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 Esquimalt.

Geography

The base occupies approximately 41 km2 at the southern tip of Vancouver Island on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the municipality of Esquimalt, adjacent to the western limit of the provincial capital, Victoria.

Facilities

CFB Esquimalt comprises facilities that include Naden (formerly HMCS Naden), His Majesty's Canadian (HMC) Dockyard Esquimalt, Fleet Maintenance Facility – Cape Breton (FMF CB), a Fire Fighting and Damage Control School, the Naval Officer Training Centre (NOTC) Venture, and extensive housing including 716 personnel married quarters at nine sites such as Belmont Park, WorkPoint, and Royal Roads. The present dockyard and dry dock, known as HMC Dockyard Esquimalt, dates to the Royal Navy's Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard (1842–1905) and was the Royal Navy's Pacific Station until 1911. Today it serves as the Canadian Naval Headquarters in the Pacific.

Operational and support units

Major units of the base are:

Historic site

Due to their significance in Canadian naval history, four sites at CFB Esquimalt (the Dockyard, the former Royal Navy Hospital, the Veterans' Cemetery, and the Cole Island Magazine) have been designated the Esquimalt Naval Sites National Historic Site of Canada.

Ships

In March 2013, CFB Esquimalt services the following ships assigned to Canadian Fleet Pacific

Architecture

CFB Esquimalt contains several recognized and classified federal heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. The Institute for Stained Glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at the Multi-Faith Naval Chapel and the stained glass at the Old Naval and Garrison Church (1866), now known as St Paul's Anglican.

Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum

CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum is at HMCS Naden. Building 20 (c. 1891), part of Naden Museum Square is a Municipal Heritage Property. Building 37 (c. 1889) part of the Naden Museum Square is also a Municipal Heritage Property and is also on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. HMCS Naden was named after the Dominion Government Ship Naden, which was commissioned as a tender for the Royal Naval College of Canada from 1918 to 1922 for training in sail. The museum is affiliated with: Canadian Museums Association (CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Organization of Military Museums of Canada (OMMC) and Virtual Museum of Canada.

Other facilities

CFB Esquimalt operates a bus service to provide intra-base transportation. The Lookout is the base newspaper, which covers local, national and international news with specific interest to Navy and Canadian Forces members and family issues. Other properties that are part of CFB Esquimalt include the Albert Head training area near Albert Head, Metchosin, located approximately 30 km by road southwest of downtown Victoria. It occupies approximately 88 ha, four of which are developed as training facilities. Fort Albert Head was established in the late 1800s along with Fort Rodd Hill and other installations, to provide shore defence for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Victoria Harbour. The training area is used for Regular and Reserve Force training throughout the year and was previously home to the Regional Cadet Instructor School (Pacific) that trained Canadian Forces Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) Branch that deliver the cadet program. Albert Head currently houses the British Columbia Patrol Company of the 4th Canadian Rangers Patrol Group, training facilities for the Naval Tactical Operations Group, as well as a cadet summer training centre: Albert Head CTC. Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range at Nanoose Bay is also part of CFB Esquimalt. The facility provides non-explosive technical testing of sonobuoys, torpedoes and other equipment. Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot (CFAD) Rocky Point store excess ammunition for Maritime Forces Pacific and provides maintenance for missiles and torpedoes. The grounds are also used for by Albert Head CTC for survival training. Naval Radio Section Aldergrove in the Fraser Valley houses transmitting and receiving equipment for long-distance communications. Also, the CFB Esquimalt Base Fire Hall & Emergency Response Centre was founded to provide services to CFB Esquimalt and the civil community in the way of fire intervention and emergency response.

Economic facts

Historical background