Insights from Master Corporal Tom Trainor: Reflecting on Operation UNIFIER with 2 Combat Engineer Regiment
March 28, 2024 - Defence Stories
Author: Captain Breanne Brezinski, Public Affairs Officer, Joint Task Force-Ukraine
“Be flexible – change happens and we can’t do anything about it. We just have to adapt,” said Master Corporal (MCpl) Tom Trainor, a Signal Operator from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa, Ontario.
Caption
Master Corporal Tom Trainor, a Signal Operator from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, poses for a picture during Operation UNIFIER Rotation 16 as part of Joint Task Force – Engineer Training Element in Poland. Credit: MCpl Nicolas Alonso, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces Photo
MCpl Trainor recently completed a six-month deployment at Operation UNIFIER’s Engineer Training Element (ETE) in Poland. MCpl Trainor was deployed as their main Signaller, however, his role evolved throughout the mission to include being ETE’s Quartermaster and also part of the Task Force’s Information Management team.
Throughout the deployment MCpl Trainor saw ETE’s training evolve to continue to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
“We have students that are very new to the military and we have some students that are not so new. They have been to the frontlines and they bring that experience back with them.”
The role of the ETE is to instruct AFU soldiers on basic and advanced combat engineering skills, including demolition and demining. However, there are also a lot of support trades, such as Signal Operators, that work to enable the training.
Signal Operators provide reliable wired and wireless communications and information systems in field and garrison environments. They work with leading edge technology that is constantly innovating to bring in new pieces of equipment.
For MCpl Trainor the variety of the Signals trade and the learning opportunities are what keeps it interesting.
“I like it because it gives me a creative outlet – there is always more than one way to do something,” explained MCpl Trainor. “By getting input from other Signal Operators, I can learn a different way to do something I hadn’t thought of before. I can also pass my knowledge to them as well. Despite having the same training and experience we all tend to do things a bit differently.”
When asked what advice he would give to people aspiring to join the Canadian Armed Forces, he said that taking care of your teammates first.
“There is no piece of equipment that is more important than the people around you.”