CFB Edmonton
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Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton is a Canadian Military base located in Edmonton, Alberta. It is currently the headquarters of Land Forces Western Area, the highest military authority in western Canada, and a number of brigade groups, including 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), the only regular force brigade group in the region. The base itself is situated mainly in Steele Barracks (named for Sir Sam Steele) just outside of the city but also in the area of Griesbach within the city itself, though that area is largely out of use except for reserve and cadet units. The base as a collective is an important part of the community surrounding Edmonton and is home to some of the most prestigious and experienced units in the Canadian Military.
Formerly a Canadian Air Force base with a runway long enough to be designated as an alternate Space Shuttle landing zone, CFB Edmonton has become one of the premier army bases in Canada. 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, along with elements of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (all part of 1 CMBG) were chosen to be a part of Canada's military response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and were deployed on combat operations to Afghanistan (including Operation Anaconda) in 2001 and 2002, and units from the base are currently deployed or in the process of deploying to Kandahar, Afghanistan as part of the Canadian Forces command takeover in that area as well. Units from Edmonton have also been deployed on domestic operations such as to assist with the Red River Flood in 1997 (where the entire 1 CMBG was deployed) and, more recently, as a part of Operation Peregrine in response to the forest fires in British Columbia in 2003. Units from CFB Edmonton have also been deployed on innumerable peacekeeping operations, including to Bosnia and Kosovo, among others.
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