CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: I’m Corporal Joshua Gordon from Beeton, Ontario — I’m a Geomatics Technician currently serving at the Mapping and Charting Establishment in Ottawa.
Geomatics Technicians use the most advanced IT equipment and cutting-edge geospatial technology to create a virtual view of the landscape that’s used to plan and conduct important operations in Canada and around the world. They collect and analyze geospatial data from different sources to produce digital or paper maps using Advanced Geomatics Information Systems.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: We combine multiple layers of information and we overlay it with tactical information that’s collected by field engineers and different units across the Canadian Armed Forces and compile that into a visual product that explains the battlespace to a commander. It provides them with the tactical know-how and expertise to see and predict the flow of battle and how to best assist in the area of operations.
Geomatics Technicians are directly involved in the military planning process and can influence decisions at the highest levels.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: Products produced by the lowest-level Privates and Corporals Geomatics Technicians can go all the way up to the top. Some things that we produce make it all the way to the Chief of Defence staff. You need to be prepared to brief Captains, Majors, Colonels on the products that you make and explain to them the situation.
Geomatics Technicians are an Army trade, but they can work with the Army, Air Force, Navy and Special Forces to create maps and charts for all operations. Geomatics Technicians must regularly complete ground surveys to ensure the accuracy in all mapping products. This can include surveys of military airports, runways, remote sites in the North, or foreign cities overseas using highly accurate GPS receivers and other survey instruments such as LiDAR and Electronic Total Stations.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: Being a Geomatics Technician gives a great sense of satisfaction. You’re working on a product from start to finish that will aid in decision-making and can basically save lives.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: The coolest part of the job for me is having an artistic outlet and an analytical outlet. I get to work with data and colours and sort of compile them into a complete product, a finished almost work of art.
After completing their studies, Geomatics Technicians may be posted to one of four brigades, within one of several headquarters units across Canada, or to the Mapping and Charting Establishment, the Geomatics Centre of Excellence in Ottawa. Reservists in this job return to their home unit and continue to work under supervision. In their first year on the job, Geomatics Technicians continue to develop their soldier skills and geomatics capabilities within the trade.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: There’s many different jobs to do. There’s our survey troop that conducts field surveys; there is Geomatics Support Squadron, which provides tactical decision aids to all sorts of clients across the country; you can also be posted to Geospatial Information and Services Squadron that works on web map services and modern web-mapping to aid in Canadian Armed Forces decisions. There are leaders that will help you along your way, teach you new tips and tricks and everything they’ve learned throughout their career, to help you establish your own techniques and build your own workflow as a Geomatics Technician.
CORPORAL JOSHUA GORDON: Every product we make goes into the process of helping make a decision so every single product that I produce gives me a feeling of satisfaction and it allows me to feel like I’m contributing to the battlespace. It gives me a challenge on a day-to-day basis. I learn things, work things out, figure out problems – it’s very rewarding
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