Service battalion

A service battalion (svc bn; French) is a unit of the Canadian Forces (CF) that provides combat service support to a brigade group and its elements.

It is able to fight in a defensive role as well as provide the vital logistical support to sustain the operations of the other units within the brigade group.

Sub-units

Service battalions are normally subdivided into:

• a battalion headquarters (Bn HQ), concerned with overseeing the effective training and employment of all companies within the battalion. The HQ usually consists of the command staff, an orderly room, an operations cell, a training cell or platoon, and a signals troop.
• a maintenance company (Maint Coy), which provides automotive, mechanical, electrical, weapon maintenance and support to the brigade.
• a transportation company (Tn Coy), which provides transportation and movements support, both tactical and administrative, to the brigade.
• a supply company (Sup Coy) which provides general supply support to the brigade.
• a food services company which provides meals to the soldiers.
• an administration company (Admin Coy), which provides internal service support (maintenance, transportation, supply, etc.) to the battalion and its elements.

Flag

The flag of a service battalion is a horizontal tricolour, blue over yellow over red. The red represents the Medical Corps, yellow Logistics, and blue the Engineers. The flag also has a large Arabic numeral (representing the battalion's number) in the centre, extending into the red and blue bars. This flag was designed by Chief Warrant Officer Phil Raven during his time as regimental sergeant major of 2 Service Battalion in the 1970s.

12 (Vancouver) Service Battalion Flag

Service battalions of the CF

The following are the current service battalions in the CF, by brigade:

Regular Force

• 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), Edmonton, Alberta
  • 1 Service Battalion (1 Svc Bn)
• 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG), Petawawa, Ontario
  • 2 Service Battalion (2 Svc Bn)
• 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (5 CMBG), Valcartier, Quebec
  • 5 Service Battalion (5 CMBG)

Historically, 3 Service Battalion was located at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, in support of 3 CIBG until disbanded in the early 1970s. 3 Svc Bn served as the "Experimental Service Battalion" from 1963, when brigade-level combat service support resources were pooled under a single commanding officer and headquarters. This model has served the Canadian Army, albeit with some changes, since being adopted by the other brigades in 1968. Based in the Federal Republic of Germany, 4 Service Battalion was created at CFB Soest in 1968 and moved to CFB Lahr in 1970 in support of 4 CMBG until the close out of Canada's NATO commitment there in 1993.

Service battalions were part of Canadian mechanized brigade groups (CMBG) but have been transferred to area support groups (ASG).

Reserve Force

• 2 Area Support Group (2 ASG), Petawawa, Ontario
  • 31 (Windsor), (London), (Hamilton) Service Battalion (31 Svc Bn)
• 32 Canadian Brigade Group (32 CBG), Toronto, Ontario
  • 32 (Toronto) Service Battalion (32 Svc Bn)
• 2 Area Service Group (formerly under 33 Canadian Brigade Group) (2 ASG), Ottawa, Ontario
  • 33 Service Battalion (33 Svc Bn) Commanding Officer (CO) Lieutenant-Colonel (LCol) Bruce Playfair, CD; Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Henry Hubbard, CD. - as of April 1, 2010 (26 (North Bay) and 28 (Ottawa) Service Battalions amalgamated to form 33 Svn Bn)
• 34 Canadian Brigade Group (34 CBG), Montreal, Quebec
  • 34 (Montréal) Service Battalion (51 Svc Bn)
• 35 Canadian Brigade Group (35 CBG), Quebec City, Quebec
  • 35(Québec) Service Battalion (55 Svc Bn)
• 36 Canadian Brigade Group (36 CBG), Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 33 (Halifax) Service Battalion (33 Svc Bn) - renamed on April 1, 2010, as 33 Svn Bn now designates another service battalion
  • 35 (Sydney) Service Battalion (35 Svc Bn)
• 37 Canadian Brigade Group (37 CBG), Moncton, New Brunswick
  • 31 (Saint John) Service Battalion (31 Svc Bn)
  • 32 (Moncton) Service Battalion (32 Svc Bn) This Unit was disbanded on July 21, 1996.
  • 36 (Newfoundland) Service Battalion (36 Svc Bn), St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
• 38 Canadian Brigade Group (38 CBG), Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • 38 Service Battalion (38 Svc Bn) Winnipeg, Manitoba
    • 16 (Saskatchewan) Service Company (16 Svc Coy), HQ Saskatoon, 1 Platoon Regina, 2 Platoon Saskatoon
    • 17 (Winnipeg) Service Company (17 Svc Coy),HQ Winnipeg, 1 Platoon Brandon, Manitoba, Transport Platoon Winnipeg, Maintenance Platoon Winnipeg
    • 18 (Thunder Bay) Service Company (18 Svc Coy) Note: Operational Command and Control transferred to Lake Superior Scottish Regiment
• 39 Canadian Brigade Group (39 CBG), Vancouver, British Columbia
  • 39 Service Battalion (39 Svc Bn)
    • 11 (Victoria) Service Company (11 Svc Coy)
    • 12 (Vancouver) Service Company (12 Svc Coy)
• 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG), Calgary, Alberta
  • 41 Service Battalion
    • 14 Forward Support Group Calgary, Alberta (Formerly 14* (Calgary) Service Battalion (14 Svc Bn))
      • (Located in the Northeast Armouries, 1227 38th Avenue NE, Calgary, Alberta)
    • 15 Forward Support Group Edmonton, Alberta (Formerly 15* (Edmonton) Service Battalion (15 Svc Bn))
      • (Located in the Lt-Col Philip Debney Armoury, 8403 Roper Road, Edmonton, Alberta)
    • 14 and 15 Service Battalions were amalgamated in 2010 to become 41 Service Battalion.

Operational Employment

Although Canadian service battalions were a product of the Cold War and were expected to operate as complete units in support of Canadian Army brigades and brigade groups in the field, the recent move to fourth generation warfare has altered their role. Combat service support to ongoing operations, e.g. in Afghanistan, is now generally provided by 'national support elements', tailored to the task at hand and not necessarily formed of just one service battalion. This change has made service battalions largely force-generation units, which admittedly also provide essential support in garrison.

LCol John Conrad bleakly described the evolution of Canadian logistics in his book, What the Thunder Said: Reflections of a Canadian Officer in Kandahar. He deployed to Afghanistan with an establishment capped at 300 all-ranks that almost failed to fuel, fix and feed troops during Op Medusa in the summer of 2006. The doctrine, he describes, was unprepared for the intensity of mobile 360° warfare. At one point the planners lost count of LAV III cannon ammunition just as the battle group was firing much more ammunition than any tables predicted. In another section, he wrote about his own command group hitting an improvised explosive device west of Kandahar City, conducted the response drills then summoning his administration clerk with mock gravity to draft CF52 General Allowance Claim to replace the underwear he soiled. Conrad's book is surprising but rare glimpse inside the logistics function in battle.