Halifax Rifles returned to Order of Battle?

[Eye In The Sky]

This is something that the Halifax Rifles have been fighting a long time for.  Can't see them being an infantry unit - not much use having 2 of them in Halifax. More likely Recon.

The recruiting base is a good point.  You already have Air Reserve in Shearwater, Stone Frigate at the Dockyards, Service Bn, Med Pl, Arty, Pl Fus, Int Coy, Band, Comms, Brigade and Area HQ. Don't think I missed anyone.

30 MP, now located in Lower Sacville.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I know that.  However, today there are only two Armour Regiments in the Maritimes to serve LFAA.  The PEIR and the 8 CH (M).  There are no Armour Units in NS.  How many Reserve Bdes are there in LFAA?

On another note, how many other documents has the Minister finally gotten around to putting his signature on? 

Not sure if the bolded part was a serious question, but in the event it was, there are 2, 36 CBG (NS and PEI) and 37 CBG (NB and Nfld).

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Is that Sackville NB or Lower Sackville NS?

Lower Sackville NS

 

[Nfld Sapper]

EITS thought I said that in one of my previous post? and did I miss any in the Brigade break down?

 

[Eye In The Sky]

So we have the PLF, WNSR, NSR NSH in NS, the RNBR in NB, and the RNFldR in Nfld.  Seems to me I was missing something.   Maybe not.


[Edit for a Brain Fart in the North Novies title.]

PLF, WNSR, 1 NSH, and 2 NSH (2nd Bn is in Sydney).

 

[George Wallace]

Not sure if the bolded part was a serious question, but in the event it was, there are 2, 36 CBG (NS and PEI) and 37 CBG (NB and Nfld).

It was serious, as for some reason I thought there were three.

And as we are on the Sackville issue, what happened to the Sqn of 8 CH (M) that used to be in Sackville, NB?

 

[George Wallace]

PLF, WNSR, 1 NSH, and 2 NSH (2nd Bn is in Sydney).

.....And if I remember correctly, that would be Tydney.  Close to North Tydney and New Waterford.   ;D

 

[Eye In The Sky]

And as we are on the Sackville issue, what happened to the Sqn of 8 CH (M) that used to be in Sackville, NB?

IIRC, that was C Sqn and it was shut down.  We had a Capt (PEIR, Class A flavour) at the HQ who had moved to Sackville NB for his civie job and he was training with A Sqn in Moncton.  B Sqn in Sussex is still going.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

.....And if I remember correctly, that would be Tydney.  Close to North Tydney and New Waterford.   ;D

LOL.  Yup.  2 NSH is mainly located at Victoria Park but have a Pl in North Tydney as well.  Also located at Victoria Park is 35 Fd Amb (attached to 37 Bde), 35 Svc Bn, and 45 FES.  Victoria Park is actually a VERY nice garrison IMO.

725 Comm Sqn (formerly a Troop of 721 Comm's in the Brighton Compound back home) is also located in Glace Bay.

 

[Matt_Fisher]

I'd be suprised to see the Halifax Rifles be activated as an armoured regiment again; CLS stated in pretty clear terms at the Infantry Conference in May that there is what he perceives to be a surplus of armoured units and if he has his way, there's going to be some re-roling of those units into what he deems to better suit the Army's needs (*cough* Engineers *cough*).  Whilst it is nice to see a historic regiment return to life, I'm a bit dismayed at the decision, plus the Yellowknife decision.  Seems that we've already got adequate reserve unit coverage for NS, and I don't think that recruiting CF reserve members from a far north workforce is going to be easy.  I'm led to believe that most people who are mostly motivated to stay in that area due so because of the ability to achieve huge monetary gains they make from extensive overtime hours working in the natural resource sectors (i.e. work for a few weeks with insane overtime, then head 'back south' for a week or two off, then repeat the cycle).  I don't see how those kind of folks are going to have any desire to take time off for reserve military training.
For years, Prince George BC has been campaigning for a reserve unit of some kind to be set up in it, and have been consecutively turned down.  Seems to me like this announcement is largely driven by politics than practicality (i.e. Reactivating the Halifax Rifles on McKay's home turf of NS and forming a NT based reserve unit to bolster the focus on northern sovereignty)

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I'd be suprised to see the Halifax Rifles be activated as an armoured regiment again; CLS stated in pretty clear terms at the Infantry Conference in May that there is what he perceives to be a surplus of armoured units and if he has his way, there's going to be some re-roling of those units into what he deems to better suit the Army's needs (*cough* Engineers *cough*). 

This was done with The Elgin Regiment back mid-90's or so.  Anyone know how that worked out?  I remember talking with a friend of mine who was  Sgt-Major of RETS around 1998, and he mentioned some...concerns...over the way the transition had went, especially on the NCO side.

 

[Matt_Fisher]

From sources I know, the transition was not without its teething pains, but it seems that the unit has managed to survive and provides a valuable contribution to the LFCA and CF engineering community.

If we're just going to end up rolling the Halifax Rifles as Engineers, why not just form either a Field Squadron, or Combat Engineer Regiment from the get-go, unless you're trying to make some sort of political splash by bringing back some proud and storied regiment that will create more headlines in the local community than would the creation of some new and 'unknown' unit.  As I said earlier, CLS was pretty clear in that he wants less, not more armour, and more, not less engineers in his reserve Army composition, and with this particular CLS, what he generally wants, he gets.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

When I was with 36 CBG HQ, there was talk ( at COS and Bde Cmdr O Gps ) of a plan expand on the Res Cmbt Egnr units, and one was supposedly going to be stood up in the HRM and one, IIRC, in Fredericton with 37 CBG.  It was one of MANY ideas being discussed about expanding the F Echelon troops/units in both the CBGs in LFAA, being that LFAA is the only Area without a CMBG.

Without going into much detail, never was there a mention of adding more to the Recce Sqns (8 CH had just re-rolled from Armour, with the expected problems from that) and PEIR, well the numbers just aren't there (the last Ex I was on with The Regiment in 2006, they did well to field a single 7-car troop, and that was without Obs in all the Ptl Cmdr c/s's) , but PLF was supposed to pick up an extra Coy and I believe the other Inf Bns were expected to pick up an additional Pl and would be fitted out as Recce Pl's.  We were tasked to determine what kit would be required on the '6' side for all these new units if they ever came to be.  This was all shortly before I departed for CFLRS.

 

[The Bread Guy]

For years, Prince George BC has been campaigning for a reserve unit of some kind to be set up in it, and have been consecutively turned down.  Seems to me like this announcement is largely driven by politics than practicality (i.e. Reactivating the Halifax Rifles on McKay's home turf of NS and forming a NT based reserve unit to bolster the focus on northern sovereignty)

Interesting mention, esp. considering the MP for Prince George is also blue (for the moment, anyway) - but wait, Cabinet Minister trumps backbencher?  To be fair, though, if the BC MP is a sure winner, and McKay needs to boost his chances (happy to hear more detail on that political situation), you can also see the reason for the choice.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Gee, almost as if the press release was drafted in a hurry...

With phrasing like:

The Halifax Rifles will be either a reconnaissance or an infantry unit.

and

Military leaders are currently mapping out the proposed mission and tasks for the new Yellowknife sub-unit which will enhance Canada’s ability to operate in the North.

I would have to agree.

 

[RangerRay]

For years, Prince George BC has been campaigning for a reserve unit of some kind to be set up in it, and have been consecutively turned down.  Seems to me like this announcement is largely driven by politics than practicality (i.e. Reactivating the Halifax Rifles on McKay's home turf of NS and forming a NT based reserve unit to bolster the focus on northern sovereignty)

Local Tory MP's have been working for years to bring back a company of RMRang.  The nearest unit to Prince George (pop. ~80,000) is A Coy RMRang, about 5 hours south or so.

Personally, I'd love to see a return of the Irish Fusiliers of Canada (The Vancouver Regiement)... ;D

 

[Matt_Fisher]

Personally, I'd love to see a return of the Irish Fusiliers of Canada (The Vancouver Regiement)... ;D

Irish Fusiliers (The Vancouver Regiment) were recently (in the last 10 years) amalgamated with the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles), so I think that the Irish Fusiliers are now done forever.  Seems kinda odd that you'd take a PRes unit and have a long inactive SOR unit amalgamated with it, but that's what happened.  Supposedly there was some connection between a few CEF battalions in the First World War that became the British Columbia Regiment and the Irish Fusiliers.  This connection was what was used as the basis of reasoning to amalgamate the two units, however the purpose of carrying it out is beyond me.  Alot of members of the BCRs feel that the amalgamation was done solely to create a legacy for a few senior members of the regiment as to have done something noteworthy during their tenure, and to increase the roster of the regimental association and the coffers of the regimental fund by bringing in the remaining members of the Irish Fusiliers regimental association to the BCR fold.

 

[geo]

From what I can gather from today's article in the papers, the Halifax Rifles are being re-established as a Yellowknife unit - not a NS unit... kinda goes against the usual habbit of maintaining City bearing unit names in their original stomoping grounds but... what da hey... 

 

[Nfld Sapper]

From what I can gather from today's article in the papers, the Halifax Rifles are being re-established as a Yellowknife unit - not a NS unit... kinda goes against the usual habbit of maintaining City bearing unit names in their original stomoping grounds but... what da hey... 

Now that makes no sense at all.

 

[brihard]

From what I can gather from today's article in the papers, the Halifax Rifles are being re-established as a Yellowknife unit - not a NS unit... kinda goes against the usual habbit of maintaining City bearing unit names in their original stomoping grounds but... what da hey... 

Nope. That's two separate things, both announced at the same time by MacKay. HR will stay in Halifax, and the Yellowknife unit is to be a new sub-unit for an existing organization. I've read speculation that it could be the Loyal Eddies. I've tried to find out if Yellowknife has ever had any combat arms milita presence. The closest I could find was 13 Field Squadron from 8 Field Regiment, RCE. That squadron got pruned sometime between 1953 and 1980.