32 Combat Engineer Regiment

32 Combat Engineer Regiment (32 CER) is the Primary Reserve (Militia) unit of the Canadian Military Engineers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is assigned to 32 Canadian Brigade Group, part of 4th Canadian Division.

The unit parades Friday evenings at the Denison Armoury. It was formerly known as the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment (2 FER) before being renamed in 2006.

Unit history

Militia Order No. 1 dated 14 January 1876 authorized the formation of the Toronto Engineer Company. This name was changed in October of the same year to the 2nd Military District Engineer Company, although it continued to be known by the original name. The establishment of the company called for two officers and 39 other ranks, however at the time of formation the actual strength was five officers and seventy other ranks which included a band of 18.

The company's first Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Clarkson Scoble. With no established engineer stores and no trained instructors, his problems were numerous. Lt Col Scoble located a retired Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) of the Royal Engineers living in Toronto, persuaded him to become the Training NCO of the Engineer Company, and then paid from his own pocket for the supplies and equipment necessary to train his men as Sappers.

Members of the regiment have long been innovators. In 1909 Lieutenants J.A.D. “Jack” McCurdy and Frederick W. “Casey” Baldwin made Canada's first powered flight in the ‘Silver Dart’ at Baddeck, Nova Scotia and conducted the first military aircraft demonstration at Petawawa, Ontario later that same year.

32 Combat Engineer Regiment perpetuates the 2nd Field Company, 1st Canadian Divisional Engineers of the First World War's Canadian Corps. Sappers from the regiment also went overseas in 1918 as a key part of the 4000 man Canadian Contingent sent to open a new front in Siberia.

Again deployed during World War II as part of the Divisional Engineers of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, they took part in the Dieppe Raid in 1942. Thereafter the component companies of the regiment distinguished themselves fighting throughout the European Campaign following the D-Day invasion in Normandy.

After the war, the unit was re-designated 2nd Field Engineer Regiment. As a unit of Military District No. 2, it retained the role of being the engineers of the 2nd Infantry Division, the headquarters of which was also the responsibility of Military District No. 2 to form on mobilization.^[1]

As 2 FER, the regiment was called out in 1954 to provide disaster relief and aid to the Greater Toronto Area in the aftermath of Hurricane Hazel. Thirty years later, 2 FER became the one and only unit to ever receive the Freedoms of all six Cities and the Borough that now form Metropolitan Toronto. On November 23, 2006, by order of the Honourable Gordon O’Connor Minister of National Defence the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment became 32 Combat Engineer Regiment.^[2]

Organization

There are currently two Field Squadrons, and a Regimental Headquarters in 32 CER:

• 2 Field Squadron provides general engineer support to the brigade and consists of 2 field troops and a support troop.
• 47 Field Squadron is a training squadron.
• RHQ is composed of the regimental command staff, Ops and training staff, and administration and logisitcs staff.

Armoury

Order of precedence

See also

• List of armouries in Canada
• Military history of Canada
• History of the Canadian Army
• Canadian Forces

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 32 Combat Engineer Regiment.

Royal Canadian Engineer Regiments in order of precedence 1 Combat Engineer Regiment 2 Combat Engineer Regiment 4 Engineer Support Regiment 5 Combat Engineer Regiment 8th Field Engineer Regiment 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins) 32 Combat Engineer Regiment 33 Combat Engineer Regiment 34 Combat Engineer Regiment 35 Combat Engineer Regiment 36 Combat Engineer Regiment 37 Combat Engineer Regiment 38 Combat Engineer Regiment 39 Combat Engineer Regiment 41 Combat Engineer Regiment

Canadian Army  History History of the Canadian Army Canadian Corps First Canadian Army Military History of Canada Fort Frontenac Library Structure Structure of the Canadian Army 2nd Canadian Division 3rd Canadian Division 4th Canadian Division 5th Canadian Division List of Units Mechanized brigade groups 1 CMBG 2 CMBG 5 CMBG Brigade groups 31 CBG 32 CBG 33 CBG 34 CBG 35 CBG 36 CBG 37 CBG 38 CBG 39 CBG 41 CBG Small arms C9 machine-gun C7A1 rifle/C8A1 carbine/C7A2 rifle C6 machine-gun Browning .50 calibre heavy machine gun Browning-HP 9 mm pistol P225, 226 C15 Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW) C3A1 sniper rifle C14 Timberwolf C13 fragmentation grenade M203 grenade launcher M72 SRAAW(L) Crewed weapons Carl Gustav SRAAW(M) ERYX SRAAW(H) TOW LRAAW(H) 81 mm mortar 60 mm mortar Javelin short-range air defence missile Skyguard C1 close support howitzer C3 close support howitzer LG1 Mark II 105 mm towed howitzer M777 lightweight 155mm howitzer C16 CASW Armoured fighting vehicles LAV III Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle ADATS Leopard C2 Leopard 2 Bison APC M113A3 and MTVL RG-31 Textron TAPV Schools Canadian Army Command and Staff College Peace Support Training Centre Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre Category Portal WikiProject

References

• Col A.J. Kerry, Maj W.A. McDill, History of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, The Military Engineers Association of Canada, Ottawa, 1962.

External links

• 32 CER Official Page