Vehicle Technician ( merged )

[Michael OLeary]

That all depends on what you consider

mostly boring office and paper work

As a junior officer you'd be responsible for the soldiers in your maintenance platoon; their training, discipline, administration, etc. You'd also be responsible for ensuring the platoon's work met your commander's requirement - prioritizing work, planning ahead to meet readiness requirements and inspection schedules, etc.

Later in your career you might be responsible for larger facilities such a base level repair workshops. Or you could find yourself as a technical expert on equipment acquisition projects.

(There may be one or more Maint O's on here that can add more detail.)

So, paperwork? - yes, lots of it.

Boring? - only if you decide it's not important enough for your full attention.

 

[vtecharmy]

which of the two would have more feild combat as an officer would u just organize the recovery of a downed vehicle or would you also be sent to fight to recover it.  as the vehicle tech would i be fighting as well as fixing the vehicle or just repairing it.

 

[vtecharmy]

also would a vehicle technician be a good asset to an armour unit if i go after my ql5 to transfer to armour division

 

[Wookilar]

It would be relatively rare for a Maint O to go out on a Recovery operation.

Veh Techs (Mat Tech, E/O Tech and Wpn Techs to a lesser degree) however, are outside the camp all the time doing recoveries (if you are in that particular Section). Other Veh Techs never leave camp, it all depends.

Chances are, if you leave camp, you will have an escort/security detail/whatever we are calling it this year.

Your primary job is to get that vehicle moving (if possible) not close with and destroy the enemy. That being said, a number of my bud's have been involved in "combat." EME types get hit on convoys all the time (as do Truckers, Supply Techs etc and whoever is sitting beside them) but they do not conduct "combat operations" in and of themselves.

Wook

 

[vehtech]

Hello all.
I'm new to the site and found it full of great information and advice.
I am a vehicle technician outside the military with years of experience managing large auto centres.
I am looking to join the CF as a reserve. I see on the recruiting web page that they are accepting applications for Vehicle tech and EME officer.
I went into my local recruiting centre and was given a list of reserve units to apply to. So far I cant find one thats looking.
Does anyone know of a unit from Toronto to Borden that is looking for a vehicle tech?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Webski]

I was a vehicle tech for more than eight years with the Forces and if it were not for personal reasons I'd still be in a unit somewhere.
Great job, reasonable pay and a relationship with people you will never forget.
Do you want to be an Officer??? Do you want to get down and dirty with a sense of accomplishment???
The maintainer is a class on it's own. If we don't go to work, nothing else does.
EME Officer or Tech. If you want a good life, stick to the trade which engages you the most.
I was a Veh. Tech and now I teach High School in the auto trade.
Good Luck.

 

[cupper]

To answer your first question, no, your mechanical engineering design program will not help you with advancement as a Veh Tech. You may have some electrical theory, mechanical theory, but the practical aspects you would need to know would not be covered.

Simply ask yourself, what have I learned that would help me repair my car if it broke down. If the answer is not much, then that is how much your program will help you as a veh tech.

 

[soldierapp]

Here's something to consider.  Officers generally earn more than "other ranks", beginning at the rank of Captain.  They have more "incentive" levels of pay, just for starters.  Where that has an impact is in pensions.  If you stay in long enough to get a 70% pension, you'll do very well on retirement.  Although the officer world is, to a certain extent, paperwork and playing desk jockey, it can be rewarding too.  An officer is in a position to have an impact on the careers of his soldiers, particularly at PER time when you have an opportunity to reward the deserving members of your troop/platoon for good performance.  As a former MWO I was able to see many of my best soldiers promoted, or posted to desirable locations.  That alone was tremendously rewarding to me. 

I'd advise you to complete your current program and then look into enrolling as a Direct Entry Officer.  If you can do that, the military will pay your tuition to attend a university because at some point you'll need a degree to get beyond the rank of Captain.  If the DEO option is unavailable, carry on to university and perhaps enrol in the Reserves as a Vehicle Tech on a part time basis.  You'll learn to get your hands dirty and you'll discover that it's not as much fun as you may think right now.  Trust me.......I was a Veh Tech for 42 years.

 

[Wilamanjaro]

Hey there,

It's looking promising that I end up becoming a Vehicle technician in the Canadian Forces. I just had a few quick questions about deployment and the duties of a Vehtech.

I have a real passion and knack for fixing things, so I already know I'm going enjoy that aspect of the trade. What I would like to know is if VehTechs get to see some action as well. Are there VehTechs that go on deployment with infantry and are there as a soldier first but also there in case a mechanic is needed? Or am I going to just be confined to a garage all day? I know we undergo SQ after BMQ and are trained as soldiers, will I get to use those skills in the field? I know that I will end up volunteering to be deployed, I want to go overseas and be there with our troops, making a difference. I understand that the garage is where I will spend most of my time. But I'm curious if there are different "types" of VehTechs? If some are strictly in the garage, if some are strictly on patrol with infantry, if some do both?

Thank you for your time, guys.

 

[cupper]

The short answer is no you won't be patrolling as an infanteer.

Those that know better can chime in but my understanding is this:

If you go outside the base, you will be acting as a crewman on a Mobile Repair Team in support of a convoy movement, or as part of a recovery team deployed to repair or recover vehicles broken down in the field. You may be carrying a weapon, but you will not be patrolling, advancing on the enemy. Your roll will be self defense only.

And with the change in mission, there may well be limited deployments for support personnel.

So in summary, you will just have to setle for pushing a wrench and making life miserable for all transport honkeys.

 

[Wookilar]

As an EME soldier, you may end up doing a few things that have nothing to do with being a tech. In addition to SQ, you will also do EME Common (Regimental Company we call it). You will learn how to do tactical approaches with your MRT (mobile repair team), point-recce's and a few other odds and sods wrt battlefield duties (for example, one of the battlefield duties of EME types is bridge security...no, I don't know why, but there it is).

With the current combat centric deployment done (pretty much), the chance of doing much recovery/repair under fire will certainly be slim. With a mechanized Infantry Battalion, your MRT will be "1 tactical bound" behind the fighting vehicles. Sometimes this means just over the hill or hiding in the dry river bed, sometimes it means 15 minutes down the road.

You will not be out doing any patrols by yourself, but you may be part of a patrol as a support vehicle. Recovery was my favorite part of the job. Got to go everywhere pretty much. Sometimes, things even got....interesting. You'll also get to do CIMIC tasks and more things that you can imagine.

Adapt and Overcome.

Arte et Marte

Wook

 

[Wilamanjaro]

Thanks a lot, guys.

I'm still very excited about the trade. But perhaps I will consider something like Combat Engineer if and when I re-muster.

I guess as a last question:

While working on base will I have the opportunity to participate in courses that aren't Vehicle Tech related? In particular, marksmenship courses and things of that nature. I grew up in a hunting family and have my own set of rifles. I am very passionate about shooting (and I'm not half bad), I would be interested in doing marksmenship competitions and other cool stuff on the side. Is that a possibility?

 

[REDinstaller]

Personal Weapons Tests 1-3 are a very common staple for field units. CFSAC (Small Arms Compititon) is also available to attempt by any trade.

 

[Rabbit233224]

hey Wilamanjaro I wish you luck from another trying to get in as a vehicle tech!! how far in this long process are you? i've done everything i can do my clearance should be here by the end of the week then more waiting i guess haha

 

[dpen]

Hello,

I have recently recieved my phone call and have been accepted for the Veh Tech position. I am just curious if anybody that has been, or is currently a Veh Tech could tell me what I should ACTUALLY be expecting when I leave my course in Borden. I am just curious what life is like as a Veh Tech in terms of deployment and in garrison.

Thank you for your time.

Daniel

(I apologize if this thread is in the wrong section I figured this would be best)

 

[mariomike]

This may help.
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/73054/post-702304.html#msg702304

 

[dpen]

Thank you very much I appreciate, next time I will do a little better research

 

[mariomike]

My pleasure, and congratulations!

 

[Wilamanjaro]

Just wondering if there are any vehicle techs out there with the vehicle recovery specialty. It'd be cool just to hear some stories or info about what you are doing. What life is like on base and on deployment?

 

[cupper]

Unless things have changed since I was a Veh Tech ('89) there is no specific specialty for vehicle recovery as you would find in the US Army. All Vehicle Techs undergo recovery training as part of the various qualification courses (or whatever they call it these days).

I can only speak as a reservist, but when we were in garrison, if tasked in the recovery platoon, you were responsible for maintaining the 5-ton Wrecker and / or the MRT. You would also check the associated equipment used in recovery (chains, tools, anchors and rigging equipment, etc).

In the field and on road moves you would be responsible for towing vehicles that could not be repaired on site, pulling vehicles that were stuck in various situations due to the poorly trained transport drivers. ;D

All in all it was the more enjoyable aspect of being a vehicle tech. The most enjoyable aspect was being an instructor on a recovery course, when you would deliberately ditch vehicles in some of the most demanding of locations (swamps, deep mud holes, thick stands of trees) and then watch as the students try and figure out how to get them out.