Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to

Maritime Forces Pacific In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC, french: links=no, Forces maritimes du Pacifique, FMAR(P)) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Pacific Ocean. It was once referre ...

and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians work at CFB Esquimalt.CFB Esquimalt
/ref>

Geography

The base occupies approximately at the southern tip of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

on the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

, in the municipality of

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...

, adjacent to the western limit of the provincial capital,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Facilities

CFB Esquimalt comprises facilities that include ''Naden'' (formerly HMCS ''Naden''), Her Majesty's Canadian (HMC) Dockyard Esquimalt, Fleet Maintenance Facility – Cape Breton (FMF CB), a Fire Fighting and Damage Control School, the Naval Officer Training Centre (NOTC) Venture, and extensive housing including 716 personnel married quarters located at nine sites such as Belmont Park, WorkPoint, and Royal Roads. The present dockyard and dry dock, known as HMC Dockyard Esquimalt, dates to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard Esquimalt Royal Naval Dockyard was a major British Royal Navy yard on Canada's Pacific coast from 1842 to 1905, subsequently operated by the Canadian government as HMC Dockyard Esquimalt, now part of CFB Esquimalt, to the present day. The nav ...

(1842–1905) and was the Royal Navy's

Pacific Station The Pacific Station was created in 1837 as one of the geographical military formations into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. The South America Station was split into the Pacific Station and the South East Coast of ...

until 1911. Today it serves as the Canadian Naval Headquarters in the Pacific.

Operational and support units

Major units of the base are: * Campus Pacific * Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) *

443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron (french: links=no, 443e Escadron d'hélicoptères maritimes) is a Canadian Armed Forces helicopter squadron under the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was origina ...

* Canadian Forces Health Services Centre (Pacific) * Naval Provost Marshal (Pacific) *

5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA The 5th (British Columbia) Field Artillery Regiment, RCA is a Canadian Army Reserve artillery regiment based at the Bay Street Armoury in Victoria, British Columbia. It is part of the 3rd Canadian Division's 39 Canadian Brigade Group. Although hav ...

* The Canadian Scottish Regiment *

11 Service Battalion Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature *Eleven (novel), ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David ...

4th Canadian Rangers Patrol Group Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

Acoustic Data Analysis Centre Acoustic may refer to: Music Albums * ''Acoustic'' (Above & Beyond album), 2014 * ''Acoustic'' (Deine Lakaien album), 2007 * ''Acoustic'' (Everything but the Girl album), 1992 * ''Acoustic'' (John Lennon album), 2004 * ''Acoustic'' (Love Amo ...

Regional Cadets (Pacific) In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Historic site

HMCS Aurora Patriot Patrician Esquimalt 1921 E-6546-2

Due to their significance in Canadian naval history, four sites at CFB Esquimalt (the

Dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

, the former Royal Navy Hospital, the Veterans' Cemetery, and the Cole Island Magazine) have been designated the Esquimalt Naval Sites

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

Ships

As of March 2013, CFB Esquimalt services the following ships assigned to Canadian Fleet Pacific * patrol frigates ** ** ** ** ** *s ** ** ** ** ** ** * ''Victoria''-class patrol submarines ** ** ** *Auxiliary vessels ** , tugboat ** *** , fireboat ** s *** CFAV ''Lawrenceville'' (YTL 590), tugboat *** CFAV ''Parksville'' (YTL 591), tugboat ** tugs *** , tugboat *** , tugboat * patrol craft training tender **''Orca'' (PCT 55) **''Raven'' (PCT 56) **''Caribou'' (PCT 57) **''Renard'' (PCT 58) **''Wolf'' (PCT 59) **''Grizzly'' (PCT 60) **''Cougar'' (PCT 61) **''Moose'' (PCT 62)

Architecture

CFB Esquimalt contains several recognized and classified federal heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. * Colwood Site ** Guard House Building 38 Recognized – 2002 ** Belmont Road Main Gatehouse BEL 13 Recognized – 2000 ** Cow Barn / Dairy RR6 Recognized – 2000 ** Gatehouse Lodge RR8 Recognized – 2000 ** Grant Block, Building 24 Recognized – 1990 ** Gymnasium RR22 Recognized – 2000 ** Hatley Castle Classified – 1986 ** Nixon Block RR24A Recognized – 2000 ** Stable / Garage RR4 Recognized – 2000 ** Swimming Pool RR22A Recognized – 2000 * Dockyard ** Admiral's Residence, former Naval Storekeeper's Residence, Building D101 Classified – 1991 ** Aldergrove Building DY 199 Recognized – 2001 ** Bickford Tower, Building D118 Recognized – 1988 ** Clothing / Receiving Stores, Building D211 Recognized – 1991 ** Cordage / Furniture Stores, Building D80 Recognized – 1991 ** Dry Dock Pumphouse, Building D175 Recognized – 1991 ** Electrical Shop Building DY 141 Recognized – 2001 ** Engineer's Residence, Building D1 Recognized – 1991 ** Factory, Building 51 Recognized – 1991 ** Guard House Building D214 Recognized – 1991 ** Main Office, Building D70 Recognized – 1991 ** Oil Stores Building D83 Recognized – 1991 ** Ordnance Stores, Building D77 Recognized – 1991 ** Pump House, Graving Dock No. 1 Recognized – 1991 ** Royal Navy Prison, Building D26 Recognized – 1991 ** Rum / Salt Meats Stores, Building D75-D76 Recognized – 1991 ** Sail Loft / Oil Stores, Building D109 Recognized – 1991 ** Shipwrights' Shed / Spar Shed, Building D113 Recognized – 1991 ** Stone Frigate Building D38 Recognized – 1991 ** Transformer House, Graving Dock No. 11 Recognized – 1991 ** Veterans' Cemetery Chapel Recognized – 1996 ** Warehouse Building D85 Recognized – 1986 **Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton, Buildings D250 & D252 Recognized – 1991; Final Construction Completed – 2020 * Naden ** Administration Block, Building 37 Recognized – 1990 ** Administration Office, former Offices of the Officer-in-Charge, Building 5 Recognized – 1991 ** Catholic Chapel, Building 35 Recognized – 1990 ** Communications School, Building 67 Recognized – 1991 ** Drill Hall Building 33-33A-33B Recognized – 1991 ** Gunnery School, former Building 50 Recognized – 1991 ** Nelles Block, Building 34 Recognized – 1994 ** Officer's Ward / Base Museum, Building 20 Recognized – 1990 ** Protestant Chapel Building 39 Recognized – 1990 ** Radar Training Building 92A Recognized – 2006 ** Stores / Museum Warehouse, Building 29 Recognized – 1990 ** Torpedo School, former Building 2 Recognized – 1991 ** Trades Training Building 92 Recognized – 2006 * Signal Hill ** Armament Artificer's and Sergeant's Quarters, former Building 522 Recognized – 1991 ** Gun Emplacement, Building 578 Recognized – 1990 ** Private Married Quarters, former Building 523 Recognized – 1991 ** Reserve Ordnance Stores, former Building 508 Recognized – 1991 * Work Point Barracks ** Administration Building 1020 Recognized – 1991 ** Artillery Barracks, Building 1075 Recognized – 1991 ** Barracks Building 1004 Recognized – 1991 ** Work Point Guard House Recognized – 2011 The Institute for Stained Glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at the Multi-Faith Naval Chapel and the stained glass at the Old Naval and Garrison Church (1866), now known as St Paul's Anglican.

Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum

CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum is located at HMCS ''Naden''. Building 20 (c. 1891), part of Naden Museum Square is a Municipal Heritage Property. Building 37 (c. 1889) part of the Naden Museum Square is also a Municipal Heritage Property and is also on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. HMCS ''Naden'' was named after the Dominion Government Ship ''Naden'', which was commissioned as a tender for the Royal Naval College of Canada from 1918 to 1922 for training in sail. The museum is affiliated with: Canadian Museums Association (CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN),

Organization of Military Museums of Canada The Organization of Military Museums of Canada is a national organization for the promotion of military museums in Canada. The OMMC was established in 1967 by a group of military museums, historians, and military history enthusiasts. It has over 40 ...

(OMMC) and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

Other facilities

CFB Esquimalt operates a bus service to provide intra-base transportation. ''The Lookout'' is the base newspaper, which covers local, national and international news with specific interest to Navy and

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

members and family issues. Other properties that are part of CFB Esquimalt include the Albert Head training area near Albert Head, Metchosin, located approximately by road southwest of

downtown Victoria Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the city centre and the central business district for the City of Victoria, and the Greater Victoria regions. Characteristics The downtown area is an ex ...

. It occupies approximately , four of which are developed as training facilities. Fort Albert Head was established in the late 1800s along with Fort Rodd Hill and other installations, to provide shore defence for the

and

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in ...

. The training area is used for Regular and Reserve Force training throughout nine months of the year and is home to the Regional Cadet Instructor School (Pacific) that trains Canadian Forces

Cadet Instructors Cadre The Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC; french: Cadre des instructeurs de cadets) consists of approximately 7,500 Canadian Forces (CF) officers whose primary duty is the safety, supervision, administration and training of Royal Canadian Sea, Army, and Ai ...

(CIC) Branch that deliver the cadet program. During the summer months of June, July and August the area houses the Albert Head Air Cadet Summer Training Centre. Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range at Nanoose Bay is also part of CFB Esquimalt. The facility provides non-explosive technical testing of

sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a relatively small buoy – typically diameter and long – expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic rese ...

s, torpedoes and other equipment. Naval Radio Section Aldergrove in the

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

houses transmitting and receiving equipment for long-distance communications. Also, the ''CFB Esquimalt Base Fire Hall & Emergency Response Centre'' was founded to provide services to CFB Esquimalt and the civil community in the way of fire intervention and

emergency response Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wi ...

Economic facts

* CFB Esquimalt contributes nearly $600 million into the local community annually. * CFB Esquimalt is the largest community employer.An Economic Development Strategy for the Township of Esquimalt
/ref> * CFB Esquimalt provides 7,866 jobs in the community. * CFB Esquimalt spends locally 770,847,000 dollars annually.

References

External links

Maritime Pacific Command infopage on CFB Esquimalt
*
CFB Esquimalt – Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters

The Look out – CFB Esquimalt newspaper
{{NHSC

History of British Columbia Greater Victoria History of the Royal Navy Heritage sites in British Columbia National Historic Sites in British Columbia Canadian Forces Navy bases in Canada Military history of British Columbia