Echelon - a subdivision of a unit, not to be confused with sub-units. Canadian Army units in the 20th Century were usually divided into several echelons for administrative purposes. As an example, an Infantry Battalion in the Second World War was divided as follows:

"F" (for "fighting") Echelon consisted of the rifle companies and support companies, and were located in the front line. As well, fighting transport and supplies, along with battalion headquarters, were considered part of "F" Echelon.

"A" Echelon was located three to five miles behind "F" echelon and held quartermaster stores, repair equipment, spare transport and supplies, the rear battalion HQ (where records were kept; the paymaster was also located here). "A" echelon was under brigade control.

"B" Echelon, under divisional control, held the Headquarters Company headquarters, dental staff, personnel Left Out of Battle, and was where kit was stored.

Environment - in the mid-1980s, when a return to distinctive uniforms for the three services was instituted, the new services were then referred to as environments. They were designated:

Sea
Land
Air

The new Distinctive Environment Uniform (DEU) replaced the former CF Uniform as the dress uniform of the Canadian Forces. The new environments were also colloquially referred to as "Navy", "Army" and "Air Force" and those designations began to appear slowly in some publications and references.

Abbreviations | Phonetic Alphabet

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