Canadian Forces Base Petawawa has been renamed “Garrison Petawawa.”

The title change, which was initiated in March, is part of an overall plan by the military to reduce the number of non-deployable headquarters and move from a traditional location-centric hierarchy into an organization aligned with the functions it provides.

While 2 Area Support Group (2 ASG), which has its headquarters based at Petawawa, remains intact under the restructuring, five new units and three branches have stood up in Petawawa and Garrison Toronto. The newly restructured 2 ASG consolidates several different organizations into a streamlined formation with a smaller command and units built along functional lines rather than around geographic centres.

Despite these substantial changes, 2 ASG commander Col. Kerry Horlock said Thursday it is not likely that there will be much noticeable change in the scope of services provided to the troops.

“Our community will not see a change to the economic impact of Garrison Petawawa,” said Horlock. “We continue to be a Garrison of approximately 6,100 soldiers and 1,000 civilian employees. Our soldiers and civilians will continue their work in providing support to operational and domestic missions, and perhaps most importantly, training to ensure that we maintain readiness for whatever the Government of Canada asks of us.”

The last name change was 44 years ago when the unification of the Canadian Forces resulted in Camp Petawawa being renamed Canadian Forces Base Petawawa.

The restructure has resulted in the creation of a new deputy commander position which has been filled since March by Lt.-Col. Chris Moyle, who had been the previous base commander. Moyle is scheduled to be posted this summer. The most visible change to the public will be in signage and communication, the garrison said in a news release.

As an army support formation, 2 ASG is responsible for the co-ordination and delivery of combat service support, logistics, communications, information management and military police for all land forces within Ontario. It provides logistical support to the province’s major military bases in Petawawa, Kingston, Toronto, London and Northern Ontario.

Sean Chase is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist

sean.chase@sunmedia.ca