Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Territorial Army . It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level . History . The unit was founded by William McMurdo as the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps in 1865 to ensure " the combined action among all the railways when the country is in danger " and tasked particularly with " the preparation , during peace , of schemes for drawing troops from given distant parts and for concentrating them within given areas in the shortest possible time " . The original establishment was 21 commissioned officer s made up mainly of civil engineers alongside a few railway company managers . The number of officers was expanded to 110 in 1908 before being subsequently reduced to the current strength of 60 officers . The unit was always a volunteer unit , with members retaining their civilian jobs . Until its reorganisation in 1943 its members were entitled to wear a uniform similar to that of the Royal Engineers In recent times recruitment has diversified from road , rail and port specialists to cover almost all aspects of engineering . It also began to advise the Royal Corps of Transport ( in addition to the Royal Engineers ) and was renamed the Engineer and Transport Staff Corps in 1984 to reflect this . Following the creation of the Royal Logistic Corps in 1993 the unit was renamed again to the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps . Current work . The unit is organisationally part of HQ Engineer in Chief ( Army ) , is constituted under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and administered by the Ministry of Defence . Members hold their commissions as officers in the Royal Engineers ( Volunteers ) , have no official military duties and are unpaid . The establishment strength of 60 officers consists of 10 Colonels , 20 Lieutenant Colonels and 30 Majors . Membership is by invitation only and promotion generally follows seniority with some discretion to allow for individual officers ' statuses in their profession and their level of participation in the corps . Officers who cease to be engaged in a relevant profession must offer to resign their commissions but may retain their appointment on the Commanding Officer ' s recommendation and with the approval of the Army Board of the Defence Council . All officers of the corps are briefed to expect calls at any time to provide impartial , free and confidential advice to the British Armed Forces . Officers are regularly invited to relevant army conferences and equipment demonstrations to keep them up to date with current capabilities . The corps is administered by a council of senior corps officers , chaired by the Commanding Officer ( a Colonel ) and assisted by the Acting Adjutant , ( normally a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel ) who also acts as the council ' s secretary . The Acting Adjutant is always a retired army officer currently working in a relevant profession who acts as a point of contact for advice . The current officers are mainly chief executive s , director s and senior managers of 60 different engineering , transport and logistics organisations , which together employ 100 , 000 people . Operations . The corps has advised British forces in the following operations , amongst others : In addition to peacetime roles in infrastructure , training , planning and logistics . Members . Notable members ( listed by highest known rank ) have included :