Engineer

MAY-AUG 2013

Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.

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differences are overcome without diffculty. Most technical engineering doctrine is the same for both armies, and the minor differences are easily mastered. A few of the unique characteristics are: ■ Demolitions. The color of the detonation cord used by the two armies is the frst major difference, along with the use of electric demolition sets and metric units of measurement by Canadian Army engineers. ■ Vehicles and equipment. Most of the Canadian Army engineers maneuver in an engineer variant of the light armored vehicle, which is similar to the U.S. Army engineer Stryker vehicle. The Canadians also have the Badger, an armored engineer vehicle, built on a tank chassis, with a dozer blade and a large excavating bucket on a telescoping arm. ■ Culture. The Canadian Army engineer greeting or toast is Chimo (pronounced CHEE-mo). This expression The author debriefs a Canadian offcer after evaluating his performance is also often used as a closing on correas a platoon leader during a feld training exercise. spondence between engineers. The commanders. They must also attend courses throughout offcer's mess plays an important role in the Canadian their time as a captain, including— Army. Every week at the close of business, all offcers meet at the mess to share a drink and discuss the week. ■ Army junior offcers staff qualifcation. Although sometimes seen as "mandatory fun," the mess ■ Army tactical operations course. provides a location to establish relationships and receive mentoring from senior leaders. ■ Army operations course. ■ Engineer operations course. Senior captains and junior majors waiting to take squadron command attend the engineer squadron commander and combat team commander courses. The frst week is spent on engineer-specifc doctrine, followed by 3 weeks of combat team garrison instruction and then a 2-week feld training exercise with students leading combat team elements through a hasty attack. The leader development training for Canadian Army enlisted engineers is similar to training for U.S. Army NCOs. Before advancing to the position of troop warrant offcer, Canadian NCOs attend an 8-week intermediate leadership program. The next key course in the glide path of a Canadian Army NCO is the advanced leadership program, a nonbranch-specifc course that prepares master warrant offcers to become staff NCOs and squadron sergeants major. The senior leadership program trains future chief warrant offcers, and the senior appointment program develops them for leadership in the highest enlisted ranks within the Canadian Forces. The concept and application of interoperability is not that diffcult for Canadian and U.S. Army engineers. The similarities largely overshadow the differences, and the 30 Engineer The goal of the U.S. Army engineers is to create a milieu in which coordination and cooperation with our closest neighbor is routine rather than the exception. To meet this goal and enhance the concept of collective defense, the U.S. military continues to work closely with the Canadians on military operations. This is accomplished through the Military Personnel Exchange Program and several joint exercises throughout the year. This close partnership enables effective interoperability, which allows us to fght any foe as a cohesive coalition force. Endnotes: "Interoperability: Connecting NATO Forces," , accessed on 22 April 2013. 1 2 Army Regulation 614-10, Army Military Personnel Exchange Program With Military Services of Other Nations, 14 July 2011. Major Pierce is an exchange instructor at CFSME. He is a graduate of the Engineer Basic Offcer Leader Course and the Infantry Captains Career Course. He holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from Southern Utah University. May–August 2013

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