Does Canada have a special forces unit? How to they stack up against the Navy Seals, Green Berets, and other elite military units? How often are they deployed in world conflicts, and would it be likely for them to get involved in covert actions (i.e. “I could tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya…”)
This is for a scene in a novel I’m writing, where a secondary character rolls up his shirt sleeve to show his tattoo and says, “Canadian Special Forces, Unit blah-blah, Battalion blah-blah” (I have no idea how military structure is set up, I’ll need insight on that, too.) He describes a few combats he’s been in and maybe suggests there have been more, and that’s it – basically, it’s a show of bravado to this punk kid, to show he can kick anyone’s ass and not care.
So anyway, if all you wise sages can help me fill in the details, I’d appreciate it…since this is mostly a throwaway detail, I don’t want to do as much exhausive research (as I did for the EMT procedures thread, I just want to make it look like I did.
This is just a guess but, being a commonwealth country they might have their version of the SAS (Special Air Service) and SBS (Special [you guessed it…] Boat Service)
Canada’s only real special forces in the sense you are using it (besides airborn, snipers, combat divers etc.) are the Joint Task Force 2, or JTF-2. It’s their best counter-terrorism unit - sort of like Delta Force. It’s extremely secretive and not much is known about it - including the size, training regimen, etc.
I think they were deployed in Serbia back in the mid-1990s in response to a hostage situation there, but I’m not sure.
I forgot to mention, this character is in his late 50’s/early 60’s, which of course would make him too old for involvement in Afghanistan/Gulf War I, even in an advisory capacity. (Vietnam, perhaps?)
Prior to JTF, the only “elite” unit in the CF (Canadian Forces) was the Canadian Airborne Regiment, particularly during the period that you’re thinking of, KGS (that is, a guy now in his late '50’s / early 60’s). He could have served with Special Service Force in the 1970s in Cyprus, for example, or even in the Quebec Crisis, against the FLQ; maybe even in plain clothes.
The unit was disbanded entirely after a scandal involving the abuse/murder of a Somali youth in 1992; although this was done more for political reasons than to solve any real problems.
JTF-2 is highly regarded. There are many other soldiers in Canada trained to ‘special forces’ standards, although without specific units dedicated to it. Canada’s force in general is considered an ‘elite’ force.
You might want to look up the performance of Canadian snipers in Afghanistan. The U.S. wanted to give four of them Bronze Stars, and the longest recorded sniper kill in history was achieved by one of them (about two and a half miles away!).
The 1st Canadian Special Force Brigade was formed on May 25, 1943 (actually the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion, formed July 10, 1942, re-named). It was part of a joint Canadian and American unit (the so-called “Devil’s Brigade” of Hollywood fame) from 1942 until 1944.
In 1977, the Special Service Force was formed out of 2 Combat Group (the descendant of 1 CSF Brigade) and the Canadian Airborne Regiment. SSF was redesignated 2 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group in April 25, 1995 and the Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded following a scandal in Somalia.
2 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group served in Afghanistan, although the Canadian long-range snipers so beloved by American troops were from the 3rd Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group (the same unit that lost four soldiers to the friendly fire bombing incident).
