Canadian Forces Base Kingston (also CFB Kingston) is a Canadian Forces base in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

History

The Barriefield Military Camp, commonly called Camp Barriefield, was established as a military base at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 on the east bank of the Cataraqui River opposite the city of Kingston in the village of Barriefield. Located north of King's Highway 2, the name of the military base and village was in honour of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Barrie who served during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In 1937 the base expanded to the south side of King's Highway 2 with the opening of the Vimy Barracks, named in honour of the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

. The Vimy Barracks became home to the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals which relocated to the Barriefield Military Camp from the Borden Military Camp. The Signal Training Centre, later renamed the Royal Canadian School of Signals was also established at the base. The Barriefield Military Camp continued to expand as one of Canada's largest training bases when the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps established a training centre during the Second World War. Following the war, the original part of Barriefield Military Camp on the north side of the King's Highway 2 was renamed the McNaughton Barracks in honour of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

's General A.G.L. McNaughton who served during the First and Second World Wars. From 1945 to 1969 the McNaughton Barracks were host to the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers School. The base was renamed to Canadian Forces Base Kingston (CFB Kingston) in 1966 in the lead-up to the February 1968 unification of the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

and

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

to form the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. CFB Kingston was placed under Training Command and was responsible for providing a training facilities and support services to its integral units and lodger units. In September 1975, Training Command was disbanded and the base was transferred to Canadian Forces Training System. The

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

, the National Defence College, the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College and the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics were some of the units supported by the base and under the authority of the commander of CFB Kingston. On September 1, 1988, the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters was established to serve as a staging base for the deployment of troops and materiel on active operations; in this role it supported

Operation Friction Operation Friction was a Canadian military operation that saw the contribution of 4,500 Canadian Forces personnel to the 1991 Gulf War. The larger US components were Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Operation Friction initi ...

which was Canada's support to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

for the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

in 1991. On March 30, 1995, responsibility for CFB Kingston was transferred to Land Force Command, now known as the

(since August 2011). On June 26, 1997, Air Command reorganized by disbanding the 10 Tactical Air Group and replacing this unit with the newly formed 1 Wing. The headquarters for 1 Wing was relocated to CFB Kingston, however, the unit's six tactical helicopter squadrons flying the CH-146 Griffon were spread out at Canadian Forces bases across the country.

Lodger units

Primarily a training base, CFB Kingston is home to the following lodger units: *

** Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre (CADTC) ** 1st Canadian Division, Headquarters ** Peace Support Training Centre (PSTC) ** Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (PWOR) **

Communications and Electronics Branch The Communications and Electronics Branch () is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The army component of the branch is designated the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (). History Major Wallace Bruce Matthews Carruthers (13 Feb ...

*** Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics (CFSCE) *** Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment *** 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment *** 772 Electronic Warfare Squadron *** 2 Electronic Warfare Squadron *** Canadian Forces Crypto Maintenance Unit *

** 1 Wing (commonly referred to as 1 Wing Kingston) *

** ** CSTC HMCS Ontario - Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre * Canadian Forces Joint Operations Group *

Canadian Forces Joint Support Group Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

* Canadian Defence Academy * Canadian Forces National Counter-Intelligence Unit Detachment Kingston * 1 Dental Unit — Detachment Kingston * 33 Canadian Forces Health Services Centre * Military Post Office 305 Vimy Post Office * Civilian Human Resources Office * Kingston Garrison Learning and Career Centre * Dispute Resolution Centre * Canadian Forces Housing Agency * 2 Military Police Regiment Detachment Kingston * Military Communications and Electronics Museum *

; CFB Kingston is the base designated to support RMC, located nearby at Point Frederick * Garrison Golf and Curling Club * Kingston Military Community Sports Center (PSP)

Architecture

CFB Kingston includes several recognized and classified federal heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/beefp-fhbro/FHB_Rech_Search_e.asp Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. * McNaughton Barracks **Canadian Forces Health Services Clinic, Building MB-62 Recognized - 2002 ** Lewis Hall, Building MB39 Recognized - 1996 ** Sherman Hall, Building MB37 Recognized - 1996 *Vimy Barracks **Barracks Block, Building VB-7 Recognized - 2002 **Beament Hall, Building VB-2 Recognized - 1996 **Carruthers Hall, Building VB-1 Recognized - 1996 **Forde Building VB-16 Recognized - 1997 **McKee Hall, Building VB-6 Recognized - 1996 **Officer's Mess Building VC1 Recognized - 1996

Awards

CFB Kingston received an award from the Ontario Power Authority's for their leadership in pursuing energy efficiency. CFB Kingston and Direct Energy partnered in 2005 to create the largest Federal Building Initiative project ever conducted in Canada, resulting in a $21-million energy performance contract (EPC) expected to save the base more than $2 million annually in utility costs. At CFB Kingston, energy efficiency measures cover a number of base-wide initiatives, such as lighting upgrades, improved building controls and water conservation.

References

External links

Department of National Defence Canada - CFB Kingston

Official site for 1 Wing Kingston

Military Communications and Electronics Museum

Peace Support Training Centre
{{Authority control Kingston Buildings and structures in Kingston, Ontario