CFB Borden

Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden) is a Canadian Forces base located in Ontario.

The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, CFB Borden is home to the largest training wing in the Canadian Forces. The base is run by Canadian Forces Support Training Group (CFSTG) and reports to the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA) in Kingston.

History

At the height of the First World War, the Borden Military Camp opened at a location on a glacial moraine west of Barrie in 1916 to train units for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In May 1916, the Barrie and Collingwood companies of the 157th Battalion (Simcoe Foresters), CEF (perpetuated today by The Grey and Simcoe Foresters ), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel D.H. MacLaren, began construction of the camp.

Camp Borden was selected in 1917 for a military aerodrome, becoming the first flying station of the Royal Flying Corps Canada. During the inter-war period, the aerodrome was used as the training location for the nascent Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was renamed RCAF Station Borden. Camp Borden's training grounds were expanded in 1938 to house the Canadian Tank School. The Siskins were a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aerobatic flying team that was established in 1929 at Camp Borden.