2 Combat Engineer Regiment

2 Combat Engineer Regiment is a regiment of the Canadian Military Engineers. It is located at Garrison Petawawa, and is part of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. 2 CER was redesignated from 1 Field Engineer Squadron in 1977.

Not to be confused with 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment (Australia).

2 Combat Engineer Regiment 2^e Régiment du Génie
Active	1977–present
Country	Canada
Branch	Canadian Military Engineers
Type	Combat engineers
Size	Four squadrons
Part of	2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group
Garrison/HQ	Garrison Petawawa
Nickname(s)	2 CER
Motto(s)	Ubique "Everywhere"
Commanders
Commanding Officer	Lieutenant-Colonel Chantal Tetreault[1]
RSM	CWO Stacy Merriam
Abbreviation	2 CER

It currently consists of 23 Field Squadron, 24 Field Squadron, 25 Support Squadron, 26 CIED Squadron and 28 Administration Squadron.

Unit phrases - "Sea of Blue"

Unit history

In 1903, following the Boer War, the Royal Canadian Engineers were founded as the basis for the permanent military engineers and the Canadian Engineer Corps was created as a militia unit.

One of the first tasks given to the Canadian engineers after the declaration of World War I was the construction of the Valcartier training site in Quebec. At its peak, 30,000 men were stationed there before the 1st Canadian Division was deployed.

When the 1st Canadian Division arrived in Belgium, they were accompanied by the Canadian Engineer Corps. These troops were responsible for the construction of defences, sanitation systems, water supplies, bridging, and assisting with trench raids.

The engineers, known as Sappers, were also tasked with digging tunnels underneath enemy trenches and planting explosives to destroy the trenches. These tunnels were strategic in winning the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Canadian engineers spent the early phases of World War II building camps and bases, both in Canada and abroad. Eventually, they received assault training and participated in field exercises so as to join infantry divisions as they worked through occupied Europe. The majority of their work consisted of constructing bailey bridges, clearing mines and booby traps and building communication networks and field defences in Northwestern Europe and throughout Italy.

After the Canadian Forces unified in 1968, the Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Canadian Navy Civil Engineers and the Royal Canadian Air Force Construction Division were amalgamated. The new branch went under the name Royal Canadian Engineers until 1973 when they were renamed the Canadian Military Engineers.

In 2017, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment celebrated its 40th anniversary; and at the same time, the 20th anniversary of the Neder Rijn Engineer Park. A reunion event was held 7–9 July 2017, which was attended by over 500 members of the CME family.

2 CER is part of this history of Canadian military engineers. It provides combat engineering support to 2 CMBG.[2]

References

1. 2 Combat Engineer Regiment web page as of January 8, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
2. "2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER)". army.forces.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2010-05-13.

Order of precedence

Preceded by 1 Combat Engineer Regiment

2 Combat Engineer Regiment

Succeeded by 4 Engineer Support Regiment

See also

• Military history of Canada
• History of the Canadian Army