CFB Uplands-The Daily Ledger

Canadian Forces Base Uplands (also CFB Uplands) was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario. Most of the land which formed the base was transferred to the Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport after the base was closed in the 1990s. Several military units continue to exist at the former base and the Canadian Forces continues to maintain military housing at the site. The former base is now known formally as "Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) - Uplands Site."

History

The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Uplands as a wartime training station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. The "No. 2 Service Flying Training School" (SFTS) was located at the base from August 1942 to April 1947, which was one of two RCAF facilities in the national capital region; the other was RCAF Station Rockcliffe. When Sabre fighters became operational in 1952, Uplands became the primary Ottawa air base since Sabres could not operate from the small Rockcliffe runways.

CFB Uplands

During the Cold War period of the 1950s, the station was home to several operational squadrons including 416 Squadron, 439 Squadron, 422 Squadron, 428 Squadron, 434 Squadron, 412 (Transport) Squadron, 436 (Transport) Squadron and 410 Squadron.

CFB Uplands

RCAF Station Uplands was also the location for the No. 3 Air Movement Unit, as well as the Central Experimental and Proving Establishment (later renamed the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment), which moved to Uplands from Rockcliffe in 1957.

CFB Uplands

The reorganization and unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in the late 1960s saw RCAF Station Uplands renamed Canadian Forces Base Uplands (CFB Uplands) in 1968. In 1972 the facility was redesignated as Canadian Forces Base Ottawa (South) or CFB Ottawa (South) as part of DND's amalgamation of Ottawa area defence properties into CFB Ottawa. Despite this change, the Uplands name remained in popular usage through to the base's eventual decommissioning.

During the 1970s, the base hosted 450 (Heavy Transport) Squadron (later redesignated 450 Transport Helicopter Squadron) and 426 (Transport Training) Squadron. 450 was one of two squadrons using CH-47 Chinooks. Other units included the Canadian Forces Support Unit Ottawa, and the Canadian Forces Airborne Sensing Unit, a detachment of 414 Electronic Warfare Squadron based at CFB North Bay.

The introduction of the "wing concept" within Air Command in 1993 resulted in CFB Ottawa (South) hosting 7 Wing as its primary lodger unit. Following the end of the Cold War, the Canadian Forces underwent major budget cuts and reorganization.

In 2007, The Polish Embassy rededicated a plaque to Canada's Air Force for providing humanitarian aid to Poland at the end of World War II. A ceremony was held at the Our Lady of the Airways Chapel at the entrance of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Uplands. The plaque had been placed at CFB Rockcliffe from 1947 until 1994 at which time the base was shut down.

Current status

The Uplands facility was decommissioned as a base in 1996. However the buildings and tarmac remain the property of the Canadian Forces. The Canada Reception Centre is located on the former CFB Uplands.

The area continues to be informally referred to as a "base" or "Canadian Forces Base Uplands" by some military personnel. Its official title is "Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) - Uplands Site."

Governance

As of May 2013 the former base is administered by the Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa). Similar to military bases still in operation, the commanding officer of CFSU (Ottawa) has duties similar to the base commander of a base and the chief warrant officer of CFSU (Ottawa) has duties similar to a base chief warrant officer.

Units operating out of Uplands

A number of units parade or operate out of the former base's existing infrastructure, and some new buildings have been constructed to accommodate military units operating in Ottawa. These units include: