Combat Engineers vs engineering officers

[Kat Stevens]

Engineering Officer:

He/she can mathamatically calculate the volume of a pickle jar with precise percision at just a glance...but cannot open it.

Combat Engineer:

Can field expidiently erect a pickle factory, produce an opened jar of pickles for the Officer... and then completly disassemble the factory using explosives in short order.

Please excuse the humour  >

Cheers
Pop

"Can calculate the square root of a jar of pickles, but cant get the lid off" was the way I learned, but love this one too.

 

[Gunshark]

Soo... Reading this thread, I get the impression that Combat Engineer NCMs get to do the actual fun stuff, while Officers hold more of a responsibility and leadership role. It seems NCMs have more opportunities for obtaining specialized skills, which also sounds good.

Now... I have an engineering degree, and I'm assuming most people would recommend Officer. And I am interested in leadership myself. So far so good. BUT... It's discouraging to hear that Officers don't get to do the fun dirty work (at least not so much beyond training). Is this really true?

Are there leadership opportunities being an NCM? For example, as you get trained and get experienced in your trade, are there opportunities to lead groups of people? Is it possible to even become an Officer later on, having done a lot of good NCM work?

Thank you.

 

[Towards_the_gap]

Are there leadership opportunities being an NCM? For example, as you get trained and get experienced in your trade, are there opportunities to lead groups of people? Is it possible to even become an Officer later on, having done a lot of good NCM work?

As for the first, absolutely, and in fact as a Sgt/MCpl you may find yourself as the senior engineer in a combined arms team, advising commanders as well as leading your own troops on a task. Or as part of a larger engineer group (squadron/regiment), you will still the the guy, getting stuff done, with your team.

It is also possible to Commission From the Ranks (become an officer), but I wouldn't worry about this at the stage of the game you are at now.

 

[Gunshark]

Thank you. Do you know the minimum service term for NCM engineers these days?

 

[Smirnoff123]

4 years.

 

[Gunshark]

4 years.

Thanks. Is it safe to say then that the entire committment will take around 5 years including training (not including the recruitement process)? How far up the ranks would I be able to get in that minimum term?

Would any of this "military progress" count towards anything if I choose to apply to another trade after the original combat engineer term? What if I apply as an officer to another trade?

Thanks very much for the feedback.

 

[MisterE]

Minimum you would get is Cpl, as for the highest rank.. that is hard to say. It would all depend on your preformance in the job. There are a lot of MCpls with only 5 years in, but that trend could very well change by the time you are done your trade training.

Now as for changing your trade... again it all depends on what courses you get after your trade training. The longer you stay in the more likely you will get leadership courses which can assist in you switching to another trade.

 

[Gunshark]

Thanks for the info guys. Is the 4-year service term still the standard requirement? Is there info online on mandatory service terms for different trades? They usually have it on a piece of paper at the CFRC but I've never seen it online. Thanks.

 

[mariomike]

Is there info online on mandatory service terms for different trades?

http://army.ca/wiki/index.php/MOSID_and_MOC

"This page was last modified on 2 November 2011, at 12:41."

 

[Gunshark]

Nice, thank you! Why is it called variable initial engagement?

 

[mariomike]

Why is it called variable initial engagement?

Because the length of the Initial Engagement is variable depending on trade?

"The length of a VIE varies depending upon the operational requirements of each occupation and the training time required for an individual to become fully employable."

 

[Gunshark]

Thanks. I understood it to mean that the service term might be variable within the trade itself, which I thought was strange given the fact that each trade seems to have a firm service term assigned to it.

Switching gears. Does anyone know if there are any opportunities for combat engineers to receive some of the advanced training from the Infantry category? e.g. Sniper, Recon. Thanks.

 

[MikeL]

Switching gears. Does anyone know if there are any opportunities for combat engineers to receive some of the advanced training from the Infantry category? e.g. Sniper, Recon. Thanks.

Combat Engineers are eligible for some of the same advanced courses as the Infantry, but they are not eligible for all the courses the Infantry can do such as Sniper. Different roles/jobs and all that.  Plenty of courses available to Combat Engineers though, some will be easier to get put on then others though.

See the below link, look under "Any NCM" and "Combat Engineer"
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/103901.0.html

 

[mariomike]

Does anyone know if there are any opportunities for combat engineers to receive some of the advanced training from the Infantry category? e.g. Sniper, Recon.

Courses available for combat eng.
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/108826.0

"i wanted to know if there are any courses for combat engineers. infantry has snipers, recce, etc."

 

[Loachman]

Recon.

Recce.

Pronounced "recky".

 

[Gunshark]

Good stuff guys. Thanks for the source and the correction. Wondering how it got to be "recce" from reconnaissance... ???

 

[392]

Good stuff guys. Thanks for the source and the correction. Wondering how it got to be "recce" from reconnaissance... ???

Recce is the British term, whereas Recon is American. As the CF has mainly British roots....

 

[George Wallace]

Good stuff guys. Thanks for the source and the correction. Wondering how it got to be "recce" from reconnaissance... ???

REConnaissanCE

 

[Shamrock]

Reconnoitre

 

[ComDvr13]

VARIABLE INITIAL ENGAGEMENT LENGTHS BY OCCUPATION - NCMs

00339 - 043 - CBT ENGR - VIE 5

When did this change, cause most of the above^^ said 4 year-as of earlier this year. Just curious as a current Cbt Engr applicant. Is it like, 1 year BMQ plus trade training then 4 years service? lol

Any sappers/officers out there with a opinion on where to ask to get stationed (yet I know they post you but I've heard you can pick a desired location) as Cbt Engr. My family is mostly Alberta/East BC so Wainright would be closest. But Petawawa would be a good choice as I love Scuba diving and outdoorsy-ness. Or Gagetown?...which one do you think would have best opportunity to get into Cbt Diving? or all equal nationwide?

Shanks