Canadian Armed Forces Search and Rescue (CAFSAR; French : Recherche et sauvetage des Forces armées canadiennes) is the collective name used to refer to search and rescue (SAR) resources and operations within the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) are jointly responsible for Canada’s SAR operations.
Military search and rescue in Canada traces its history to 1942 [1] when Wilfred May pioneered the concept of parachuting survival experts into airplane crash sites. The Royal Canadian Air Force, impressed with "Wop's" rescue squad, enrolled the first three RCAF Pararescue jumpers in June 1944. January 1945 saw the first RCAF pararescue course with graduates stationed to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Sea Island, British Columbia; and Edmonton, Alberta. The RCAF and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) began to task aircraft resources for SAR operations and occasionally perform joint operations. Unification of the RCAF and RCN with the Canadian Army in 1968 formed the Canadian Armed Forces, at which time SAR operations were divided between Maritime Command and Force Mobile Command.
The formation of the Canadian Coast Guard in 1962, as well as its civilian predecessor agencies and some volunteer organizations, have held responsibility for the vast majority of maritime SAR operations in Canada since the 19th century. Pacific and Atlantic maritime SAR is directed from Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCC) located at Maritime Pacific and Atlantic Naval Headquarters in Esquimalt, BC and Halifax, NS. The centres are manned by Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Coast Guard personnel. A third JRCC is located at Trenton, Ontario and is responsible for the Great Lakes and the North.[ citation needed ]
In 2014, the RCAF revamped its FWSAR replacement project to have the competitors suggest the best locations to base the aircraft out of. [2]
Search and rescue operations cover the entirety of Canada's SAR Region (SRR) which measures 15,540,000 km2 (6,000,000 sq mi). Resources are operationally administered in three SAR regions by each respective Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC):[ citation needed ]
Canadian Forces search and rescue resources are mostly in the form of squadrons of dedicated SAR aircraft located at bases across the country supported by 750 personnel, which includes ground crew, air crew, and 150 Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs). CF SAR operations occasionally provide assistance to civilian agencies which lack the resources and equipment to conduct a large scale SAR operation.[ citation needed ]
Search and Rescue technicians are advanced trauma life support pararescue specialists trained in military freefall, diving, mountaineering, rappeling, wilderness survival in extreme conditions, hoist rescue operations and various other rescue-related tasks, such as securing landing zones/drop zones or leading mountain rescue operations in coordination with civilian agencies and volunteer organizations. After a two-week selection period, SAR Techs undergo 11 months of initial training at the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue, based at 19 Wing Comox in British Columbia.[ citation needed ]
Additional resources available for SAR include:
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs ; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.
The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101, a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada. Developed from AgustaWestland in Italy, the CH-149 is a medium-lift helicopter for military applications.
The Royal Canadian Air Force 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 Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2020, the Royal Canadian Air Force consists of 12,074 Regular Force and 1,969 Primary Reserve personnel, supported by 1,518 civilians, and operates 258 manned aircraft and nine unmanned aerial vehicles. Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny is the current Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Chief of the Air Force Staff.
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located 1.5 nautical miles east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora and CP-140A Arcturus anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 14 Wing, commonly referred to as 14 Wing Greenwood.
Canadian Forces Base Comox, commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces Base located 2.5 nautical miles north northeast of Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 19 Wing, commonly referred to as 19 Wing Comox.
Canadian Forces Base Trenton, formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 8 Wing, commonly referred to as 8 Wing Trenton. CFB Trenton is Canada's largest Air Force base and most southerly air base.
103 Search and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force is a search and rescue unit based at 9 Wing Gander on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The squadron is responsible for a large area covering the offshore waters of Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Atlantic Ocean and inland areas in the Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, and parts of Eastern Quebec. The squadron operates three AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant helicopters.
The National Search and Rescue Program (NSP) is the name given by the Government of Canada to the collective search and rescue (SAR) activities in Canada. Until 2015, the NSP was administered by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat (NSS).
Canadian Forces Base Gander, is a Canadian Forces base located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is home to search and rescue operations that cover a vast swath of the western North Atlantic and southern Arctic and a Canadian Coastal Radar station amongst other things. It is home to 9 Wing Gander.
413 Transport and Rescue Squadron is an air force squadron of the Canadian Armed Forces. It was originally a flying boat squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. It currently operates the C-130 Hercules and the CH-149 Cormorant in transport plus search and rescue roles at CFB Greenwood.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (Canadian Armed Forces) and staffed by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
Air Transport Command (ATC) was a command of the Canadian Forces created in 1968 upon unification and eliminated in 1975.
435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, nicknamed "Chinthe Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport, aerial refuelling and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The squadron flies four Lockheed CC-130H Hercules aircraft. In addition to being the only provider of tactical fighter air-to-air refuelling in Canada, the squadron is a provider of primary search and rescue response for the largest search and rescue region in Canada, controlled from CFB Trenton. The squadron keeps an aircraft on constant readiness to deploy, with airborne search and rescue technicians standing by to respond within 30 minutes of notification during weekdays and 2 hours at other times. The Trenton Search and Rescue Region, also covered by the 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, extends from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canada–United States border to the North Pole, covering most of Central, Western, and Northern Canada.
424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, nicknamed "Tiger Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton in the Canadian province of Ontario. The squadron is the primary provider of search and rescue response for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region, which extends from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canada–United States border to the North Pole, covering an area of over ten million square kilometres in Central, Western, and Northern Canada.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). It is located on CFB Trenton in Astra, Ontario near Quinte West.
Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre St. John's is one of two Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre's operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.
Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Quebec is a Canadian Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre that coordinates search and rescue operations in the following waters:
This is the structure of the Royal Canadian Air Force, as of November 2020.