In November 2004 CME Branch Council approved the development of a research program that will lead to the publication of Volume IV of the Branch history in 2012. The research program, operating under the sponsorship of the Branch Advisor, is being coordinated by a committee chaired by BGen D.W. Edgecombe (Retd) with BGen D.H. Smith (Retd), Col E.A. Everest (Retd), LCol  K.J. Holmes (Retd) and Mr. George Moennich as members and Dr. Bill Rawling, DHH staff, as advisory historian.

It is planned that Volume IV will take a more universal approach to the Branch history rather than focus on the Branch's component parts. That is to say it will deal with policy and Branch development issues, major programs and projects such as the Northern Airfields and the North Warning System and total Engineer support to various operations or theatres rather than dwell on the regiments’, 1 CEU/1ESU, CFSME, MCE, CE, etc., roles. This should work well given that the Mappers are working their history and the Fire Fighters have just published theirs. These works will, of course, be alluded to in Vol IV but there is no merit in duplicating their efforts. The current proposal is for the Branch to engage a professional military historian to write the book.

The research program will cover the period from the end of Volume III to April 30, 2004 and will primarily be aimed at gathering information directly from personnel involved in the key events of the period. This material will be augmented by archival research, as required, to provide policy background, ensure accuracy, and provide a more complete picture of the events covered. The first stage of this program involved contacting personnel who occupied key positions during the period to get their opinions on the significant events affecting the Branch during their tenure. The second stage - that begins with this communication - is to gather input from members of the Branch-at-large. Attached at Annex A is a list (that is not to be taken as all-inclusive) of operations and other areas of interest to the committee at this time.

Members of the Branch are invited to send their electronic input to the following members of the committee:

• Policy, Operations, Army notes – BGen D.W. Edgecombe (Retd)
• Reserve Force notes – BGen D.H. Smith (Retd)
• Air Force, Navy and 1 CEU/1ESU notes – Col E.A. Everest (Retd)
• Environmental Policy and Program Development in CF/DND including environmental cleanup  project notes – LCol A.T. Downs (Retd)
• Defence Construction Canada notes – Mr. George Moennic

Electronic submissions should be in MS Word and must include the position occupied by the author during the event(s) described. If you prefer to make written submissions or have documents you might want to share with the research committee they should be sent to:

CME History Volume IV – Topics List

The above list is far from all-encompassing and contributors should feel free to make submissions on any topic they consider may be of interest. Should Branch members have something that they believe may be of interest but wish confirmation before preparing a submission, they should feel free to discuss it with the appropriate committee member in advance.