late 1980s, the CF experimented with an alternative combat shirt designed by an Air Command officer. The Mark III Combat Shirt had flat breast pockets and lacked the hip cargo pockets and drawstrings. It was designed to be tucked into the trousers like a regular shirt if desired, or worn untucked like the older style shirt. It proved rather unpopular from an operational standpoint due to its lack of storage capacity, and was considered to look sloppier than the older style; few were issued after initial stocks were depleted but the Mark III was worn alongside the earlier marks by some individuals until the adoption of CADPAT throughout the Army. Today they remain in small numbers in the Cadet program and are issued at summer training facilities to junior cadets for survival exercises.

Royal Military College of Canada uniforms and proficiency badges
At the Royal Military College of Canada, cadets wear a variety of uniforms depending on the occasion and their environment: ceremonial dress (semi ceremonial); full dress (formal occasions); ceremonial dress (semi ceremonial); outside sports dress; service dress Air Force; service dress Navy; service dress Navy without jacket; Service dress Air Force without jacket; service dress Army without jacket; and combat dress.

Cadets wear a variety of badges, depending on their proficiency and rank. The gold thread crossed pistols are awarded as a military badge for marksmanship when marksman levels are achieved for the pistol; a crown is awarded in May to the top score in the college. The gold thread crossed rifles are awarded as a military badge for marksmanship when marksman levels are achieved for the rifle; a crown is awarded in May to the top score in the college. The gold thread cross swords in a laurel wreath military proficiency badge is awarded if the following conditions have been met by the student: a mark of at least B in military assessment; positive leadership qualities in the summer training report; an academic average of at least 70%; a mark of at least B in physical training; a satisfactory mark in the bilingualism profile; A crown is awarded to the top cadet having received this award, by year. Students are awarded a blue maple leaf for the minimum bilingual profile standard of BBB. If they achieve higher bilingual proficiency, they receive a silver or gold maple leaf. An academic distinction badge is awarded to a student with an academic average of at least 80% at the end of the year. Physical fitness badges are awarded upon reaching a certain number of points. As cadets learn and demonstrate leadership skills, they are appointed to different positions. The number of bars increases from zero to five as students are promoted. There are 5 no-bar positions and 15 two-bar positions. The brass or gold thread lyre is awarded as a proficiency badge for brass and reed by the band officer when a student is considered capable of participating in parades. A brass or gold treble clef is awarded by the band officer as a proficiency badge for choir when a student is considered to be ready for concerts. A brass or gold thread pipe is awarded by the band officer as a proficiency badge for pipes when a student is considered capable of participating in parades. A brass or gold thread drum is awarded as a proficiency badge for drums by the band officer when a student is considered capable of participating in parades. The brass or gold thread thistle is awarded by the band officer as a proficiency badge for Scottish highland dance when a student is considered capable of participating in parades.

Maternity dress
When conventional pattern uniforms are no longer comfortable or aesthetically appropriate, a pregnant woman can wear maternity dress. The non-operational maternity dress is a common-pattern ensemble in light-weight, washable material in three environmental colours. There is also a white occupational variant for medical, dental, and food services personnel, worn as well by navy personnel during the summer dress period. The ensemble consists of general-purpose items suitable for wear as alternatives to those of service dress and its ceremonial and mess derivatives. Medals and accoutrements may be worn on ceremonial dress occasions. The ensemble includes a long tunic, a short tunic, slacks, maternity shirts in both long and short sleeve, a light jacket and a maternity top-coat with a removable liner.

Uniform of the Commander-in-Chief
The Governor General of Canada, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces may choose to wear the relevant Canadian Forces uniform which consists of:


 * A general officer's uniform of any of the three environments
 * A flag or general officer's hat badge
 * A flag or general officer's sleeve braid embellished with the crest of the Royal Arms of Canada
 * The crest of the Royal Arms of Canada embroidered on the shoulder straps or shoulder boards
 * Various orders and decorations as applicable

Military police
After unification, military police (MPs) wore the same uniforms as other personnel, distinguished only by a few unique accoutrements: a white vinyl cover over the service cap, a gold-coloured police-style badge on the breast pocket, and/or a brassard or armlet bearing the title "MP" or "MILITARY POLICE MILITAIRE".

With the introduction of DEU, these accoutrements (except the brassards) were replaced. Now the main identifying feature of the military police was the addition of the colour red: a red service cap band for Naval and Air Force personnel, a red beret for army MPs and red backing for the cap badges of air force and navy MPs. In 2005, the dress regulations were amended to permit all MPs to wear the red beret regardless of their element, with any order of dress that may include a beret, except the number three order of dress for the Navy, in which the peaked cap is still worn, and the Air Force, in which case the Wedge is worn - both of which have a red identifier around the Military Police cap badge.

In 2001, the CF formally introduced the Military Police Operational Patrol Dress (MP OPD), a marked departure from standard military uniforms: it is immediately recognisable as a police uniform as opposed to a military one. It consists of black trousers, short-sleeved shirts for summer wear, long-sleeved collared shirts for winter, the naval pattern sweater, patrol jacket, body armour, police equipment belt and MP Gore-Tex boots, with a red beret for all MPs. It is normally authorised for wear on patrol duties only, by members up to and including the rank of Warrant Officer / Petty Officer 1st Class. Some units, however, have begun to dress all uniformed and badged MPs of all ranks (including those above Warrant Officer / Petty Officer 1st Class) and those outside of patrol duties, in MP OPD and accoutrements. This is to ensure that all MP are available at any time in the case of an Immediate Rapid Deployment (similar to the US SWAT) scenario.

Berets
The beret is still the most widely worn headgear, and is worn with almost all orders of dress with the exception of the more formal orders of Naval and Air Force dress (i.e. Ceremonial, Mess, and Service Dress). A regimental or branch badge is worn centred over the wearer's left eye, and excess material pulled to the wearer's right.

Colour
The colour of the beret is determined by the wearer's environment, branch, or mission. The beret colours listed below are the current standard:

History
Berets were first worn in the Canadian Army in 1937 when tank regiments (at that time part of the infantry) adopted the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps. The black beret, which is now the headdress of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), was first worn by the Essex Regiment (Tank), now renamed The Windsor Regiment (RCAC). This was because the other new tank units were ordered to wear the headdress that they had while serving as infantry. The Essex Regiment (Tank) was a new unit, formed as a tank regiment, with no connection to the Infantry. As such, it picked the headdress that was worn by the Royal Tank Corps of the British Army.

During the Second World War, a khaki beret was adopted throughout the Canadian Army, with the Canadian Armoured Corps (later Royal Canadian Armoured Corps) wearing the black beret and parachute troops wearing the maroon beret adopted by British airborne forces. The 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion (the Canadian component of the First Special Service Force) wore a red beret with the dress uniform. Wartime berets were much fuller in cut than postwar berets.

After the Second World War, a series of coloured berets were adopted, with infantry regiments wearing scarlet, rifle regiments wearing dark (rifle) green, the armoured corps wearing black, and other arms and services wearing midnight blue berets, with a large coloured "flash" in corps colours - dull cherry for the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, Emerald Green for the Royal Canadian Dental Corps, etc. The coloured flashes were not popular and replaced in 1956 with forage caps bearing coloured bands in corps colours. The midnight blue beret itself was retained, however.

When the Canadian Forces unified on 1 February 1968, the rifle green beret was adopted as the CF standard. The RCAC successfully fought to retain its distinctive black beret, and the Canadian Airborne Regiment wore the maroon beret until the unit was disbanded. Scottish and Irish infantry regiments wear Tam o' Shanters, glengarries, balmorals or caubeens instead of berets.

The beret is used with service dress as formal headdress (especially after the move away from the forage cap in the 1990s) as well as with CADPAT clothing as garrison dress and as a form of combat dress. In certain cases the beret is even used as Ceremonial Dress, most commonly in units of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

Full dress and patrol dress
The armoured, artillery, and infantry regiments are authorized ceremonial uniforms, but they are rarely seen because they are not provided at public expense (with a few exceptions).

Regular force
These regular force regiments have authorized full dress.

Reserve force
These reserve force regiments have authorized full dress and patrol dress uniforms.

Air Force
Air Force pipe bands also have an authorized full-dress uniform. There is a ceremonial Air Force full-dress uniform authorized.

Regulations
Regulations for the wear of uniforms are contained in the CF publication Canadian Forces Dress Instructions. Amendments to dress regulations are issued through the office of the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff (VCDS), initially in the form of a CANFORGEN (Canadian Forces General) message, which is placed in the dress manual until an official publication amendment can be promulgated.

Dress regulations may also be amplified, interpreted, or amended by the commanders of formations and units (depending on the commander's authority) through the issuing of Standing Orders (SOs), Ship's Standing Orders (SSO), Routine Orders (ROs), and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This may include amplification where the regulations are unclear or are not mandatory; amendments or reversal of some existing regulations for special occasions or events; or the promulgation of regulations regarding the wear of traditional regimental articles (such as kilts).