New CO for 31 CER "THE ELGINS"

[rormson]

Thanksgiving weekend saw a well-attended change of command ceremony in at the armoury in St. Thomas ON with LCol John Hampson formally taking command of 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins). The Elgins have been growing steadily since the reactivation of the 48th Field Engineer Sqn in Waterloo, ON which is part of 31 CER.

CHIMO!

 

[AEH]

Great News,
I have served with John Hampson several times and he will make an excellent CO.  The Elgins will benefit from his experence.

 

[McG]

Is he still regular force?

 

[AEH]

Of course not.  There are no Reg force engineer LCol comanding reserve units. 

 

[DG-41]

Is Ted Graham still around?

DG

 

[geo]

Of course not.   There are no Reg force engineer LCol comanding reserve units.  

AEH....
True & not so true.....
There are certainly Reg Majors commanding Field Squadrons
& there are Reg Lcols who, upon retirement, take command of a reserve FER / CER

will have to check my crystal ball - no reason why there can't be.... except that we're talking about some high priced help.... IMHO

 

[George Wallace]

There are Regular LCols commanding Reserve Armoured Units.  I am sure that this trend may be found in other Arms as well.

 

[AEH]

Geo,

True & not so true.....  The statement I made was all true.  " There are no Reg force engineer LCol comanding reserve units"

 

[geo]

Harumph!

You are correct, tle Lcol that commanded 3FER until oct of this year, retired from the Reg force in Ottawa before taking command in 2003....

 

[rormson]

DG-41

I'm not aware of a Mr. Graham with our regiment - - was he an Elgin before the re-roll from armoured to engineer in '97?

 

[DG-41]

He would have been right on the cusp of the re-role - he was probably the last Elgin officer to be trained as Armoured.

DG

 

[SprCForr]

So we got Danny O'Keefe at 8 FER and now John-boy (both real good people) at 31 FER.

Anybody else?

 

[John-Boy]

I Transfered to the reserve when I got back from Bosnia in 2003. MWO Craig Grant has also just transfered and he is the RSM.  Len Packer just joined us and is the SSM of 48Fd in Waterloo with Jeff Clark who is the OC.  We are taking in all those war horses that just cant retire gracefully.

 

[daug]

Ted Graham left before the regiment re-roled.  I believe he is still an associate member of the officer's mess though.  Not sure where he went to after 31, or if he is still in at all

 

[John-Boy]

Ted is still a member of the Regimental Association.

 

[Spr.Earl]

Who cares if they a Reg or Mil. as long as they take care of their men and continue the standards of the Corps as the Corps expects of all of us.

 

[geo]

SprEarl,
The only point I would ask a question about is.... is the Regiment Healthy and able to generate it's own succession?

A unit that always relies on imported tallent is a unit that will always limp, never knowing where it's next head will come from.

Having served Infantry & Engineer, Regular & Reserve, Field & Garrison units I can appreceate the fact that Reserve units will go through periods where there is great change.... the Troops finish school, get a job & start a career (civ or mil), meet the Mrs and start a family.... and suddenly your well planned out succession plan goes down the toilet - It happens.

So, I concurr with you, who cares if Reg or Res so long as the job does get done... but over time - you have to give thought.

Chimo!

 

[Kat Stevens]

I'm not sure what you're getting at , Geo.  I was in CER's most of my career, and our top jobs NEVER came from within.  It led to waaay too much "what's the new guy like?" water cooler talk.  It would seem to me a logical step for DCO to step up to the daddy chair, ditto for the RSM seat.  Any special reason this doesn't happen?  Just a thick ol' lifer Cpl's observations, dismiss at your pleasure.

 

[geo]

While dealing with the Regular force, you are correct, you can move personnel around between the school and all of the CERs.... but with the reserve, you really don't have that luxury.

You can't move someone from 33CER to 34 or 35CER because they need an SSM, RSM or CO.
The dynamics just aren't the same. And if you start saying that all WOs and above, Maj & above are to come from the Reg force exclusively.... you create another problem.

Just my point of view.

 

[Sapper6]

I'm not sure what you're getting at , Geo.   I was in CER's most of my career, and our top jobs NEVER came from within.   It led to waaay too much "what's the new guy like?" water cooler talk.   It would seem to me a logical step for DCO to step up to the daddy chair, ditto for the RSM seat.   Any special reason this doesn't happen?   Just a thick ol' lifer Cpl's observations, dismiss at your pleasure.

Kat,

I think this does happen.  It's just that the MWOs and Majs go away for a little while and then come back as CWO and LCol. 

S6

p.s. Congrats to John-Boy on his CO appointment at 31 CER!