Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 68

As a result of Canada’s NATO commitments,
a base and training facilities for the British
Army Training Unit were built in the 1970s
at CFB Suffield, near Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Project: BATUS and GATES
Project: DCL in Europe
Defence construction in the early 1970s grew partially
as a result of Canada’s NATO commitments on home
soil, which included the construction of training
facilities for British and German forces. The start of the
decade saw $8.2 million in contracts awarded to build a
base and training facilities for the British Army Training
Unit at Suffield, Alberta (BATUS). Between 1973 and
1976, $3.1 million in contracts created facilities for the
German Army Training Unit at Shilo, Manitoba (GATES).
Construction at both sites continued in subsequent years. Defence policy changes in the early 1970s led to
further relocations of Canadian Forces in Europe and to
additional work for DCL. In 1970, on the heels of
Canada’s NATO troop commitment being reduced in
1969 from 10,000 to 5,000, 4 Canadian Mechanized
Brigade relocated from Westphalia in Northern Germany
to Lahr and Baden in the south. With the air force al