Area Support Unit Chilliwack (ASU Chilliwack) is a

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 Force. ...

facility located in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdo ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. Located in the upper valley of the

Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual ...

, approximately east of

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, it is the only

Land Force Command The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) 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 respo ...

facility in the province. It provides essential support and services for 200 Regular Force and 1800 Reserve Force personnel.

Mission

The mission of ASU Chilliwack is to provide direct support for all its assigned dependencies by providing logistical support and maintenance.

Badge

The unit badge depicts the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

, which form the east and west boundaries of the unit's area of operations, respectively. This concept is further illustrated by the unit motto ''Ad Mare Usque Mons'' (Latin), which translates to "From Sea to Mountain".

History

Military presence in the region is thought to have begun with the Royal Engineers who established a camp at Sumas near Chilliwack Mountain in 1858. From the camp, they conducted surveys and established boundary markers along the border to the south. Camp Chilliwack was opened on 15 February 1941, as part of a government decision to establish a military training facility in the region. Initially, it served as a garrison for several army units that had been formed for terrestrial defence. In 1966, Camp Chilliwack was renamed to Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack) as part of the Canadian Forces unification program. Along with the change in name, CFB Chilliwack assumed additional responsibilities, such as providing support to all of the CF units on the lower mainland and assuming responsibility for the Jericho Beach Garrison in Vancouver. In 1970, Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School was established at CFB Chilliwack and offered a tri-service Basic Officer Training Course. In 1994, the 3rd

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

(3PPCLI) moved from

CFB Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians work at CFB Esquim ...

on Vancouver Island to CFB Chilliwack. Due to budget cuts, CFB Chilliwack was closed in 1997 and new bases were found for the units located at the former CFB Chilliwack. The Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School was moved to St-Jean, Quebec, the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering was moved to

CFB Gagetown 5th Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, formerly known as and commonly referred to as CFB Gagetown, is a large Canadian Forces Base covering an area over , located in southwestern New Brunswick. Construction of the base At the ...

, New Brunswick, and 3PPCLI moved to

CFB Edmonton CFB Edmonton (also called 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) is a Canadian Forces base located in Sturgeon County adjacent to the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks". His ...

, Alberta. Because of the closure of CFB Chilliwack, a need arose for a supporting formation to provide area-wide support for the Canadian Forces units remaining in mainland BC. In response to this need, 1 Area Support Group (1ASG) was created in 1999. On 4 February 1999, ASU Chilliwack was formed and allocated as a unit within the 1ASG.

Supported Units

ASU Chilliwack supports the following

units on the British Columbia Mainland: *

39 Canadian Brigade Group 39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG; french: link=no, 39e Groupe-brigade du Canada) is a Canadian Forces formation of the Canadian Army under the 3rd Canadian Division. The brigade group is composed of Canadian Forces (CF) Primary Reserve units, all ...

The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance (recce) regiment of the Canadian Army; the regiment is subordinate to 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the 3rd Canadian Division. Established in 1883 ...

** The British Columbia Dragoons **

39 Combat Engineer Regiment 39 Combat Engineer Regiment (39 CER) was created on 3 May 2008 and amalgamated all the independent field engineer squadrons of the 39 Canadian Brigade Group in British Columbia. 39 CER is part of 3rd Canadian Division's (formerly LFWA's) 39 C ...

The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada , colors = , colors_label = , march = "The Piobaireachd of Donald Dhu" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = ...

** The Rocky Mountain Rangers **

The Royal Westminster Regiment The Royal Westminster Regiment (commonly referred to as the Westies) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is currently part of the 3rd Canadian Division's 39 Canadian Brigade Group and is based in New Westminster, Brit ...

** 15th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery ** 39 Signal Regiment **

39 Service Battalion 39 Service Battalion (39 Svc Bn; french: links=no, 39e Bataillon des services) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve combat service support unit of the Canadian Forces that can fight in a defensive role and provides both logistical and army engineer ...

*** 12 (Vancouver) Service Company *

6 Intelligence Company 6 Intelligence Company (6 Int Coy; French: ) is a military intelligence unit of the Canadian Army. It is a line unit that falls directly under 3rd Canadian Division command, which is headquartered in Edmonton. The company is divided into three ...

, Detachment Vancouver * 12 Field Ambulance *12 Military Police Platoon * *192 Construction Engineering Flight (Aldergrove) *Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre (Vancouver) *National Defence Quality Assurance Region (Vancouver) *National Defence Public Affairs (Vancouver) *University Liaison Office (Vancouver) *Regional Cadet Support Unit (Pacific)

Training Areas

ASU Chilliwack has responsibility over several military training areas. These areas are often used by Regular Force units from

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG; French: '')'' is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of the 3rd Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. Originally headquartered at CFB Calgary, it is currently based in CFB Edmonton ...

, Reserve Force units from Mainland British Columbia, some units training for deployment to Afghanistan, and as well as Cadets. ASU Chilliwack maintains ranges and training areas for use by it dependencies, as well as visiting units. *Vokes Range *Slesse Creek Demolition Training Areas *Columbia Valley Training Area *Trail Rifle Range *Stone Creek Training Area *Vernon Military Camp *OPSEE Training Area *Chilcotin Training Area *Vedder Mountain Training Area *Richmond – Armoury and transmitter site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilliwack Canadian Forces bases in British Columbia Chilliwack 1997 establishments in British Columbia