Change of Appointment of the Branch Chief Warrant Officer
How the Branch CWO position was established
The Branch CWO position was created on 4 June 1987 when Brigadier General Alleslev, former Communication and Electronic Branch Advisor signed a letter. This letter defined the terms of reference of the position, thus establishing the position of a full time Branch CWO as it stands today. The Branch CWO reports directly to the Branch Advisor, representing all Communication and Electronic Branch Non Commissioned Members. CWO Carlson was the first CWO of the Branch and held this position from 1986 to 1989. The appointment change between CWO Voisine and CWO Fequet will mark the appointment of the ninth CWO to hold this prestigious position representing 10% of the Non Commissioned Members of the Canadian Forces.
What is the significance of the caduceus use as the symbol for the Branch CWO Change of Appointment
On our C&E Branch badge there is representation of a Greek God known as Mercury and nicknamed “Jimmy” by soldiers of the Royal Engineer Signal Service in the early 1880s in England. Mercury carries a cane in his left hand, which is referred to a caduceus. The caduceus consists of three elements: a rod, a pair of wings and two intertwined serpents. The rod is emblematic of power and authority, the pair of wings is diligence and the two intertwined serpents represent wisdom. For the Romans, the caduceus served as a symbol of moral equilibrium and good conduct, which makes the caduceus extremely appropriate to use to acknowledge the change of Branch CWOs as well as remember the past ones. The caduceus used for the Change of Appointment was hand carved by Mike Meiler and donated to the Branch by the Communications and Electronics Museum. It bears the name of previous Branch CWOs and will be displayed at the C&E Museum, in the C&E Branch display area, currently being constructed in preparation for the Branch Reunion, scheduled for August 2008.
Passage of the caduceus from CWO Voisine to Mgen Hines to CWO
Fequet
