Communications and Electronics Branch
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The Communications and Electronics Branch (french: Branche des communications et de l'électronique, link=no) is a
personnel branch Personnel branches, in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), are groupings of related military occupations. Personnel branches were officially established at unification in 1968 to amalgamate the old Canadian Army corps and similar occupational groupi ...
of the
Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
(CAF). The army component of the branch is designated the
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS or RC Sigs; french: links=no, Corps des transmissions royal du Canada, CTRC) is a component within the Canadian Armed Forces' Communications and Electronics Branch, consisting of all members of that person ...
(french: Corps des transmissions royal du Canada, link=no).


History

Major Wallace Bruce Matthews Carruthers (13 February 1863 – 21 October 1910) was the founder of the Canadian Signalling Corps, forerunner of the
Royal Canadian Corps of Signals The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS or RC Sigs; french: links=no, Corps des transmissions royal du Canada, CTRC) is a component within the Canadian Armed Forces' Communications and Electronics Branch, consisting of all members of that person ...
and the Communications and Electronics Branch. In the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, functional similar components of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force were combined into the new Communications and Electronics Branch. During the Boer War, Carruthers noted the importance of tactical signaling in a successful campaign. Observing the employment of heliographs, semaphore flags and lamps, he realized there was a need for a unit to provide proper training in the use of these systems. Upon his return to Canada in 1902, he wrote a paper on signaling for the Royal Military College Club and championed an establishment of a signaling Corps. In 1903, the formation of the Canadian Signal Corps was authorized by General Order 167. It was the first Signal Corps in the British Commonwealth and is the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. On 3 February 1903, now Major Carruthers was appointed as one of two Inspectors of Signaling. Setting up his headquarters in Kingston, Ontario, he was responsible to the Militia Council for the supervision of instruction and practice of signaling and the inspection of signalers and their equipment. In 1904, the first Provisional School of Signaling was established, with schools held in Kingston, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Montreal, Halifax, London, Quebec and Toronto over the next 2 years. Training began in earnest in 1905 in summer militia instructional camps or in provisional schools set up in those eight cities. 546 Officers and men from the Rural Corps were trained in semaphore at the summer camps and 68 of those had qualified as signalers over the next few years. A reorganization of the Corps in 1906 made Carruthers the Canadian Corps of Signal's Commanding Officer. He received the title of Assistant Adjutant General for Signaling In April 2013, the army component of the branch was officially designated with its historic title, the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, but it remains a part of the C&E Branch.


Uniform

*Cap badge: A silver depiction of Mercury with golden lightning bolts on either side placed on a field of blue. *Army shoulder title: **
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
: "RCCS" (all uniforms) ** French: "" (all uniforms) *Miscellaneous: ** The signalman's trade qualification badge (worn on the lower sleeve of the Service Dress jacket) is the only such trade badge that features colours (blue and white) instead of just gold.


Customs and traditions

*Colonel-in-Chief:
Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
*Branch flag: Horizontal bicolour, French grey (Munsell Notation 5PB5/2) over dark blue (Munsell Notation 7.5PB2/2). It is commonly believed that the colours of the flag represent "grey skies over blue waters"; however, the colours were inherited from the officer's Mess Dress uniforms of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS), which were in turn inherited from the
21st Lancers The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where W ...
, the first unit of Major Carruthers, founder of the RCCS *Home station:
CFB Kingston Canadian Forces Base Kingston (also CFB Kingston) is a Canadian Forces Base operated by the Canadian Army located in Kingston, Ontario. History The Barriefield Military Camp, commonly called Camp Barriefield, was established as a military ba ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
*Motto: la, Velox Versutus Vigilans, "Swift, Skilled, Alert"); motto inherited from the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals *Nickname: **"Jimmies" – after "Jimmy", the nickname given to the Roman god
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
as patron (and insignia) of Signals in Commonwealth countries; the origin of this particular sobriquet for the god is unknown; there are a number of theories as to why 'Jimmy' was adopted as a term of endearment for the emblem. The most widely accepted is that it came from a very popular Royal Signals boxer, Jimmy Emblem, who was the British Army Champion in 1924 and represented the Royal Signals Corps from 1921 to 1924. **"Sigs" – after the abbreviation of "Signals" **"Sig Pigs" – rhyming slang name; sometimes used deprecatingly by non-Signalmen, generally with pride by Signalmen **"Rubberheads" – Nickname applied only to Communicator Research personnel; considered pejorative or insulting when used by non-Communicator Research personnel; this references the large padded earphones that were often used by the trade. *Authorized march: " The Mercury March" *Branch colours: French grey and dark blue *Miscellaneous: **Signals units follow the cavalry practice of naming their units "regiment" for "battalion", "squadron" for "company", and "troop" for "platoon". **Trained
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s in Signals or Communications units are styled "Signaller" or "Sig" for short.


Training


Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics

The Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics (CFSCE) in
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
was founded in 1937. Initially, CFSCE provided training in Communications and Electronics in Canadian Army and now in the
Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...
. CFSCE provides basic, intermediate and advanced training to military personnel in the field of Communications and Electronics.


Occupations

Military occupations and military occupation codes (MOCs) within the branch are listed below. Also listed are the uniform environment restrictions. Military occupations that have previously existed in the C&E Branch are listed below.


Units


Regular Force units

* 1 CMBG Headquarters and Signal Squadron * 2 CMBG Headquarters and Signal Squadron * 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment * 3 CDSG Signal Squadron * 4 CDSG Signal Squadron (formerly
2 Area Support Group Signal Squadron 2 Area Support Group Signal Squadron (2 ASG Sig Sqn) was a Regular Force Army unit within the Canadian Forces. The squadron was responsible for delivering secure and non-secure communication and information systems across Land Force Central Are ...
) * 5 CDSG Signal Squadron * 5 CMBG Headquarters and Signal Squadron ''( Fr 5e GBMC Quartier général et Escadron de transmissions)'' * Canadian Forces Information Operations Group **Canadian Forces Electronic Warfare Centre (CFEWC) **Canadian Forces Information Operations Group Headquarters (CFIOGHQ) **Canadian Forces Network Operations Centre (CFNOC) **Canadian Forces Signals Intelligence Operations Centre (CFSOC) **Canadian Forces Station Leitrim * Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment *
Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
*
Information Management Information management (IM) concerns a cycle of organizational activity: the acquisition of information from one or more sources, the custodianship and the distribution of that information to those who need it, and its ultimate disposal throug ...
**7 Communication Group ***76 Communication Regiment ***77 Line Regiment


Reserve Force units (up to 31 March 2012)

*70 Communication Group Headquarters **700 (Borden) Communication Squadron **705 (Hamilton) Communication Squadron **709 (Toronto) Communication Regiment **763 (Ottawa) Communication Regiment **772 Electronic Warfare Squadron Kingston *71 Communication Group Headquarters **712 (Montreal) Communication Squadron ** 713 (Beauport) Communication Regiment (french: links=no, 713e Régiment des communications) **714 (Sherbrooke) Communication Squadron *72 Communication Group Headquarters **721 (Charlottetown) Communication Regiment ** 722 (Saint John) Communication Squadron **723 (Halifax) Communication Squadron ** 725 (Glace Bay) Communication Squadron ** 728 (St. John's) Communication Squadron *73 Communication Group Headquarters **734 (Regina) Communication Squadron **735 (Winnipeg) Communication Regiment **736 (Thunder Bay) Communication Squadron **737 (Saskatoon) Communication Squadron **745 (Edmonton) Communication Squadron **746 (Calgary) Communication Squadron **749 (Red Deer) Communication Squadron *74 Communication Group Headquarters **741 (Victoria) Communication Squadron **744 (Vancouver) Communication Regiment **748 (Nanaimo) Communication Squadron


Reserve Force units (from 1 April 2012)

Listed by Canadian Army Area and parent Brigade Group *4th Canadian Division **31 Canadian Brigade Group ***31 Signal Regiment (formerly 705 (Hamilton) Communication Squadron) **32 Canadian Brigade Group *** 32 Signal Regiment (formerly 700 (Borden) Communication Squadron and 709 (Toronto) Communication Regiment) **33 Canadian Brigade Group *** 33 Signal Regiment (formerly 763 (Ottawa) Communication Regiment) *2nd Canadian Division **34 Canadian Brigade Group ***34 Signal Regiment (formerly 712 (Montreal) Communication Squadron) **35 Canadian Brigade Group ***35 Signal Regiment (formerly 713 (Beauport) Communication Regiment, and 714 (Sherbrooke) Communication Squadron) *5th Canadian Division **36 Canadian Brigade Group *** 36 Signal Regiment (formerly 721 (Charlottetown) Communication Regiment, 723 (Halifax) Communication Squadron, and 725 (Glace Bay) Communication Squadron) **37 Canadian Brigade Group *** 37 Signal Regiment (formerly 722 (Saint John) Communication Squadron, and 728 (St. John's) Communication Squadron) *3rd Canadian Division **38 Canadian Brigade Group ***38 Signal Regiment (formerly 734 (Regina) Communication Squadron, 735 (Winnipeg) Communication Regiment, 736 (Thunder Bay) Communication Squadron, and 737 (Saskatoon) Communication Squadron) **39 Canadian Brigade Group *** 39 Signal Regiment (formerly 741 (Victoria) Communication Squadron, now B Squadron, 2 Troop; 744 (Vancouver) Communication Regiment, now A Squadron; and 748 (Nanaimo) Communication Squadron, now B Squadron, 1 Troop) **41 Canadian Brigade Group ***
41 Signal Regiment , march = , website = , mascot = Swift Fox , anniversaries = , identification_symbol_4 = 41 Sig Regt , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation ...
(formerly 745 (Edmonton) Communication Squadron, 746 (Calgary) Communication Squadron, and 749 (Red Deer) Communication Squadron)


CFS Alert

Staffing at CFS Alert are the responsibility of the Branch. In the past members were drawn by the
RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...
or
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
.


Order of precedence


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Communications And Electronics Branch Canadian Armed Forces personnel branches Military communications units and formations Military units and formations established in 1968