Engineering Officer Duties!

[canada1986]

Hi,

What secondary duties (besides diving team  and boarding team) can Mar Eng Officers do? My recruiter focused a lot on my Arabic tongue and understanding of foreign (Arab/Muslim) culture. So I'm wondering, are there secondary duties like "intelligence operator" or do they use me only for translation purposes?

I know from video description about boarding and diving teams, but are there other duties to which I may choose/be assigned and are they optional or do our superiors assign us whichever they deem suitable?

 

[George Wallace]

So I'm wondering, are there secondary duties like "intelligence operator"

Not very likely.  You would not be trained to do this.  You will not get to be Commander Bond.

or do they use me only for translation purposes?

This is the most likely case.

 

[Edward Campbell]

It's been a long, long time since I had anything to do with MARE officers so please take this for what (very little) it's worth, but most junior MARE officers are too busy with their training - which might, charitably, be described as BRUTAL - to take on much of anything else.

I remonstrated, a few times, with of my former colleagues (Capts (N) (MARE)) about the intensity of training and methods used to develop junior MARE officers;  they were unconcerned; they were convinced that the scope of duties and responsibilities of LCdrs (MARE) are such that anything less than the (then) current intensity and anything easier than the (then) current methods would be bad for the ships and the Navy. My colleagues cared much, much for the ships and Navy than they ever did for any human beings. In their views there are (were) only two kinds of MARE officers: those who passed, despite the acknowledged brutality of the training, and those who reclassified to e.g. CELE.

Maybe things have changed but I would be surprised if any junior naval officer has much time to go looking for additional duties.

 

[canada1986]

@ Campbell, WOW, now I'm scared!

 

[Edward Campbell]

Don't be scared; just be prepared to work bloody hard ... which is, by the way, what aspiring pilots, infantry officers, MARS officers and engineering and logistics officers have to do, too. My recollection is that MARE officers just work a wee bit harder than many of the others while they earn their stripes. On the plus side: once you get past LCdr in MARE promotions and jobs were pretty good - I cannot recall many Cdrs or Capts (N) (MARE) who were very unhappy with their lot in life.

 

[FSTO]

Unlike the USN where all line officers do their time on the plates in the engineering spaces, the bridge and logistics, Canada has specialist officers where you only work (and work damn hard at being good) in your area of expertise. Granted only MARS get sea command but the bin rats and grimies have a pretty good life.

 

[Pusser]

Intelligence Operator is not a secondary duty.  It's a full time job and there is actually a separate CF Branch, with both officers and NCMS dedicated to the field.  Naval Technical Officers (i.e. engineers of both the MS and CS types), MARS officers and Sea Logistics officers all have secondary duties related to the operation of a ship, but intelligence is not one of them (although some MARS officers will touch on it).

 

[Chang]

@Campbell, when you say MARE are you referring to both MS ENG and NCS ENG?

 

[Edward Campbell]

@Campbell, when you say MARE are you referring to both MS ENG and NCS ENG?

I'm no longer certain. If I recall, correctly, and I may well not, there were four sub-sets of MARE when I retired. The MARE officers who came to me were (all?) from the C4 engineering community or discipline or whatever - Computer and/or Electrical Engineers, if memory serves.

 

[KrazyHamburglar]

@Campbell, when you say MARE are you referring to both MS ENG and NCS ENG?

I assume he is... there was a name change for some reason about 5 years ago from MARE to NTO (Naval technical officer) containing both CSE and MSE branches. The training is very brutal indeed... I had to work way more, and I mean, a LOT MORE, during my phase training than I ever did at university.

For secondary duties like diver or boarding party, you pretty much have to convince your supervisor to let you go on the training. You have to remember that, as an engineer you pass, during your whole career, about 4 years posted on a ship, with posting of 1 year on board. During that year, a little less sometime, you have to complete your training package in addition to any other random secondary duties the XO might throw your way. So going on a course for a month or two will probably make it worst down the road.

I am starting the boarding party course tomorrow so I will see how it goes.