Logistics Officers provide the various means of transportation, equipment and supplies for the movement of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and all types and sizes of cargo throughout the world.
The responsibilities of a Logistics Officers include:
TITLE:
LOGISTICS OFFICER
KIM: In order to be an effective presence at home and around the world, the Canadian Forces requires the provision of efficient and coordinated logistics support.
Whether it’s with the Navy, the Army or the Air Force, Logistics Officers - or Log Officers - are responsible for ensuring that all military operations and exercises are properly supported.
That means everything from the initial budgeting and procurement, to warehousing of material, vehicles and ammunition, to arranging transportation for the movement of personnel and cargo throughout the world.
TITLE:
LOGISTICS OFFICER
IN THE CANADIAN FORCES
This is a multifaceted career, throughout the course of which you will work in: Supply Chain Management, Transportation, Human Resource Management, Financial Management, or Food Services.
As an officer, your primary responsibility is to lead a team of talented men and women under your command.
Logistics Officers are employed throughout all three military environments: the Army, Navy and Air Force, and each represents its own challenges.
Hi I’m Captain Paul Kim, I’m an Air Force Logistics Officer from New Westminster, British Columbia
Providing support to air operations is a considerable challenge due in large part to the stringent maintenance cycles of aircraft.
Being able to replenish the CF air fleet anywhere in the world is essential to keeping it operational.
Finding it, purchasing it, packing it and moving it is all part of what we do.
Early in your career you’ll be posted to an operational wing or squadron in order to build upon your environmental training and to develop your leadership experience.
I’m Lieutenant Commander Trish Roberts from Port Colbourne, Ontario. I’m a Naval Logisitics Officer currently serving in CFB Halifax.
In the Navy, Log Officers will serve as the Ship’s Supply Officers in the early stages of their careers.
Your team will consist of Stewards, Cooks, Supply Techs and Resource Management Support Clerks.
Responsible for the oversight of all shipboard logistics, your main role is to ensure that your ship is logistically ready in all aspects to support the ship’s mission.
We take care of getting the ship what it needs to do its job.
You’re a fully integrated member of the ship’s company, and as such, you’ll engage in additional duties like standing watch as Officer of the Day, leading the ship’s Casualty Clearing team, Damage Control, Firefighting or Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear teams.
You could also be responsible for leading a Naval Boarding Party or being a Ship’s Diver.
On foreign deployments, Naval Log Officers are the first on the ground, liaising with the ‘Chandlers’ to resupply the ship with fresh water, stores and fuel.
Hi I’m Lieutenant Ryan McClement from Oromocto, New Brunswick. I am an Army Log Officer posted to Land Forces Western Area Headquarters here in Edmonton, Alberta.
KIM: Army Log Officers are primarily concerned with coordinating sustainment of the field force.
Whether it’s warehousing or moving supplies, ammunition, fuel, food or the actual vehicles and armaments being used in theatre.
McCLEMENT: The sustainment portion of any operation is paramount and without it, the army would not succeed.
KIM: In the early stages of your career, you’ll be employed in a Service Battalion to expand your leadership capabilities and consolidate your environmental training.
When you’re in the field, you’ll likely be working out of a Command Post coordinating the various sustainment activities, and physically working on the ground with the troops.
Potential Logistics Officers can approach their career in one of two ways.
By enrolling in the Regular Officer Training Plan, or ROTP, you can get started after high school by earning your Bachelor’s Degree at the Royal Military College of Canada, or any other accredited Canadian university.
If you’re already in the process of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in a related field such as Business, Accounting or Human Resource Management, you may be eligible for the Direct Entry Officer Plan.
Under either entry plan all candidates will be required to attend the basic military officer qualification course, or BMOQ.
This is where you'll fine-tune your natural leadership abilities, and learn the regulations and customs of the Canadian Forces that will serve you throughout your career.
If you’re still in school and/or looking for a part-time job, you can become a Reserve Force Log Officer and take all of your training during the summer.
The Logistics Officer Common Course is held at the home of the majority of all our logistics training, the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics, or CFSAL, in Borden, Ontario.
Following this, you’ll complete specialty logistics training and training focused on your environmental affiliation.
ROBERTS: As you progress in rank and experience, a wider scope of command and staff opportunities will be presented to you, as well as further specialization in areas such as Movements, Postal or Ammunition.
After the first few tours of duty, Logistics Officers will have opportunities to be employed at higher headquarters, dealing with the management of logistics functions in Joint and Combined Operations.
One of the key players in exercising this function is the Canadian Operational Support Command, known as CANOSCOM.
CANOSCOM is responsible for providing effective and efficient operational support to Canadian Forces operations – be they domestic, continental or expeditionary, and presents numerous challenges for Logistics Officers.
As Logistics Officers what we do every day directly contributes to the success of the Canadian Forces across all elements: Sea, Land and Air.
KIM: If you’re looking for an exciting challenge without equal, and a diverse career that delivers, consider becoming a Logistics Officer in the Canadian Forces.
Logistics Officers can be employed in the Royal Canadian Navy, Army or Royal Canadian Air Force and experience the unique challenges associated with these environments. They may work at on a base within Canada, at a home port, or be deployed during operations.
Logistics Officers that work in the Royal Canadian Navy will serve at sea as a Ship’s Supply Officer early in their career. A Logistics Officer in the Army will be employed as a platoon commander in a General Support or Close Support Service Battalion. Logistics Officers in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the early stages of their career will be employed in an entry level junior Logistics position at an operational Wing where they will learn about the unique aspects of providing support to air operations. This experience will be followed by a position at a squadron. Subsequent tours will provide you with opportunities to further develop your knowledge and experience within one or more of the main Logistics disciplines.
After enrolment, you start basic officer training at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, for 12 weeks. Topics covered include general military knowledge, the principles of leadership, regulations and customs of the CAF, basic weapons handling, and first aid. Opportunities will also be provided to apply such newly acquired military skills in training exercises involving force protection, field training, navigation and leadership. A rigorous physical fitness program is also a vital part of basic training. Basic officer training is provided in English or French and successful completion is a prerequisite for further training.
Following basic officer training, official second language training may be offered to you. Training could take from two to nine months to complete depending on your ability in your second language.
If assigned to the Army, Logistics Officers go to the Infantry School at the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown, New Brunswick. You will build upon the leadership training you received in basic officer training in addition to learning the skills required of all Combat Arms Soldiers, including more advanced weapons-handling, field-craft, and section-level tactics.
If assigned to the Navy, Logistics Officers attend a nine-week Naval Environmental Training Program held at the Naval Officer Training Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. This course introduces the naval environment and includes four weeks onboard a minor war vessel for officers to experience life at sea.
Learn more about Basic Training here.
Logistics Officers attend the Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics in Borden, Ontario, for a common introductory course on logistics support. Then Logistics Officers will undergo logistics training relating to the branch of the service to which they have been assigned.
Logistics Officers may be offered the opportunity to develop specialized skills through formal courses and on-the-job training.
If you already have a university degree, the CAF will decide if your academic program matches the criteria for this job and may place you directly into the required on-the-job training program following basic training. Basic training and military officer qualification training are required before being assigned.
Regular Officer Training Plan
Due to the requirement for CAF officer to obtain a university degree, the CAF will pay successful recruits to complete a bachelor degree program in the Royal Military College System. Recruits will receive full-time salary including medical and dental care, as well as vacation time with full pay in exchange for working in the CAF for a period of time. Typically, candidates enter the Canadian Military College System as an Officer Cadet where they study subjects relevant to both their military and academic career. In rare instances, based on the needs of the CAF, candidates may be approved attend another Canadian University. A determination will be made on a case by case basis. If you are applying for this program, you must apply to the CAF and it is recommended to apply to other Canadian universities of your choice should you not be accepted for ROTP.
Learn more about our Paid Education programs here.
This position is available for part-time employment with the Primary Reserve at certain locations across Canada. Reserve Force members usually serve part time at an Air Force Wing in their community, and may serve while going to school or working at a civilian job. They are paid during their training. They are not posted or required to do a military move. However, they can volunteer to move to another base. They may also volunteer for deployment on a military mission within or outside Canada.
Logistics Officers may serve with the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army or Royal Canadian Air Force and experience the unique challenges associated with these environments. Logistics Officers employed on a part-time or casual full-time basis usually serve at CAF bases, wings, home ports and units at locations within Canada.
Reserve Force members are trained to the same level as their Regular Force counterparts and usually begin training with their home unit to ensure that they meet the required basic professional military standards. Following basic officer training, introductory occupational training for the Logistics Officer qualification is conducted at the Canadian Forces Logistics Training Centre in Borden, Ontario or the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Québec, Quebec. They then undergo logistics training relating to the branch of the service to which they have joined.
Reserve Force members usually serve part-time with their home unit for scheduled evenings and weekends, although they may also serve in full-time positions at some units for fixed terms, depending on the type of work that they do. They are paid 92.8% of Regular Force rates of pay, receive a reasonable benefits package and may qualify to contribute to a pension plan.