Canadian Forces Base Suffield (also CFB Suffield), is the largest Canadian Forces Base and the largest Commonwealth military training base. It is located in southeastern Alberta 50 km north of the city of Medicine Hat and 250 km southeast of Calgary. A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (fr. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London, UK Official languages English Membership 53 sovereign states Leaders  -  Queen Elizabeth II  -  Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1 April 2000) Establishment  -  Balfour Declaration 18 November 1926   -  Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931   -  London Declaration 28 April 1949  Area  -  Total... Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked... Nickname: Location of Medicine Hat in Alberta Coordinates: , Country  Canada Province Alberta Region Southern Alberta Census division 1 Settled 1883 Incorporated October 31, 1898 (town) Incorporated May 9, 1906 (city) Government  - Mayor Garth Vallely  - Governing body Medicine Hat City Council  - MP Monte Solberg –(Cons - Medicine Hat)  - MLAs Rob Renner –(PC... Calgary is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. ...

Chemical warfare training

The lands comprising modern-day CFB Suffield were known as the "Suffield Block", resulting from the Dominion Land Survey and comprised marginal agricultural land, given the perpetual semi-arid climate. Some settlement was attempted, but most farms were abandoned during the droughts of the 1920s. The total area measures approximately 2,690 square kilometres [1] and borders an area north of the South Saskatchewan River. The Dominion Land Survey is the method used to divide most of western Canada into one-square-mile sections for agricultural and other purposes. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km² and 10,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... The South Saskatchewan River flows eastward from the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers near Grassy Lake, Alberta. ...

Following the fall of Algeria to Nazi Germany, the British Army required a new training facility for carrying out experiments in chemical warfare. In 1941, the federal government expropriated the Suffield Block, purchasing the majority of the land from the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Hudson's Bay Company; 452 residents were displaced. Experimental Station Suffield commenced operations on June 11, 1941. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... An eastbound CPR freight at Stoney Creek Bridge in Rogers Pass. ... The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC; Compagnie de la Baie dHudson in French) is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

British forces left the joint operation of Suffield to the Canadian Army in 1946. In 1947 the Canadian Army turned operation of Experimental Station Suffield over to the Defence Research Board. In 1950 the facility was renamed Suffield Experimental Station and in 1967 it was renamed to Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES). Throughout the period from 1947-1971, the Canadian Army continued occasional use of the Suffield ranges. Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LF) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Armed Forces. ...

Armoured unit training

In 1971 an agreement was signed between the British and Canadian governments permitting the British Army to use over three-quarters of DRES for armoured, infantry, and artillery live-fire training. DRES was renamed Canadian Forces Base Suffield (CFB Suffield) and new base housing and support facilities were constructed for the British Army and Canadian Forces personnel, including a new headquarters community at Ralston. DRES continued until 2002 when it was merged into a new organization Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC).

British Army training has continued at Suffield since 1971, with the shared-use agreement being extended several times (currently until 2006). Regular and reserve units of Canadian Forces Land Force Command began to make use of the base beginning in 1991, around the same time as the downgrading of CFB Wainwright. The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) consists of pool training equipment used by army units rotating through the base on exercises, as well as a training "opposition force" (OPFOR). Canadian Forces Land Force Command (LFC) is responsible for army operations within the Canadian Forces. ... CFB/ASU Wainwright is a Canadian Forces Base/Area Support Unit located adjacent to the Town of Wainwright in Alberta, Canada. ... The British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is a unit located at the vast training area of Canadian Forces Base Suffield in Alberta, Canada. ...

Defence R&D Canada−Suffield

Defence R&D Canada (DRDC) is an agency of the Canadian Department of National Defence responding to the scientific and technological needs of the Canadian Forces. Its mission is to ensure that the CF remains scientifically and operationally relevant. The agency is made up of six research laboratories, one of which being DRDC Suffield. DRDC Suffield is the lead laboratory for Chemical and Biological Defence research, as well as in areas generally related to military engineering, mobility systems, and weapons system evaluation. The Defence Research and Development Canada, or DRDC, is an agency of the Canadian Armed Forces that specializes in the exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum for military purposes. ...

Wildlife refuge

Ironically, the decision to designate the Suffield Block a military training facility in 1941 left tens of square kilometres of undisturbed prairie grassland intact from the effects of industrial agriculture. In 1992, the military designated approximately 420 square kilometres as the Suffield National Wildlife Area -- primarily those lands bordering the South Saskatchewan River, making this the third largest national wildlife area in Canada. Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA) is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada. ...

Feral horses, descendants of stock abandoned along with the farms in the 1920s, abounded until the late 1990s. It was determined by a panel consisting of military personnel and environmentalists that the horses were destroying the natural balance of the Suffield National Wildlife Area and were all rounded up and auctioned off. But most of the horses went to the slaughter house. Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA) is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada. ...

Numismatic History

See Postal Orders of Alberta.

External links

• CFB Suffield -- official website
• Nerve gas tests revealed (Toronto Star, July 18, 2005). Soldiers, scientists exposed to sarin, VX gas, documents show.