Rebirth of 1st Canadian Division

1st Canadian Division, which saw action in World War I and World War II, has been reactivated as part of Land Force Command to provide Canada with a rapidly deployable joint command and control capacity. Unit members wear a simple red rectangular battle patch insignia that dates back to the First World War.

One of the most storied military units in Canada will be established once again on Friday.

When 1 Canadian Division -- with the red patch that has been its symbol dating to the First World War -- stands up, it will be to lead the military into the complicated and politically sensitive modern wars and emergencies that Canada and its NATO allies can expect to be facing for the rest of this century.

The First has been stood up five times now, starting in the First World War, when Germans used the red patch that is its emblem to characterize all Canadian soldiers as "little red devils."

The Kingston-based unit will be a rapid-response headquarters for future Canadian missions, whether that mission is a domestic deployment following a natural disaster or an overseas deployment such as Afghanistan or Haiti.

"This will be Canada's first response," said Maj.-Gen David Fraser, a former Afghanistan commander who will take command of the new unit when it is stood up on Friday.

"If you've got another Afghanistan, another U.N. mission, another natural disaster, you'll call us first."

By: Shelldrake