The military uses a variety of highly technical sighting systems. "Whether it be an armored fighting vehicle or an artillery piece that has a straight panoramic sight, or uses night vision equipment, we want to make sure that whatever piece of equipment soldiers are using, they're shooting where they're aiming," Joe says.

Proper calibration is crucial, of course - especially when it comes to tanks and artillery pieces that fire shells over great distances. Joe notes, "If you're firing a round 18 kilometres, a couple of millimetres difference starting out makes a big difference in where the rounds land."

Joe works at the Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at CFB Borden near Barrie, Ontario, where he supervises a group of four instructors and does a bit of teaching too.

Technicians at the school quickly move from the basics to complex, sophisticated equipment. Once they have mastered the theory of the trade, they are ready to start trouble shooting and repairing a wide variety of systems including laser, gunnery control, and missile guidance.

They have to learn to be flexible too. Fire control systems technicians can wind up doing all kinds of jobs - everything from fixing generators and sighting devices to setting up transportable power grids in the field. "In our trade, anything that is army and is electrical usually winds up in our lap," Joe says.

A perfectionist at heart, Joe is sometimes frustrated by the compromises that tight deadlines impose: "The toughest thing to swallow is when you're given a deadline and, due to operational requirements and financial restrictions, you know you don't have time to do the job the best it can possibly be done."