I'm Lieutenant Ella Wanless from Belleville, Ontario -
an Engineer Officer posted at 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa, Ontario.
We lead combat engineers and our job is to allow troops to live, move and fight
while denying the same to the enemy.
Engineers help the combat arms to accomplish the mission at hand.
They provide close support to the infantry and tanks,
and are also trained to fight as infantry when needed.
Engineering is a core component of every military mission -
from removing obstacles on the battlefield,
to building bridges in a foreign country.
We are asked to do so many different tasks during a mission
that your job as an Engineer Officer is to coordinate with
all of your non-commissioned members to make sure that they have the tools,
equipment and instructions that they need to complete all these different tasks.
Engineer Officers provide critical information and advice as troop commanders,
who make key decisions on how to run military engineer operations.
The engineers are jack-of-all-trades, so there's a never-ending list of skills
that we're expected to have when we go to the fight, and that training allows us
to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes our way.
Engineer Officers are adept problem-solvers uniquely positioned
to be both technical experts and tactical military leaders.
For me, leadership means using the skills that you have -
the planning, the motivation, initiative, communication skills -
to allow your troops to be able to get the job done.
So it's enabling your troops to be successful in all that they do.
Engineer Officers regularly deploy as part of humanitarian missions
and aid to civil power across Canada.
And they support training missions around the world.
I always wanted to be an engineer, ever since I was little.
And then I found out that I could be an engineer
and that the Canadian Armed Forces would support my education -
and not only that, I could be an engineer that got to play with explosives.
So that was something that really first drew me to this job.
It's engineering with that cool extra element of being in the Army as well.
The coolest part of the job, I would say - for me, it's explosives.
I love getting to see my troops blow things up.
For a bridge demolition, so we come up to an enemy bridge,
we send out all of our sappers that are able to rig up that bridge, we set up our security,
and then we get the satisfaction of watching that bridge completely disappear.
Once they've completed their occupational training,
Engineer Officers are assigned to a unit within one of several Engineer regiments across Canada.
A busy schedule consists of planning for training exercises, leading troops,
and administrative work common to all officers.
So the first few years as an Engineering Officer, you're going to go into a troop command position.
So you're going to have about 25-30 combat engineers that are under your command.
Once you move past that, you're going to go into some sort of operations
or planning position for an Engineer squadron.
And you're basically looking to support and plan and lead at the squadron level.
Engineer officers can specialize in an operations career stream that include things
like combat diving, explosives, and heavy equipment operations
or choose a career path in geomatics or infrastructure management.
I decided to join the Canadian Armed Forces because I was looking for a challenge
and a job that was going to take me to places that I never thought that I could,
and basically be able to serve the country that has done so much for me as well.
I never regret my decision to join the Canadian Armed Forces.