Active 1997–Present Type Headquarters | Country Canada Part of 3rd Canadian Division | |
Branch Canadian Army
Primary Reserve Garrison/HQ Jericho Garrison
Vancouver, British Columbia | ||
39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG; French: 39e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a Canadian Forces formation of the Canadian Army under the 3rd Canadian Division. The brigade group is composed of Canadian Forces (CF) Primary Reserve units, all of which are based within the province of British Columbia. 39 CBG Headquarters is located in the West Point Grey neighborhood of Vancouver at the former RCAF Station Jericho Beach.
Contents
The brigade group is made of approximately 1,500 soldiers located in reserve units located in communities across British Columbia. Most of the soldiers in 39 CBG are reservists, serving part-time within their communities.
The brigade maintains armoured, artillery, infantry, engineer and service support units to assist Joint Task Force Pacific (JTFP) and Canadian Joint Operations Command with domestic operations support (natural disasters, etc.), as well as supporting the Regular Force units of the 3rd Canadian Division by supporting and augmenting its battle groups. Soldiers of 39 CBG are trained in supporting domestic and also expeditionary operations. Every year many members of 39 CBG volunteer to serve all over the world in UN and NATO deployments. Hundreds of soldiers within the brigade have experience in deploying to the mission in Afghanistan as well as deploying to support the security operations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Other units
39 CBG is supported by several other units that provide specialist duties, such as medical services, military police and intelligence. These units do not fall under the 39 CBG command structure; however, they do work closely with it in order to provide these services to the soldiers of the brigade group.
Medical
The medical needs of 39 CBG, such as tending to wounded troops in the field, are provided by two field ambulance units. These two units are part of the Royal Canadian Medical Service and 1 Health Services Group.
Military police
The military police support for 39 CBG is provided by the Canadian Forces Military Police. The military police unit assigned to the brigade is 12 Military Police Platoon (12 MP Pl) and is based out of the Colonel Sherman Armoury in Richmond. 12 Military Police Platoon reports to its parent units, 15 Military Police Company, and 1 Military Police Regiment, both based out of Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (CFB Edmonton).
Intelligence
Military intelligence services for 39 CBG are provided by the Vancouver detachment of 6 Intelligence Company, based out the Jericho Garrison. The unit headquarters is at CFB Edmonton and operates several detachments in several brigade groups. 6 Int Coy operates detachments in:
Exercise Cougar Salvo
Exercise Cougar Salvo is 39 CBG's annual field training exercise which combines the brigade as a whole. Every year, the exercise is held in a different location, usually in British Columbia. In 2006, it was held in the streets of Kamloops, in 2007, at HMCS Quadra Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre near Comox. However, it has been held in other locations, such as in the United States. In 2012, Exercise Cougar Salvo was held in Boise, Idaho.