The Intelligence Branch (French: Branche du service du renseignement) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces (CF) that is concerned with providing relevant and correct information to enable commanders to make decisions.
The first intelligence guides unit in Canada was the "4th Troop of Volunteer Cavalry of Montreal (or Guides)", formed on 7 February 1862. Renamed "The Royal Guides or Governor General's Body Guard for Lower Canada", and later "The Guides", the unit was disbanded in 1869 after helping to repel Fenian raiders.
During the North-West Rebellion (1885), various irregular cavalry units were used as scouts. One of these scout units, drawn from the Dominion Land Survey, was called the "Intelligence Corps". With a strength of three officers and 30 men performing long-range reconnaissance and light cavalry functions, it was the first unit to be designated an intelligence unit in the British Empire. These scout units, the forerunners of the Fort Garry Horse and North Saskatchewan Regiment, were disbanded by 18 September 1885.
During the Boer War in South Africa, Canadian mounted troops gathered information of intelligence value with Strathcona's Horse and British scout units. Canadian intelligence efforts in South Africa led to the appointment on 6 February 1901 of Lieutenant-Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers, RCA, as the first intelligence staff officer of the Canadian Militia. Shortly after, on 1 April 1903, the Corps of Guides was created in the Canadian Militia. Under the new structure, a district intelligence officer responsible to director general of military intelligence (DGMI) was appointed to oversee Corps of Guides units established in each of Canada's 12 military districts. The first DGMI, Lieutenant-Colonel W.A.C. Denny, had a very small staff overseeing information collection and mapping, and approximately 185 militia officers serving the Canadian Corps of Guides.[2]
By 1914, the Canadian Corps of Guides totalled some 500 all ranks. Given that their mounted scout role appeared inappropriate for war in Europe, many of the personnel serving with the Corps of Guides were absorbed into existing units and formations in the Canadian Militia and Canadian Expeditionary Force. Others became intelligence staff officers and non-commissioned officers serving with the British Intelligence Corps. Some continued to serve in Canada with the Canadian Corps of Guides. The intelligence system created within the First Canadian Division prior to its deployment to France in 1915 served as the basis for the development of intelligence structures generally throughout the Canadian Corps.
After the war, a position for a director of military operations and intelligence was maintained in the Canadian Militia. Corps of Guides units in Canada were converted to cyclist companies charged with protecting the main force form surprise during time of war. After disbandment of these companies on 31 March 1929, a small staff in Ottawa and some districts performed intelligence duties. In 1932, intelligence staffs of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Militia were amalgamated.
When Canada mobilized in September 1939, intelligence structures based on British organizations were rapidly developed and intelligence analysts were given new challenges. As of 16 December 1940, there were about 60 all ranks posted to Canadian intelligence duties. Foreseeing the need for 200 intelligence personnel, Major John Page proposed that field security (FS) functions be separated from the Canadian Provost Corps. Moreover, he worked to have an Intelligence Corps, formed in a manner similar to that of the British Intelligence Corps formed on 25 June 1940, recognized.
Establishment of the First Canadian Army in April 1942 led to a tremendous demand for intelligence specialists, and on 29 October 1942 the Canadian Intelligence Corps (C Int C) was officially recognized as a corps. Canadians from universities, colleges, businesses and industries joined the C Int C to participate in a great variety of intelligence duties; a number became casualties at the Dieppe Raid, in Northwest Europe and the Adriatic. Army Intelligence sections or staffs were represented at army, corps, division, and district levels, with seven field security sections in existence as well. By 1943, for the first time in Canadian history, Canadian personnel filled all intelligence appointments within Canada's Army formations and units.
In 1948, the Canadian Militia was authorized six intelligence training companies: No. 1 in Montreal, No. 2 in Toronto, No. 3 in Halifax, No. 4 in Vancouver, No. 5 in Winnipeg, and No. 6 in Edmonton. The basic aim of these companies was to provide a pool of trained intelligence personnel to augment the Regular Force when needed.
During the 1950s and 1960s, members of the C Int C were engaged in a variety of intelligence duties in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and Cyprus. Following unification of the Canadian Forces in the late 1960s, the C Int C, the clerk-intelligence trade, the Canadian Provost Corps, and the Air Force Police were united to become the CF Security Branch, and the Canadian Forces School of Intelligence and Security (CFSIS) was formed.
In 1981, the CF Security Branch was divided into two separate branches: one for intelligence and the other for security. Sir William Stephenson ("A Man Called Intrepid") accepted the appointment as first colonel commandant of the Intelligence Branch, which was formed 1 October 1982. The actual re-badging occurred on 29 October 1982, the 40th anniversary of the birth of the C Int C.
In 2000, a further split with the Security Branch occurred, with intelligence training moving from CFSIS at CFB Borden to the newly formed Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence (CFSMI) at CFB Kingston. This ended the formal affiliation of the Intelligence Branch with the former CFSIS.
When the Intelligence Branch was formed on 1 October 1982 the branch had a new badge. The colours scarlet, dark green and white denote the evolution of the branch from the Canadian Corps of Guides, the Canadian Intelligence Corps, and the Canadian Forces Security Branch, respectively. The North Star symbol embodied in the Canadian Intelligence Corps badge is also found in the branch badge, further preserving historic ties. The compass rose shape of the badge draws notice to the worldwide scope of branch responsibilities.
Branch today
The Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence (CFSMI) in Kingston, Ontario, is the home of intelligence training for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Identical training is provided to both Regular Force and Reserve members. The CFSMI mission is to provide core and specialist intelligence training to officers and non-commissioned members of the Intelligence Branch and other military branches.[3]
English language shoulder title of the Canadian Intelligence Corps
In December 2016, the Canadian Intelligence Corps was restored, and army-uniformed members of the Intelligence Branch resumed the use of this designation. Prior to this, the shoulder titles on army uniforms (navy and air force uniforms do not use shoulder titles) in English was "INT" and in French "RENS". The current shoulder title is "C Int C" (English) or "C Rens C" (French).
Naval reservists are also employed as both intelligence officers and intelligence operators across the country at naval reserves units.[4]
Corps is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies greatly, but two to five divisions and anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 are the numbers stated by the US Department of Defense.
The Canadian Army is the 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 responsible for the Army Reserve, the largest component of the Primary Reserve. The Army is headed by the Commander of the Canadian Army and Chief of the Army Staff, who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Army is also supported by 3,000 civilian employees from the public service.
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear reconnaissance, logistic traffic management, counterinsurgency, and detainee handling.
The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises. Members of the RMP are often known as 'Redcaps' because of the scarlet covers on their peaked caps and scarlet coloured berets.
The New Zealand Army is the principal land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
2 Intelligence Company is a Canadian Armed Forces Primary Reserve Intelligence Branch unit based in Toronto, headquartered at Denison Armoury. It is part of the 4th Canadian Division. The Intelligence Officers and Operators of the unit reside in the Greater Toronto Area, work as professionals in the business community and are also active in numerous community service organizations. They deploy on domestic and foreign operations, and are primarily responsible for tactical, or combat intelligence. Recent deployments include to Cyprus, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Canada.
The Canadian Forces Military Police provide police, security and operational support services to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) worldwide.
The black beret is a colour of beret, a type of headgear. It is commonly worn by paramilitaries and militaries around the world, particularly armored forces such as the British Army's Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), and Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) and the Indian Army Armoured Corps and Indian Border Security Force. Notable non-armored military units to wear the black beret include the non-military police and non-special forces elements of the Irish Defence Forces, MOD Guard Service, Russian Naval Infantry and Russian OMON units, the United States Air Force (USAF) Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) members, and the Royal Canadian Navy. It was also worn by the United Kingdom's Royal Observer Corps (ROC) with their Royal Air Force (RAF) uniform, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The history of the Canadian Army, began when the title first came into official use in November 1940, during the Second World War, and is still used today. Although the official titles, Mobile Command, and later Land Force Command, were used from February 1968 to August 2011, "Canadian Army" continued to be unofficially used to refer to the ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces, much as it has been from Confederation in 1867 to the present. The term was often even used in official military publications, for example in recruiting literature and the official newspaper of the Canadian Forces, The Maple Leaf. On August 16, 2011, the title, "Canadian Army", was officially restored, once again bringing the official designation in line with common and historical usage.
The Canadian Military Engineers is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers.
The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps is the infantry corps of the Canadian Army and includes regular and reserve force regiments.
The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.
The Corps of Guides was an administrative corps of the Non-Permanent Active Militia in Canada. It was responsible for both intelligence staff duties as well as the collection of military intelligence for the defence of Canada through its mounted detachments (later cyclist companies dispersed throughout the military districts of Canada. The customs and traditions of the Corps of Guides are perpetuated in the Canadian Army today by the Canadian Intelligence Corps.
The Canadian Intelligence Corps is an administrative corps of the Canadian Army (CA); it includes all CA members of the Canadian Armed Forces' Intelligence Branch. Prior to the Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, it enjoyed the same status as an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The C Int C was never disbanded; however, it was effectively reduced to nil strength at Unification, and entered an administrative hibernation with its personnel and duties assigned to the new Security Branch. The Intelligence Branch was separated from the Security Branch in 1981. In December 2016 the C Int C title was restored by the Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada) within the construct of the Intelligence Branch.
The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The RGA were the 'technical' branch of the Royal Artillery who were responsible for much of the professionalisation of technical gunnery that was to occur during the First World War. It was originally established to man the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division and the guns of the siege artillery. The RGA was amalgamated with the RFA in 1924, from which time the only two arms within the Royal Regiment of Artillery have been the Royal Artillery and the Royal Horse Artillery.
Lieutenant Colonel Victor Brereton Rivers was the first Intelligence Staff Officer of the Canadian militia on 6 February 1901. His staff work led shortly after, on 1 April 1903, to the formation of the Corps of Guides, a forerunner of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Branch.
Troops began wearing berets as a part of the headgear of military uniforms in some European countries during the 19th century; since the mid-20th century, they have become a component of the uniforms of many armed forces throughout the world. Military berets are usually pushed to the right to free the shoulder that bears the rifle on most soldiers, but the armies of some countries, mostly within Europe, South America, and Asia, have influenced the push to the left.
The Corps of Royal New Zealand Military Police (RNZMP) provides military police services to the New Zealand Army, performing a variety of roles including criminal investigations. It consists of one major unit, the 1st Military Police Company, although members of the corps can also be posted to other units within the New Zealand Army. The corps is a combat support element responsible for the policing, investigation, custodial, security and battlefield circulation control support to New Zealand Defence Force land elements. Personnel within the corps include commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers of both the Regular Force and Territorial Force.
The New Zealand Intelligence Corps (NZIC) analyses information from a variety of sources and provides commanders with intelligence on such things as enemy locations, capabilities and intentions. Corps personnel also provide advice on Field Security on operations.
4 Intelligence Company, in French and officially 4ième Compagnie du renseignement, is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve Intelligence Branch unit headquartered in Montreal, with a platoon at Valcartier Garrison near Quebec City. It is a part of the 2nd Canadian Division. The unit draws its historical lineage from the 4th Troop of Volunteer Cavalry of Montreal that took part in the actions to repel Fenian raiders attempting to invade Canada in 1866.
References
↑ "Heritage Structure of the Canadian Armed Forces - Chapter 7: Anthems, Marches, and Calls", National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces{{citation}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
↑ Harold A. Skaarup ‘Out of Darkness—Light: A History of Canadian Military Intelligence, Volume 1’
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