CFB Borden

Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden) is a Canadian Forces base located in Ontario.

The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CFB Borden is the largest training facility in the Canadian Forces. The base is run by Canadian Forces Support Training Group (CFSTG) and reports to the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) in Kingston.

History
At the height of the First World War, the Borden Military Camp opened at a location on a glacial moraine west of Barrie in 1916 to train units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In May 1916, the Barrie and Collingwood companies of the 157th Battalion (Simcoe Foresters), CEF (perpetuated today by The Grey and Simcoe Foresters ), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel D.H. MacLaren, began construction of the camp.

Camp Borden was selected in 1917 for a military aerodrome, becoming the first flying station of the Royal Flying Corps Canada. During the inter-war period, the aerodrome was used as the training location for the nascent Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was renamed RCAF Station Borden. Camp Borden's training grounds were expanded in 1938 to house the Canadian Tank School.

During the Second World War, both Camp Borden and RCAF Station Borden became the most important training facility in Canada, housing both army training and flight training, the latter under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). The BCATP's No. 1 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) was located here until 1946. Relief landing fields were located at Alliston and Edenvale.

A third landing field, known locally as Leach's Field, was operated by Camp Borden from the 1920s to the 1950s. The L-shaped airstrip was pretty rudimentary; the "runways" at Leach's Field utilized the existing ground surface. It was primarily used for touch-and-go flying.

During the Cold War, Borden's importance as an RCAF facility in Ontario declined in favour of CFB Trenton, CFB Uplands and CFB North Bay. However, its use as an army facility stayed consistent until 1970 when a major reorganization of the combat arms' schools resulted in the transfer of the Infantry School and Armoured School to CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. On the other hand, numerous "purple" (i.e. tri-service) schools were established or expanded from existing service training establishments, including the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics, the School of Aerospace Ordnance Engineering and the Canadian Forces Health Service Training Centre.

The February 1, 1968 unification of the RCAF with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army resulted in the creation of the Canadian Forces. The military facilities consisting of Camp Borden and RCAF Station Borden were grouped under a new name, Canadian Forces Base Borden (CFB Borden). The aerodrome was closed and the base saw use as a regular and reserve training facility for Canadian Forces Land Force Command (the army), as well as hosting various land-based training courses for Canadian Forces Air Command (the air force). In a 1990s reorganization of the Canadian Forces following the end of the Cold War, CFB Borden's air force training facilities were grouped under the name 16 Wing Borden.

The eight surviving Royal Flying Corps hangars at the base have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

Plaque
The Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Recreation erected a plaque in 1976. ''Camp Borden was established during the First World War as a major training centre of Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions. The Camp (including this structure) was officially opened by Sir Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence, on July 11, 1916, after two months of intensive building. This military reserve, comprising over twenty square miles, was soon occupied by some 32,000 troops. Training facilities were expanded in 1917 with the institution of an air training programme under the Royal Flying Corps, Canada, and the construction of the first Canadian military aerodrome, regarded as the finest military aviation camp in North America. Following the armistice Camp Borden continued as an important army and air force centre and became one of the largest armed forces bases in Canada.''

Activities and facilities
Although originally an air force training base, CFB Borden is now a training base for several elements of the Canadian Forces:


 * 2 Canadian Air Division's (2 Cdn Air Div) primary lodger unit, 16 Wing, commonly referred to as 16 Wing Borden, consists of 16 Wing Headquarters and three schools: Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE) and Air Command Academy (ACA); and the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control (CFSACO), located in Cornwall, Ontario.
 * The Canadian Army's (CA) Regular Force and reserve force army units use a number of training schools and large portions of the base's 22300 acre training area for manoeuvres.
 * The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) uses the base for the Naval Reserve Training Division (NRTD), where naval reserve non-commissioned members undergo a nine-week Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) course.

In addition to these specific environmental element commands, CFB Borden houses a variety of other purple trades training facilities and headquarters within the Canadian Forces, including a fire-fighting school, Military Police (MP) school, a chaplaincy school, the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group, medical, dental and language schools, and supports local cadet and reserve units. The Toronto Police Service's Emergency Task Force also trains there occasionally.

CFB Borden hosts the Blackdown Cadet Training Centre, a facility established for training army cadets. This facility has also hosted air cadets and sea cadets since 2003, when the Borden Air Cadet Summer Training Centre was closed.

CFB Borden's residential area houses two golf courses, one nine-hole links style course (Anderson Park, par 36) and one regulation-sized golf course (Circled Pine Golf Course, par 72). Circled Pine Golf Course and Anderson Park Course opened in 1952 and 1917 respectively. The courses are open to the public and serving military.

The Base Borden Military Museum (combining four separate museums) has numerous items, equipment and vehicles from all eras of Canadian military history, including a large number of armoured vehicles and aircraft displayed outside in Worthington Park and around the headquarters area of the base.

In August 2010, the Canadian department of Defence announced a C$209 million series of projects to construct new facilities, and upgrade existing facilities, at CFB Borden.

Former runways
Borden had two asphalt runways facing east and west:


 * 05/23 - approximately 830 m
 * 18/36 - approximately 1000 m

Lodger units

 * 16 Wing
 * No. 400 Squadron RCAF which belongs to 1 Wing. 1 Wing's headquarters is located in Kingston, Ontario


 * Canadian Forces Recruiting Group HQ (CFRG HQ)


 * 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (3 CRPG)
 * 31 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre (31 CFHSC)
 * 1 Dental Unit
 * 700 Communication Squadron (70 Comm Group)
 * The Grey and Simcoe Foresters (31 Canadian Brigade Group, off-base supported unit, garrisoned at Barrie and Owen Sound)


 * Civilian Human Resources Centre (CHRC)


 * Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) (RCSU Central)
 * Central Ontario Gliding Centre (COGC)

Lodger training establishments

 * Regional Cadet Instructor School (Central) (RCIS Central)
 * Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE)
 * Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA)
 * Canadian Forces Health Services Training Centre (CFHSTC)
 * Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (CFSEME)
 * Canadian Forces Language School (CFLS)
 * Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency Training Centre Borden (CFPSA)
 * Air Command Academy (ACA)
 * Post Recruit Education Training Centre (PRETC)

Training establishments

 * Canadian Forces Chaplain School & Centre (CFChSC)
 * Canadian Forces Logistics Training Centre (CFLTC) (formerly Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics (CFSAL))
 * Canadian Forces Training Development Centre (CFTDC)
 * Canadian Forces Fire and CBRN Academy (CFFCA) amalgamation between Canadian Forces Fire Academy and Canadian Forces Nuclear Biological Chemical School(CFNBCS)

Tributes
The aircraft Control Tower is dedicated to the memory of Royal Flying Corps Cadet James Harold Talbot. Talbot became the first fatality at Camp Borden when his Curtiss J.N.4 'Jenny' aeroplane crashed on April 8, 1917.

The Air Force Annex of the Base Borden Military Museum is dedicated to the memory of First World War Victoria Cross recipient Lieutenant Alan McLeod, the youngest Canadian Airman to receive the award.

Worthington Park, a part of the Base Borden Military Museum complex, named after Major-General F.F. Worthington, the father of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Worthington is buried in Worthington Park.

Architecture
CFB Borden has several Federal Heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.
 * Alexander Dunn Public School P-148 Recognized - 1995
 * Barrie Armoury Recognized - 1997
 * Croil Hall Building A-142 Recognized - 2003
 * Dyte Hall A-78 Recognized - 1995
 * Hangars 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 & 13 Classified - 1988
 * Headquarters Building O-102 Recognized - 1995
 * Hennessy Block Building S-136 Recognized - 1995
 * Junior Ranks Quarters T-114 & T-115 Recognized - 1995
 * Maple Mess A-74 Recognized - 1995
 * Museum Building E-108 Recognized - 1995
 * Non Commissioned Officer Building O-109 Recognized - 1995