31 ( London , Windsor , Hamilton ) Service Battalion 31 Service Battalion , formerly 23 ( Hamilton ) Service Battalion , is a Combat Service Support unit of The Canadian Army Reserve . It is currently commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Poole . The current Honorary Lieutenant Colonel is Kevin D Reed . The Hamilton Service Battalion was formed on 1 January 1965 . The new battalion was made up of many units including 133 Company , Royal Canadian Service Corps , 16 Medical Company and 4 Ordnance Company . The unit became part of the Hamilton Militia District . In 1975 all service battalions were numbered and the Hamilton Service Battalion became 23 ( Hamilton ) Service Battalion . In 1976 the Medial Company became an independent unit known as 23 Medical Company , Canadian Forces Medical Services . With the closing of the Militia Districts and the formation of the Brigade system , 23 Service Battalion became part of 31 Brigade Group headquartered in London , Ontario . On 3 November 2001 , 23 Service Battalion was granted Freedom of the City of Hamilton by Mayor Bob Wade . Over the years members of the battalion have served with NATO on Reforger Exercises in West Germany and in Norway , and with distinction on peacekeeping missions with the United Nations , NATO and multi - national forces , in Egypt , Cyprus , Golan Heights , Namibia , Cambodia , Somalia , Bosnia , Kosovo , Rwanda and Afghanistan . Unit Members have also served on domestic operations during the Olympic Games in Canada , the blizzard of 1977 in the Niagara region , the Manitoba floods of 1997 and the ice storms of 1998 in eastern Ontario . Unit Flag and Crest . 23 Service Battalion crest received royal consent when Her Majesty the Queen placed her handwritten approval to the design in May 1982 . All Service Battalions in Canada share a common design which consists of a red oval ring with the wording SERVICE BATTALION BATAILLON DES SERVICES and the unit number on the left and right sides . The oval is topped by Her Majesty ’ s Crown and surrounded by ten gold maple leafs . Below a gold scroll in which the units motto is placed . The centre is unique to each unit . The description a vessel pouring into a golden horseshoe that contains 3 blue and 3 white wavy bars . The significance of the items in the crest allude to the following . The pouring vessel represents the steel industry which Hamilton is noted for . The golden horseshoe is the geographic region that Hamilton is in the centre of and the wavy blue and white bars refer to Hamilton ’ s land locked harbour . 23 Service Battalion flag is symbolic of our heritage it is rectangular in shape consisting of a blue , yellow and red bands placed horizontally in side the flag with the numerals 23 in white superimposed and centred in the middle . The top blue band a reminder of our Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer heritage . The middle yellow band was the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps colour . The lower red band symbolizes our Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps past . Members of 23 Service Battalion wear the cap badge of the branch that their trade falls in . Most either wear the Logistics or the Electrical Mechanical Engineer badge . The Logistics badge has two interlocking chain links centred on it this symbolizes strength in the support provided to the Canadian Forces by the Logistics Branch , Surrounding the interlocking chain links is written SERVITIUM NULLI SECUNDUS Latin for ' service second to none ' . The Electrical Mechanical Engineer badge is a variant of the former Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer badge . This badge consists of white horse on a lighting flash with a crown on top a blue scroll below the crown with EME GEM written on it . A globe attached by a chain with the western hemisphere showing . The Electrical Mechanical Engineer motto is ARTE ET MARTE Latin for ' by skill and by fighting ' . The Early Years . The present unit stood up on January 1 , 1965 when the report of the Guthrie Commission on Militia Organization resulted in its formation . This was achieved by joining 133 Company Royal Canadian Service Corps . , 16 Medical Company , 4 Ordnance Company , 5 Technical Regiment Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer an platoon of Military Police and members of the Canadian Women Army Corps . Under a single command the Unit was called Hamilton Service Battalion which became part of the Hamilton Militia District . The Battalion paraded at the Burlington Street Armoury . With the orders to closed out the armoury the unit marched to its present location at Canadian Forces Reserve Barracks Hamilton in April 1968 . Where it is collocated with Her Majesty Canadian Ship Star and 23 Field Ambulance . Hamilton Service Battalion remained unchanged until 1974 when transformation reached the militia , the Service Support Corps . were disbanded and replaced with the branches we have in place today . Soldiers were issued with the distinctive environmental uniform and combats replacing the World War Two battle dress and Korean vintage bush dress , the rank structure also changed at this time . Pay at this time was $ 12 . 00 per day and was paid twice yearly there were no additional benefits provided . The next major change occurred in 1975 when all Service Battalions were numbered and we became 23 ( Hamilton ) Service Battalion . The numbering system is based on geography . All Ontario Service Battalions with the exception of Thunder Bay are affiliated with 2 Service Battalion a regular force unit based in Petawawa Ontario . Thus we became 23 , Toronto 25 , Ottawa 26 , and so on . For some unknown reason there is no 24 Battalion , could this have any thing to do with the number of bottles in a case of beer ? Our next event occurred in 1976 when the Medial Company became an independent unit known as 23 Medical Company Canadian Forces Medical Services . This depleted our ranks somewhat due to not only losing our Medical Officers , Medical Assistants we also lost Clerks , Drivers and Supply Technicians . We over came and both units still exist 30 years later . Recent History . With the closing of the Militia Districts and the formation of the Brigade system , 23 Service Battalion became part of 31 Brigade Group headquartered in London Ontario . 31 Brigade encompasses most of south western Ontario . We share the responsibility of providing Combat Service Support to 31 Brigade with 21 Windsor and 22 London Service Battalions . The Military Police became a Brigade asset and were transferred to Headquarters in London . On November 3 , 2001 23 Service Battalion was granted freedom of the city of Hamilton by his Worship Mayor Bob Wade . One of the most prized honours of a unit is the conferring upon the privilege and distinction for the freedom of the city . The honour for all time of marching through the city with drums beating , colours flying and bayonets fixed . The granting of freedom of the city dates to the times of walled and gated cities in Europe . As well as providing combat service support to 31 Brigade we are also tasked to train combat ready soldiers to augment the regular forces on operations both at home and abroad . During the cold war battalion members serviced with NATO on Reforger Exercises in West Germany and in Norway . 23 Service Battalion members served with distinction on Peacekeeping Missions with the United Nations , NATO and Multi National Forces , in Egypt , Cyprus , Golan Heights , Namibia , Cambodia , Somalia , Bosnia , Kosovo , Rwanda and Afghanistan . 23 Service Battalion is affiliated with 158 Royal Anglian Regiment British Army we have a ten year tradition of exchanges where 158 members experience winter warfare training in Meaford Ontario and 23 Service Battalion members attend a fall exercise in England . Many lasting friendships have happened since this began . Unit Members have also served on domestic operations during the Olympic Games in Montreal Quebec and in Kingston Ontario . The Blizzard of 1977 in Niagara region , the Manitoba floods of 1997 and the ice storms of 1998 in eastern Ontario . We also maintain a footprint in the community by participating in parades , fairs and charitable events such as Jimmy Lomax operation Santa Claus , food drives , Terry Fox run , special Olympics and our 2005 veterans watch campaign for St . Peters Hospital . Today ’ s soldier have the best clothing , boots and load bearing equipment available enabling them to operate in any climate zone . Pay is comparable to civilian jobs and paid bi - weekly , benefits include retirement gratuity , dental coverage , education reimbursement and a pension plan is soon to be implemented . 23 Service Battalion was last commanded by Lieutenant Colonel J . Newton CD and the Regimental Sergeant Major is Chief Warrant Officer R . M . Hewins CD before being tactically grouped with 21 ( Windsor ) and 22 ( London ) Service Battalions under the command of LCol R . Hewins CD and the Regimental Sergeant Major CWO Gaudet CD in preparation for the amalgamation of the three service battalions into a single unit — 31 Service Battalion — as Hamilton , London , and Windsor Support Companies . Unit Website ( Archive of the now non - existent website )