Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers | |
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Active | 15 May 1944 – present |
Country | Canada |
Role | RCEME provides unique leadership, innovation and technical expertise, from conception to divestment in support of land equipment across the full spectrum of CAF operations. |
Garrison/HQ | Home station - RCEME School situated at CFB Borden |
Nickname(s) | Bluebell |
Motto(s) | Arte et marte Latin "By skill and by fighting" |
Colors | Blue Yellow Red Light blue |
March | "REME Corps March Past" (Both "Lillibulero" and "Auprès de ma blonde" should be played) Slow march: "The Craftsman" |
Mascot(s) | Sadie |
The Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) (French: Corps du génie électrique et mécanique royal canadien) is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces (CF) that provides army engineering maintenance support. From the 1980s to 2013 it was called the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch.
The Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers came into being officially on 22 Feb 1944, with the fusion of various elements from the Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps and Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, following the model of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).
With the increase of mechanized equipment during World War II, the need to have one corps dedicated to service and maintenance thereof was becoming increasingly apparent. Trucks had become the de facto means of transportation and logistic support, armoured vehicles had replaced cavalry, weapons were becoming more complicated, as well as the advent of radios and radar, it was apparent that the previous model of having a different corps for each job was inadequate for a modern, mechanized army.
The majority of RCEME (/ˈriːmiː/ REE-mee, even though there is a "C" in it, just as "REME" is pronounced)The original RCEME structure incorporated 25 different trades and sub-trades, employing specialists for each particular job in order to train and deploy them in time to meet the war's demand. While it was somewhat bulky, it was nonetheless a centralized structure for maintaining the Army's everyday equipment which was more efficient than the previous system of having each corps perform its own equipment maintenance, and also allowed for a greater degree of specialization within trades.