The Mobile Striking Force and Continental Defence, 1948–1955

Authors

Sean M. Maloney, Royal Military College of CanadaFollow

Abstract

The need to project land force power within the confines of the northern portion of the North American continent may appear, at first glance, ridiculous in today’s world. In the early years of the Cold War, both Canada and the United States gave credibility to a land supported air threat to North America and took steps to meet such a contingency. The Canadian response was to configure the small, almost token, active Canadian Army into an airtransportable formation called the Mobile Striking Force (MSF). Some have suggested that the creation of the MSF and its operations in the 1948–1955 period was not only a waste of resources but distracted the Canadian Army from training for other, more important tasks which would become apparent in the 1950s.¹ This may be an accurate assessment, but only in hindsight. The MSF did provide many positive benefits within the greater context of post-1945 Canadian defencec policy. The aim of this study is to examine the MSF’s organization, mission and planning in order to provide insight into these positive benefits.

Recommended Citation

Maloney, Sean M. "The Mobile Striking Force and Continental Defence, 1948–1955." Canadian Military History 2, 2 (1993)