Army Communication & Information Systems Specialists (Sig Op, Lineman and LCIS Amalgamation)

[Sig_Des]

You guys should get rid of Sig Op outright. Is that even a skill when matched up against your other tasks/expectations?

Talking on a radio and basic trouble shooting is a skill that any soldier can learn, some learn it very quick... others can be taught numerous times and they never get it.

Sig Op should be an IBTS for all, and Sigs (actual) should only do it as a secondary task, when their bored, or absolutely needed.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Absolutely! I also propose that we no longer answer the call for help with anything that has a power cable attached to it. Yup. In fact, take all the Sigs out of the line Coys. We'll centralize and only troubleshoot over the phone.

 

[MOOXE]

You guys should get rid of Sig Op outright. Is that even a skill when matched up against your other tasks/expectations?

Talking on a radio and basic trouble shooting is a skill that any soldier can learn, some learn it very quick... others can be taught numerous times and they never get it.

Sig Op should be an IBTS for all, and Sigs (actual) should only do it as a secondary task, when their bored, or absolutely needed.

B-GL-383-003/FP-001, Individual Battle Task Standards for Land Operations
Annex B Appendix 4. EMPLOY COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER, AND
INFORMATION REQUIREMENT (CIS) SYSTEMS.

Lets be honest though. Most army jobs ANYONE can do. It goes without saying. We barely need a high school education to be ACISS, and to be a gunner you don't have to be literate!

 

[GnyHwy]

You guys are brutal. How is that flippant? If anything, it was a compliment of the difficult expectations​ you guys are facing. You should be taking advice from Arty guys, we're the ones that truly appreciate your work.

In today's climate, those simpler tasks need to be absorbed by all soldiers, to enable you guys to do the more complex tasks,  which is my point.

How is that for literate? I can do math too!

You guys are probably just bitter cause we're better on the radio.  :nana:

 

[GnyHwy]

I don't tell you how to be a Gunner, so you should probably stop assuming you know anything other than gunline comms.

I haven't been on the gunline in years, and those are the least of my worries. Much bigger fish to fry than that.

Editted to remove sarcasm and add: For the record, I would appreciate Sigs input on Gunnery, specifically networking at all levels and automated data processing.

 

[GnyHwy]

B-GL-383-003/FP-001, Individual Battle Task Standards for Land Operations
Annex B Appendix 4. EMPLOY COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER, AND
INFORMATION REQUIREMENT (CIS) SYSTEMS.

Lets be honest though. Most army jobs ANYONE can do. It goes without saying. We barely need a high school education to be ACISS, and to be a gunner you don't have to be literate!

And how seriously is that taken across the Army? If it was taken as seriously as it should be, it makes my recommendation of relieving you guys of that task even more relevant.

 

[MOOXE]

Well thread is getting a bit hijacked here. I am bored so I'll continue with it.

I left 2RCHA (2011) after five years of being a signaller there. Gunners did their own radio operating generally. The SigOp job I did there was man RRBs, troubleshoot radios and ensure the IFCCS laptops/printers (before IST was around) stayed in good order as well as your regular account/ISSO/workstation stuff. They got the mission done, but I seen room for improvement in every arty CP I was in. So I see somewhat where you're coming from. Prior to 2 RCHA I was at 1 PPCLI. We did their C/S 0, 0A, 8 and the RRBs. Plus we had one signaller in each coy manning permitting.

You can just be a radop with earphones on copying down traffic, doing hourly radio checks and saying what your 9er wants said. When you dive deeper into it you start understanding frequencies, terrain, engineering, providing advice, becoming a reliable troubleshooter and being proactive. That's where SigOps come in. For most combat arms trades it will never be more than a secondary duty, or a short lived primary duty while you're in a CP. These soldiers will without a doubt never become as proficient or as knowledgeable as we are. This goes with any trade and secondary duty.

 

[GnyHwy]

They got the mission done, but I seen room for improvement in every arty CP I was in.

Ack, the difference between a strong CP and a weak one is night and day, to the point that a weak one is dangerous.

I didn't mean to hyjack the thread or diminish any of the Sig functions, eventhough I see how it could have been taken that way. Quite the contrary, I got a ton of respect for you guys, and realize I can't do my job without good comms.

I was just looking at it from a tasks perspective, given you're not likely getting more people, current equipment is in a constant state of flux, new equipment is in bound, and there are plenty of initiatives coming down the road that will make it more complex.

At some point, something's gotta give, and deciding which tasks could and probably should be delegated is the low hanging fruit.

We also fight with the streaming/specializing. It is not practical to generalize at the lower to mid levels, but it takes good leadership and communication at the higher levels to keep it from coming apart at the seams.

I'll leave you's too it. 

 

[c_canuk]

Based on what I've seen about the proposed ways forward, ACISS Core, formally known as operators, will be the "Face" of Sigs.

They will be the ones that deal with the clients and provide solutions. They would run the service desks and be the primary POC for anyone wanting sig support. At that point it might be seen to make sense to have basic rad op functions be left with the units as their focus will be on supporting those CPs, as well as all other Sig related products.

Personally I think that would be a big mistake. A skilled operator will out perform any other trade treating it as a secondary duty. As much as Arty and Armd like to think they are better at it than us because their VP is faster, what they deal with is only a tip of the iceberg that a skilled operator brings to the field.

Last time I was in the field, the Arty and Inf vehicles were fine on the nets. They got what they needed and were good at it. But it was me and my operators that established the RRB nets, moving the nodes dynamically to follow the flow of the exercise, mapping the shots across terrain and keeping the CP on the right frequency that made it seamless to them. Without us it would have been a shit show comms wise. You start adding tracking and other advanced features, data etc, your secondary duty signaller will be lost.

I can pull on a lanyard, load a shell and hitch a trailer. Doesn't make me a gunner.

 

[Zarack21]

I heard that they were going to make a decision on the ACISS trade as to what structure it will be yesterday.  Has anyone got anything ?

 

[7thghoul]

Hey Blokes,

I've read back through several pages of this thread and, though I understand very little of your jargon, I can see that the ACISS trade is experiencing a bit of turbulence in general as things are rapidly changing regarding the role of skilled ACISS operators. Though I have a very shallow understanding of what it is you guys really do (aside from the info on forces.ca) I just wanted to know what advice or thoughts you might have for someone currently applying to the Canadian Forces with ACISS as 1st pick for a trade.

I suppose I'd like a first-hand perspective on what it is I am getting myself into. Regardless, I am super excited to join the forces (hopefully!) and am still going to keep ACISS as my first choice because that's just how I roll!

Cheers!

 

[mariomike]

I've read back through several pages of this thread and, though I understand very little of your jargon,

This may help,

Acronyms & Abbreviations of The CAF 
http://navy.ca/forums/threads/17309.0.html
5 pages.

Canadian Military Slang 
http://army.ca/forums/threads/930.0
14 pages.

Milnet.ca wiki
Canadian Military Acronyms
https://army.ca/wiki/index.php/Canadian_Military_Acronyms

 

[PuckChaser]

I've read back through several pages of this thread and, though I understand very little of your jargon, I can see that the ACISS trade is experiencing a bit of turbulence in general as things are rapidly changing regarding the role of skilled ACISS operators. Though I have a very shallow understanding of what it is you guys really do (aside from the info on forces.ca) I just wanted to know what advice or thoughts you might have for someone currently applying to the Canadian Forces with ACISS as 1st pick for a trade.

ACISS in whatever form it will take will not change from its core mission: provide communications from the commander down to the warfighter on the ground. You'll slowly be exposed to a lot of different systems, and need to know a little bit of everything because in the field, all someone sees is a "Signaller" and not a sub occupation. A lot of the time you'll end up outside your comfort zone, troubleshooting anything that's electronic (like the morale tent's XBox). Be comfortable taking the brunt of criticism when something doesn't work; as much as tactical/strategic communications is a science, its a complicated science and a lot of our equipment is old/beaten up and prone to failure. People will know your name when something's broken, but you'll get asked who you are when everything is working properly.

Despite the mess that ACISS has become, I still love my job, and if you can live in a job that will go from dead-boredom to high-stress in a heartbeat when something critical is broken, you'll love it too.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

That last line...you're going to end up in the next recruiting video now for sure!!

 

[PuckChaser]

That last line...you're going to end up in the next recruiting video now for sure!!

There'd be too many F-bombs and non-Op HONOUR approved humour. I'm safe.  ;D

 

[7thghoul]

Thanks so much puck. Hope to see you around one day hopefully!

 

[Eye In The Sky]

There'd be too many F-bombs and non-Op HONOUR approved humour. I'm safe.  ;D

That's what beeps are for 

 

[211RadOp]

I heard that they were going to make a decision on the ACISS trade as to what structure it will be yesterday.  Has anyone got anything ?

The decision brief was delivered to Dir RCCS by LCol Cote on 6 Jul 17.  Dir RCCS will deliver it to CCA at some point, not sure when.

 

[PuckChaser]

The decision brief was delivered to Dir RCCS by LCol Cote on 6 Jul 17.  Dir RCCS will deliver it to CCA at some point, not sure when.

Is the recommended COA still 4 distinct trades? I remember a few months ago that was the one that scored the highest in the working group, right next to combining CST/IST again (basically back to SigOp, Line, Tech).

 

[MOOXE]

Is the recommended COA still 4 distinct trades? I remember a few months ago that was the one that scored the highest in the working group, right next to combining CST/IST again (basically back to SigOp, Line, Tech).

This is a conspiracy concocted at the highest levels to keep baiting ISTs with spec pay.

 

[PuckChaser]

This is a conspiracy concocted at the highest levels to keep baiting ISTs with spec pay.

The only people baiting ISTs with spec pay is ISTs. If you deserve it, you'll get it. Technicians who lost it because of this gongshow are the only people with a right to complain, if you bought the sales pitch that everyone was getting Spec 1 and CISTMs were going to get Spec 2, I really don't have much sympathy because that was like expecting a unicorn to show up and hand you a cheque.