WEBVTT

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<v ->I am Master Corporal Alex Alder from Langley</v>

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BC, and I'm a signal technician

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<v ->In a landscape of
ever-changing technology,</v>

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Signal Technicians play
a vital role in keeping

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communications flowing in
the Canadian Armed Forces

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<v ->Fire.</v>

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<v ->When I tell my friends what
my job description is, I like</v>

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to tell them that I'm a jack
of all trades repairman,

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whether it be antennas,
radios, headsets, satellites,

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as long as it transmits
or receives, I fix it.

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<v ->On a day-to-Day basis,
signal technicians take care</v>

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of equipment maintenance
service telephone systems

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and communication information systems,

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and ensure network security
on bases across Canada.

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They are responsible for
all tactical communications,

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equipment, linking soldiers, vehicles

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and commanders in headquarters.

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and in the field.

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They also work on IT related tasks such

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as cable installations

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and repairs, analyzing faulty equipment

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or performing technical
inspections for IT security.

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<v ->You're still a member of the military</v>

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and you're still expected
to be a soldier first,

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so you get a bit of both worlds.

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You still get to sleep
in the tent, shoot guns,

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and do a lot of the cool army stuff,

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but at the same time, you're
really using your brain

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and getting into
electronics and fixing them.

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It's a good mix. It's, it
lets you do what you wanna do,

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but also do the army thing.

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<v ->Signal Technicians are
responsible for configuring,</v>

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maintaining and securing
communication networks

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and systems on behalf of
the Canadian Armed Forces.

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Wherever they operate.

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They can work closely with
Information Systems Technicians,

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Line Technicians, Cyber Operators,

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and depending on whether
posted with the combat arms.

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As their careers develop,

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technicians will also be
called upon to instruct, lead,

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supervise, and manage
subordinates, as well as plan

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and advise commanders with the employment

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and deployment of these platforms

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and systems, all while
managing the lifecycle

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of the communications equipment.

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<v ->The job of a Signal
Technician is critical</v>

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to every unit you're a part of.

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You are the person responsible
for fixing, maintaining,

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and upkeeping all the
communications equipment

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across the entire unit.

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Sometimes that can involve
hundreds of vehicles

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and hundreds of headsets
and hundreds of radios,

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and so without a Signal Technician,

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those things wouldn't be possible.

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So we are a very important part
of any unit in the military.

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The best part of the job
for me is when I get given a

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problem where the person
doesn't know what's wrong

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and it's not something that's in the books

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where I can't just flip to a manual page

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and see X is causing Y, so I need to do z.

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I like thinking outside
the box, fixing things

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that don't have instructions
on how to fix them,

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and it's that extra challenge of having

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to figure something out
without having been taught it.

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That makes being a signals
tech so gratifying to me

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<v ->To maintain their
highly adaptive skillset.</v>

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Signal technicians can expect

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to travel often throughout the year,

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participating in exercises
and training courses.

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They may also have the opportunity to work

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with unmanned aircraft systems.

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<v ->In 2020, I was deployed
on OP impact to Taji Iraq.</v>

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I was almost relied upon solely

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to do anything communications related.

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Not even in my line of work.

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People would come to me with
cell phones, people would come

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to me with equipment I
haven't even seen before,

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but it's expected that I can open this up,

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diagnose the issue and
repair it, and that's that.

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That sort of thing ties
back into the challenges

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that I look for when I do this job.

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I often receive quite a lot
of gratitude from the people

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that I help when I fix
their equipment for them.

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And that kind of gratitude
really strengthens the love

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for my job, knowing that what
I do makes a visible impact

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for the people around me and
helps them do their job better.