December 21, 2003

 
Cartoon :   “A Century of Flight”

 
With reference to the cartoon captioned “A Century of Flight” with a downed Sea Hawk helicopter in the Saturday edition (dated December 20, 2003) of the Daily Observer (Pembroke), I wonder who kept the helicopters afloat all these years?   This begs our eternal gratitude and a tribute to the Canadian Military”™s Mechanics as well as Engineers Corps for innovation and creativity, which kept these machines flying safely for  a long time in the defense of Canada

 
The caption “A Century of Flight” jogs our memory to an important milestone in the Canadian Military establishment. This year is the 100th anniversary   (a Century) of the existence of Canadian Military Engineers Corp, which came into formal existence in 1903.

 
As I understand, the mission of the Canadian Military Engineers is to contribute to the survival, mobility, and combat effectiveness of the Canadian Forces.

 
During my recent conversation with my friend, Peter E. Bellefontaine of Petawawa, he was all praise for the Military Engineers. Peter, who is now retired, had served earlier with the Canadian Military as a mechanic. To quote him he said that   “ Without the Canadian Military Engineers we would not have had proper access roads, accommodations and water supplies in a short time when on peacekeeping assignment in Egypt during 1961/1962”.

 
Currently, the Canadian Military Engineers are providing critical support to the Canadian peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan and other countries in the world.

 
We as Canadians should be proud of their contribution to the nation at home and for peacekeeping abroad.

 
As a Professional Engineer and a Canadian I offer my congratulations to the Military Engineers in their celebration of 100 years of dedicated service.

 
Pravin Shah     P. Eng.