41 Combat Engineer Regiment
| 41 Combat Engineer Regiment | |
|---|---|
| File:CanMilEng.gif Cap badge of the Canadian Military Engineers | |
| Active | 2008– |
| Country | Canada |
| Branch | Canadian Military Engineers |
| Type | Combat engineers |
| Size | two engineer squadrons one admin squadron |
| Part of | Land Force Western Area 41 Canadian Brigade Group |
| Garrison/HQ | RHQ - Edmonton 25 Engineer Squadron - Edmonton 33 Engineer Squadron - Calgary 85 Admin Squadron |
| Motto(s) | Ubique Quo fas et gloria ducunt |
| March | Wings |
| Mascot(s) | Sapper Bentley F. Beaver |
| Anniversaries | 4 December, St. Barbara's Day |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | LCol E. van Weelderen |
| Honourary Colonel | Col J. R. McDougall |
| Colonel-in-Chief | HM The Queen |
| Abbreviation | 41 CER |
The 41 Combat Engineer Regiment (41 CER) is the reserve (militia) unit of the Canadian Military Engineers in Alberta, Canada. The unit is located in both Edmonton and Calgary in Alberta. The unit parades Wednesday evenings and Saturdays at the Lieutenant-Colonel Philip L. Debney Armoury, in Edmonton and at the Northeast Armouries in Calgary. It is assigned to 41 Canadian Brigade Group, part of Land Force Western Area. The unit is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel E. van Weelderen, with Chief Warrant Officer R. Luard as the unit's Regimental Sergeant Major.
History
41 Combat Engineer Regiment traces itself as a regiment to 8 Field Regiment (Royal Canadian Engineers), which was created in June 1947 as the engineer component of the Alberta Militia District. The unit was later re-designated as 8 Field Engineer Regiment (Militia) in the 1970s.
At its largest the Regiment had five sub-units:
- 13th Field Squadron in Calgary
- 17th Field Squadron in Kimberley, British Columbia
- 24th Field Squadron in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
- 25th Field Squadron in Edmonton
- 33rd Field Park Squadron in Lethbridge
The two surviving squadrons serving in the Regiment today are 25 Engineer and 33 Engineer Squadrons.
9th Army Troops Company
The 25 Engineer Squadron traces its lineage to 9th Army Troops Company (Canadian Engineers) which was formed in 1937 following a reorganization of the militia in Canada. During the Second World War the Company served as part of 1st Pioneer Battalion, later known as 1st Battalion Army Troops (Royal Canadian Engineers). Through most of the war, they served as construction troops supporting First Canadian Army. Following the war the Army Troops Companies were no longer required and the sub-unit was re-designated 25th Field Squadron with the task of providing field engineer support to Edmonton-area units.
6th Field Park Squadron
The sub-unit traces its history to the 6th Field Park Squadron which served in the 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. Their task was supplying the Field Squadrons of the Division with engineering resources. The Squadron returned home to Lethbridge, Alberta in March 1946 as was re-designated 33rd Field Park Squadron. In 1954 the Squadron was rerolled as a Field Squadron and in 1968 was relocated to Calgary.
Rebirth of 33 Field Squadron
In 1971 33rd Field Squadron was relocated to Edmonton and zero-manned in favour of keeping 25th Field Squadron operational. This was part of a general trend in the 1970s in the militia seeing less importance on the Engineers.
On 23 July, 1990, the 33rd Squadron was finally reactivated after more than a decade of lobbying by the Calgary Branch of the Military Engineers Association of Canada. It was relocated in Calgary and achieved independent status in 1991. At the time Alberta was divided into two separate Militia Districts with 33 FES and 8 Field Engineer Regiment serving a different District.
Only a few years later the two separate Militia Districts were merged to form 41 Canadian Brigade Group covering all of Alberta. For 15 years these two units had a great rivalry between each other that is typically seen between Calgarians and Edmontonians, regardless of the fact that they wore the same cap badge and that due to previous amalgamations had the same lineage and history.
Amalgamation
On 6 Sept 2008 8 Field Engineer Regiment and 33 Field Engineer Squadron were amalgamated and re-designated 41 Combat Engineer Regiment. This was keeping with the restructuring of the reserve units of the Canadian Military Engineers which began three years earlier. This amalgamation essentially recreated the unit that had existed before 1971 except for being structured as a Combat Engineer Regiment instead of a Field Engineer Regiment.
8 Field Engineer Regiment was the last Field Engineer Regiment in Canada, with both 2 Field Engineer Regiment from Toronto and 3 Field Engineer Regiment from Greater Montreal having been already converted. In the case of the later, it absorbed an independent Field Squadron.
33 Field Engineer Squadron was also the last independent Field Engineer Squadron in the Canadian Forces. The remaining Field Engineer Squadrons were either re-designated Engineer Squadrons, or amalgamated and rerolled into new Combat Engineer Regiments.
Training
As a reserve unit, 41 Combat Engineer Regiment continues to train in skills to support the Canadian Forces abroad and at home. In recent years the regiment has conducted exercises in a variety of places, including.
- CFB Wainwright, Alberta
- Vegreville, Alberta
- Chilliwack, British Columbia
- Dundurn, Saskatchewan
- Drayton Valley, Alberta
- CFB Suffield, Alberta
- CFB Cold Lake, Alberta
- Outlook, Saskatchewan
- Hinton, Alberta
- Fort Lewis, Washington
Deployments
Personnel from the unit have also been deployed on United Nations and NATO peacekeeping missions including:
- Cyprus (UNFICYP, Operation Snowgoose),
- Croatia (UNPROFOR, Operation Harmony),
- Cambodia (UNTAC, Operation Marquis),
- Bosnia (SFOR, Operation Palladium),
- Afghanistan (Operations Athena and Archer).
Relationship with Town of Vegreville
41 Combat Engineer Regiment has fostered a relationship with the Town of Vegreville, Alberta, which is located 103 km east of Edmonton. On 29 April 2006 the unit received the Freedom of the Town, becoming the only unit in the Canadian Forces to have this honour.
The unit started this relationship in large part due to their yearly participation of 25 Engineer Squadron in the Remembrance Day parade. Eventually the unit received permission and blessings from the town to hold annual exercises within the town and the surrounding areas.
In 2007 the Regiment built a new bridge in the park containing the town's famous Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg). This was completed the same week-end the unit received the Freedom of the Town. On 7 May 2008, during a change of command parade, the bridge was formally named the LCol Dan O'Keefe Bridge for the outgoing commanding officer. The Town Council had voted to do so in large part due to LCol O'Keefe's tremendous efforts at building a relationship with the town.
Mascot
Due in large part to their natural construction abilities and their presence in the Canadian wilderness, the beaver has long been the symbol of military engineers in Canada. The first cap-badge of the Canadian Engineers, that is the Militia component of the Engineers of the Canadian Army, had the beaver at its center.
The official mascot of 8 Field Engineer Regiment was Sapper Bentley F. Beaver, a stuff toy beaver who is dressed with a beret, dress uniform and identity discs. It is yet to be seen whither Sapper Beaver will continue to be a mascot for 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, or solely the mascot of 25 Engineer Squadron.
Some members of the unit claim that Bentley is the most decorated beaver in the world. This is because he has accompanied members of the unit for short periods of time while on tour, and therefore he would be eligible for the medals for his presence on the deployment.
This is a partial list of medals and decorations Sapper Beaver would be entitled to:
- File:SWASM-ribbon.jpgSouth-West Asia Service Medal
- File:GCS ribbon.jpgGeneral Campaign Star with ISAF Bar
- File:CPSM Ribbon.jpgCanadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
- File:Untac ribbon.jpgUnited Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia Medal
- File:Nato fy ribbon.jpgNATO Former Yugoslavia Medal
- File:Nato nonart5 balk ribbon.jpgNATO Non-Article 5 Medal
- File:125canada ribbon.jpg125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal- File:Cd-ribbon.jpgCanadian Forces Decoration
Alberta Centennial Medal
Recent Changes
The recent re-organization of the Engineers in Alberta is mostly cosmetic as the Edmonton and Calgary based Squadrons continue to most of their training separately.
The units Honouary Colonels did not change with the amalgamation in 2008. The Honourary Colonel of 8 FER, Colonel J. McDougall, is continuing in his role in the amalgamated unit. As well Lieutenant-Colonels D. Dywer and D. Beruson continue in their roles as Honourary Lieutenant-Colonels of 25 and 33 Engineer Squadrons respectfully.