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Old 18-11-09, 03:55 PM
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Voltigeur Voltigeur is offline
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Location: Montreal,Canada.
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Hello Tony, this from our friends at Wikipedia.
Post World War II: Canadian Army 2nd Special Service Force
In 1977, 2 Combat Group combined with the Canadian Airborne Regiment to form the 2nd Special Service Force, a formation of the Canadian Army. This latter day Special Service Force represented a compromise between the general purpose combat capabilities of a normal brigade and the strategic and tactical flexibility that derived from the lighter and more mobile capabilities of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. The Forces was a brigade-sized command with strength of 3,500, created to provide a small, highly mobile, general-purpose force that could be inserted quickly into any national or international theatre of operations. To this end each unit in the Force had a parachute sub-unit that would be used to support the Airborne Regiment. The Royal Canadian Dragoons had an armoured recce troop with M-114 Lynx APCs, while 2nd Royal Canadian Horse Artillery had a parachute battery with 105mm L5 Pack Howitzers. Though ultimately the Special Service Force's readiness and deployability were never tested as a formation, its units and soldiers served often & well in operations both at home and around the world. They have served in Cyprus, Somalia, the Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Namibia and internally at the Native uprisings in Ipperwash & SE Ontario. Its troops were also used during the natural disasters as the 1998 ice storm in Quebec and the 1998 Winnipeg Flood.
The following Units were serving in the SSF on disbandment in 1995:
1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment
2nd Field Ambulance
Royal Canadian Dragoons
2nd Military Police Platoon
2nd Combat Engineer Regiment
2nd Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
2nd Service Battalion
2nd Intelligence Platoon
427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
22nd Air Defence Regiment
SSF HQ & Signals Squadron
Canadian Airborne Regiment (now disbanded)
With the addition of Leopard tanks for the RCD, M109 howitzers for 2 RCHA & the addition of the 2nd Battalion of The RCR, the Special Service Force was officially redesignated as 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (CMBG) by a Ministerial Order signed on 24 April 1995. This decision and the associated reorganizing and re-equipping of the formation are a reflection of the current emphasis in Canadian defence policy on general purpose capabilities. With a smaller force structure, a smaller defence budget and more frequent operational taskings, it has become clear that general purpose capabilities provide the best return on investment in defence. Accordingly, 2 CMBG has been designed to be a mirror image reflection of its two sister formations, 1 CMBG in Western Canada, and 5e Groupe-brigade Mécanisée du Canada (GBMC) in Quebec. In completing this transformation, 2 CMBG will maintain the fine spirit and traditions of the Special Service Force, while mastering the equipment and tactical doctrine that will give it wide employability in the range of possible taskings that face Canada's Land Force today.

The badge on the left was for the pipers and other members of the band which, IIRC, were fitted as a highland pipe band.
The badge on the right was worn on the CF green uniform until the disbandment of the the unit.I have posted a pic from our colleague great website John Cameron showing the way the patch was worn by a member of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.A similar "subdued" patch was also worn on the combat uniform of the time.

http://mpmuseum.org/securuniform/cf/abcf01.jpg
http://mpmuseum.org/secur/brassards/abbrassard.jpg

Jo
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Last edited by Voltigeur; 18-11-09 at 04:52 PM.
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