The 272 Street command post near 40 Avenue is not your typical Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) base.
It contains Reserve Construction Engineering Flight 192 (192 CEF), a part-time group of soldiers who come from engineering-related trades, capable of supporting the Royal Canadian Air Force in deployed operations.
Whether as electricians, carpenters, plumbers, generator and fuel and environmental technicians, as well as financial clerks and mobile support units 鈥� they complete community projects as a form of training for tasks overseas.
As a 192 CEF soldier 鈥測ou really have to be prepared for anything,鈥� explained Master Warrant Officer Edward Hebb, who works in unit as a construction site coordinator and supervisor.
Recently, the group held a grand opening ceremony of four Maple Bay cabins at Cultus Lake Provincial Park, which were built in partnership with BC Parks in order to make camping more cost- and wheelchair-accessible for Lower Mainland families.
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The group also just completed renovations on an old bathroom for the Abbotsford International Airshow, which takes place in early August, and whom they work for as hazmat response workers every year.
Ultimately, 鈥渙ur mandate here is to recruit, train and deploy. We鈥檙e always hiring and always looking to bring in new people,鈥� said officer commanding of the unit Lt. Eric Dodd.
In January 2019, one of the unit鈥檚 soldiers Master Corporal Daniel Burkowksy, received a Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal from Canadian Joint Operations Commander Lt.-Gen. Michael Rouleau for his work in Mali.
鈥淭hose from ages 16 to 57 can join us,鈥� Dodd explained, though for postings overseas one has to be a legal adult.
The troupe鈥檚 oldest member, 61-year-old Sgt Rene Pelletier, transferred to the unit after the closure of Chilliwack鈥檚 reserve CAF base (which included a trades school) in 1997.
Pelletier has served in Canadian defence units from the Air Forces, Navy and Army. He works with a wealth of knowledge as lead plumbing and heating specialist on team projects, Dodd expounded.
Pelletier was also one of the first members of Aldergrove鈥檚 192 CEF unit, in 1998.
As the only reserve engineering flight in Western Canada, the unit sends many of its soldiers for specialized training to a CAF base in Gagetown, New Brunswick.
鈥淲e moved here in 2013 from the Abbotsford International Airport. I feel like we are a very unknown commodity in Aldergrove,鈥� admitted Dodd.
The Royal Canadian Engineers motto 鈥� 鈥渦bique,鈥� meaning everywhere in Latin, refers to its deployment of members internationally to countries including Latvia, Romania, Ukraine, Kuwait, Iraq and Mali since 2017.
鈥淪ome of these guys sacrifice a lot. They leave their families for months at a time, multiple times. We want the community to know the sacrifices people within this community are taking for their country,鈥� Dodd emphasized.
Most of the soldiers have wives and children in Metro Vancouver including Mission, Chilliwack and Abbotsford.
One even cohabitates with a significant other as far west as downtown Vancouver, and commutes every day to the base.
When members are deployed on a mission, the call comes quick.
Everything is dropped to equip the soldier with necessary skills and training for the task, Dodd said. This includes providing extensively for their families back at home.
While walking through the base鈥檚 in-house woodshop, Dodd explained that if even a chair or table breaks and the family needs something new 鈥� 鈥渨e will make it for them here.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the most assuring things about being called to a mission,鈥� Pelletier added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 knowing that you鈥檙e family will be taken care of and provided for no matter what,鈥� by soldiers who serve as a united front, and act as family, he said.
Pelletier remembers when a staff member took money from her own bank account to pay a young wife鈥檚 rent while her husband was overseas.
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During the war in Afghanistan in 2008, the unit made major contributions to the Canadian mission.
For such, 192 CEF received a commendation from the then Canadian chief of defense staff General Walter Natynczyk, and received the Task Force-Kandahar pennant for their work designing and constructing aviation infrastructure for unmanned aerial vehicles at Kandahar Airfield.
They hung the flag for a year, as protocal, after they returned to their Aldergrove base.
Pelletier and MWO Blane Reynolds 鈥� who鈥檚 in charge of troop morale, discipline and general welfare of the unit 鈥� both returned from the posting, which first began as a few projects and turned into over 18 tasks in the span of a month.
It even included the expansion of a hospital.
鈥淚t was once this village that years later turned into tens of thousands鈥� at Kandahar Airfield, said Reynolds.
The infrastructural footprint grew from one generator and tents to new electrical lines and permanent housing structures, Hebb elaborated.
Due to his many years of service, Reynolds finds it difficult to remember the full details of exactly all that happened on each foreign mission.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really a whirlwind,鈥� Reynolds said, 鈥渟o much is happening,鈥� and tasks constantly change based on orders from Canadian Parliament.
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The CAF鈥檚 continuous need for specialized tradesmen equates to a high level of deployment of 192 CEF soldiers from the Aldergrove base.
鈥淚f they need an electrician and they see one of our guys is qualified for the posting, they鈥檒l call them out within the next few weeks,鈥� Dodd offered.
The troupe is also trained and available in case of a large-scale natural disaters in the area, for instance a massive flood or earthquake, finished Dodd.
Pelletier鈥檚 30-year-old son Mathieu is now the newest recruit on the unit, and is visibly eager to serve just like his father.
