Today we are in Halifax on HMCS William Hall, and we'll be chatting
with sailor First Class Dillon O'Leary, who's a marine technician.
Hey, Dillon.
Hey. How's it going?
Good. Yourself. Good.
I’ll come down and talk to you. Sounds good.
What you doing up there?
I'm up here fixing a windshield wiper assembly for the bridge windows.
Okay, cool.
Is that part of one of your tasks as a Marine Technician?
Yes it is.
And what other kind of tasks do you do on board?
Anything involving mechanical equipment, electrical equipment,
and structural equipment.
Okay, so it sounds like a marine technician
is essentially the person you call if something breaks on the ship.
It most definitely is. Nice.
So do you just do that on this ship.
Or... Any class of ship we can work on.
Oh, wow, that's so cool.
And in terms of places on the ship where you work, what does that look like?
Anywhere with mechanical equipment, electrical equipment,
or structural equipment. All right, show me your favorite spot on board.
Certainly. Come with me.
Oh. Through that?
Yes. Through this. All right. Let's do it.
So, Dillon, where are you right now?
We are in the flats of the ship.
What does that mean, exactly?
This is how we traverse the ship.
Oh, wow. Cool. Okay.
And tell me what
had you Pick Mar Tech as a trade?
I was a diesel mechanic.
civvy side and I wanted a bigger challenge.
Nice.
And so, what can we find you doing on your downtime?
On my downtime, I probably be relaxing watching a show or movies.
Maybe playing guitar if I have the space for it. Awesome.
Are we almost at that spot?
Yeah, it's just right here.
Cool.
Can't wait to see.
Hi. Welcome to my shop.
I love it in here.
So is this where you spend most of your time, then?
Not so much.
I spend a lot more time repairing things down in the spaces.
But this is where we come for our tools and any parts that we need for any jobs.
All right, so what's your favorite job to work on then?
Definitely have to do anything with the diesel engines.
That's making me think that you prefer sailing in the winter
than in the summer? Oh, for sure.
I do not like the heat in the spaces in the summer.
Gets quite warm down there.
So tell me, why are more techs essential to a ship?
If you don't have us, the ship's not going anywhere.
We fix everything on a daily basis.
That sounds super essential.
Yes. It is.
Yeah.
Okay, Dillon, last question.
Then we'll let you get back to it. Okay.
Why become a Mar Tech in the Canadian Armed Forces?
If you like working with your hands and like the feeling
of working in a big family, it's definitely a good spot for you.
I love it. All right. See you. Later. See you. Have a good one.