Service battalion A service battalion ( svc bn ; ) is a unit of the Canadian Forces ( CF ) that provides combat service support to a brigade group and its elements . It is able to fight in a defensive role as well as provide the vital logistical support to sustain the operations of the other units within the brigade group . Sub - units . Service battalions are normally subdivided into : Flag . The flag of a service battalion is a horizontal tricolour , blue over yellow over red . The red represents the Medical Corps , yellow Logistics , and blue the Engineers . The flag also has a large Arabic numeral ( representing the battalion ' s number ) in the centre , extending into the red and blue bars . This flag was designed by Chief Warrant Officer Phil Raven during his time as regimental sergeant major of 2 Service Battalion in the 1970s . Service battalions of the CF . The following are the current service battalions in the CF , by brigade : Regular Force . Historically , 3 Service Battalion was located at CFB Gagetown , New Brunswick , in support of 3 CIBG until disbanded in the early 1970s . 3 Svc Bn served as the " Experimental Service Battalion " from 1963 , when brigade - level combat service support resources were pooled under a single commanding officer and headquarters . This model has served the Canadian Army , albeit with some changes , since being adopted by the other brigades in 1968 . Based in the Federal Republic of Germany , 4 Service Battalion was created at CFB Soest in 1968 and moved to CFB Lahr in 1970 in support of 4 CMBG until the close out of Canada ' s NATO commitment there in 1993 . Service battalions were part of Canadian mechanized brigade groups ( CMBG ) but have been transferred to area support groups ( ASG ) . Operational Employment . Although Canadian service battalions were a product of the Cold War and were expected to operate as complete units in support of Canadian Army brigades and brigade groups in the field , the recent move to fourth generation warfare has altered their role . Combat service support to ongoing operations , e . g . in Afghanistan , is now generally provided by ' national support elements ' , tailored to the task at hand and not necessarily formed of just one service battalion . This change has made service battalions largely force - generation units , which admittedly also provide essential support in garrison . LCol John Conrad bleakly described the evolution of Canadian logistics in his book , " What the Thunder Said : Reflections of a Canadian Officer in Kandahar " . He deployed to Afghanistan with an establishment capped at 300 all - ranks that almost failed to fuel , fix and feed troops during Op Medusa in the summer of 2006 . The doctrine , he describes , was unprepared for the intensity of mobile 360° warfare . At one point the planners lost count of LAV III cannon ammunition just as the battle group was firing much more ammunition than any tables predicted . In another section , he wrote about his own command group hitting an improvised explosive device west of Kandahar City , conducted the response drills then summoning his administration clerk with mock gravity to draft CF52 General Allowance Claim to replace the underwear he soiled . Conrad ' s book is surprising but rare glimpse inside the logistics function in battle .