Military Career
C&E
The Communications and Electronics Branch reflects the joint spirit of the Canadian Forces by melding army and air force under one tradition. C&E Army officers are referred to as Signals Officers and will treasure their postings to the 1 Canadian Signals Regiment; Air Force C&E officers are happiest on air fields and radar stations. Since the C&E branch is responsible for all the general purpose IT in the Canadian Forces as well as communications infrastructure, its members can be found just about everywhere the Forces are deployed all over the world.
Training at CFSCE
Every Canadian Forces officer does basic training and (unless already bilingual) second language training, but it doesn’t start to get real until you join your branch for specialty training. For the Communications and Electronics Branch, that takes place at the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics (CFSCE) in Kingston, Ontario. CFSCE’s A Squadron trains officers in common skills, before breaking the classes down into army and air force streams.
Canadian Forces Base Trenton
CFB Trenton, on Lake Ontario a couple of hours drive East of Toronto, is the Canadian Forces major air base for air transport operations. It is the home to 8 Wing whose operations include air transport, search and rescue, training and – dear to the C&E heart – the 8 Air Communications and Control Squadron (all the kit needed to set up an airfield anywhere planes can land).
A/BTelO
With so much of the branch’s work revolving around computers and equipment projects, there are a lot of jobs on the staffs of various headquarters. I was fortunate to spend my first tour in the field, working for Trenton’s Base Telecommunications Officer. The BTelO is responsible for the maintenance of all the base’s ground communications systems, from telephones through radios and radars. My responsibilities included the base telephones, switchboard and cable plant as well as Automated Data Processing (better known now as Information Technology).
CFCSC
The Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in Toronto trains senior officers, usually Majors and Lieutenant Colonels, for more strategic “executive” roles. You could think of it as granting a military MBA.
SO3 ADP
I was the staff officer who ran the networks and some special projects. One perc was the opportunity to tag along on the pedagogical tours to domestic, American and NATO military installations throughout North America and Europe.
Multinational Force and Observers
The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is the peacekeeping organization that arose from the 1979 Camp David accords. It oversees the agreement between Egypt and Israel under which Israel relinquished the Sinai peninsula to Egypt on condition that certain restrictions on military activity in the area would be observed. The MFO is staffed by the military and some civilian personnel of eleven different nations.
SO ADP
I was a staff officer in the MFO’s North Camp headquarters, providing IT services and support with a small staff of local nationals. I had another role as the officer in charge of the rear link communications for the Canadian contingent.
Canadian Defence Liaison Staff (London)
The Canadian Defence Liaison Staff (London) is a diplomatic organization that works out of the Canadian High Commission (then still in Grosvenor Square), exchanging information with our key British ally and representing Canadian military interests to UK defence firms. My time at CDLS(L) coincided with intense hostilities in the former Republic of Yugoslavia, the fiftieth anniversary of the D-Day landings, and the opening of the memorial in Green Park (pictured) to the Canadians who fought in the world wars.
Staff Officer Operations
The Operations position at CDLS(L) wasn’t quite as interesting as it sounds, since the only operation is liaison and that was done by a general and four colonels. Nonetheless, I had a variety of interesting roles including responsibility for unit communications and IT systems and serving as the General’s personal aide.
Directorate of Information Management, Policy and Architecture
The Directorate of Information Management, Policy and Architecture at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa was a key organization through which all of the Canadian Forces IT plans and policies were reviewed and vetted.
DIMPA 3-5-2
After all of my adventures overseas, I was called home to pay my penance at headquarters. Nothing like giving your position a number, right on the business card, to make you feel like, well, just a number. Seriously, headquarters staff roles are where one learns how the real world works. DIMPA was a great opportunity to pick up some political, strategic and even, as it turned out, technical skills.
