Canadian soldiers return to Kandahar

[MJP]

First - you've got to understand that being a soldier is not a "job", it is not a "career", it is a way of life and a mindset.  In my opinion, this holds true for all "emergency response/service" jobs, Police Officer, Fire Fighter, EMTs, medical professionals, etcetera.  This does not mean that all these types of service are "equal" - another discussion we won't get into here - but that the motivation for serving in them, and the culture surrounding them are, basically, similar.

Most soldiers join and/or stay in because they strongly believe in what they are doing - they're doing their part to preserve and protect our way of life, amongst MANY other motivations, all of which are (IMHO) basically grounded in service to and for their country and fellow citizens.

This is not to deny that some young recruits have visions of "Rambo" and personal glory dancing in their heads - these types either mature after being in for a while, or get out after discovering what's REALLY going on.

Now - given all that, an oft used analogy (imperfect as it is) is that of a sports team which does not belong to a league.  The team trains and trains and trains, but never gets to "play" another team.  Many members of the team leave out of boredom, those remaining continue honing their skills, just itching for a chance to play another team.  When a rare chance to use their skills as a team DOES occur, you can bet they're all itchin' for it - it is, after all, what they've been training for.

As I said - others will jump in with their own opinions - soldiers are no more homogeneous a group than any other collection of human beings - but watch how often the concept of "service" comes up.

Well said CC

+1

 

[Blackhorse7]

Looks like the RCMP are going to Kandahar as well.  The tour announcements just came out.  My name is going to be going in, tours anticipated to start in fall.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

would the RCMP get the same tax exempt break?

 

[Korus]

d)YOU actually WANT to go to Afganistan?!?!?!?

Yup. Volunteered for it when my Pl Cmd phoned me during a night lab at the UofA in early April, two days after my last exam I started workup training. In a few weeks my boots will be on the ground in Kandahar.
It was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up, and it came at the perfect time.

 

[Blackhorse7]

Yup, RCMP get the same tax break.

 

[KevinB]

CC - excellent.

Blackhorse 7 - good luck.

~RoKo~ stay safe man

 

[paracowboy]

Because he/she is a University student, who to his/her credit is at least asking and not just condemning us like most students without ever hearing the answers to that question.

Bruce, I know he's a student. What surprises me is that he could read 9 pages of troops talking about wanting to go over, and then express shock at Kev's post. Those previous 9 pages highlight what we are all about.

 

[couchcommander]

Yes Yes, Afghanistan,  

Paracowboy,

It was not shock at KevinB's post in particular, but surprise in finding, as a whole, this attitude (KevinB's) over 9 pages of posts. It's not exactly human nature to put oneself into harms way without a clear and pressing reason, nor is this attitude (KevinB's) the impression many of us civilians get through the news media (it often seems to us through the news media that you guys DON't want to go). No offence was meant.

Thanks

[edit] RetiredCC, I forgot to thank you for the explanation.

 

[Gunner]

It was not shock at KevinB's post in particular, but surprise in finding, as a whole, this attitude (KevinB's) over 9 pages of posts. It's not exactly human nature to put oneself into harms way without a clear and pressing reason, nor is this attitude (KevinB's) the impression many of us civilians get through the news media (it often seems to us through the news media that you guys DON't want to go). No offence was meant.

Civilians run away from danger, those of us in uniform, towards it.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Oddly enough, that was a criticism from the BC Forest Service during the Okanagan Fires...  Even when there was obvious danger, our guys would run towards the fire...while the civilian firefighters would (sensibly in their view) run away from it.

 

[Slim]

it often seems to us through the news media that you guys DON't want to go

If you want to get a feel for how the troopies really think stay here.

Forget the media...Not only do they not know the truth but they only print what will sell papers, or airtime...NEVER, EVER the truth!

Cheers

 

[SHELLDRAKE!!]

If you recall during the gulf war the media honed in on a Canadian sailor getting ready to head out and the sailor was saying "I never signed up to fight a war". IMHO since our forces have been kept away from the real action for so long, the riff raf have snuck in thinking they can get their education paid for and still eat granola and hug trees. Im willing to bet over 90% of the military would jump at the chance to finally put their training to the ultimate test. Too bad the general public thinks otherwise.

 

[KevinB]

Hey, I eat Granola and like trees... (never known one well enough to hug yet  )

 

[Acorn]

Anyone who thinks they'll get their education paid for is misinformed.

Acorn

 

[Armymedic]

Im willing to bet over 90% of the military would jump at the chance to finally put their training to the ultimate test.

Oh heck yes...I am definately one of tha 90%.

Too bad, in my case, it means somebody has got to get hurt.

 

[Dale Turner]

I would like to think that ALL members of the forces would be chomping at the bit to be able to practice the skills and the training and show our determination to do the job required of us to the citizens of Canada and the rest of the world.  Canadian taxpayers need to see what their forces can do (even if it is with limited and some antiquated equipment). We as members of the military say we need more troops and more equipment and generally more financial support. Here's our chance to put our money where our mouth is.

The world also needs to see that the Canadian forces are just as war worthy as our more experienced allies. We just seem to be alittle more picky about the fights we fight in IMHO.

To those who are going over to Afghanistan...do your job well, look after buddy and do all of us proud.


DT

 

[Gunner]

I would like to think that ALL members of the forces would be chomping at the bit to be able to practice the skills and the training and show our determination to do the job required of us to the citizens of Canada and the rest of the world.   Canadian taxpayers need to see what their forces can do (even if it is with limited and some antiquated equipment). We as members of the military say we need more troops and more equipment and generally more financial support. Here's our chance to put our money where our mouth is.

The world also needs to see that the Canadian forces are just as war worthy as our more experienced allies. We just seem to be alittle more picky about the fights we fight in IMHO.

To those who are going over to Afghanistan...do your job well, look after buddy and do all of us proud.


DT

I certianly feel as many others do in this thread.  However, if we do employ the skills that we are trained in, the chance of killed and injured soldiers increases.  I do not have a problem with this occurring (its part of being a soldier) but before I see my friends and comrades dieing for a cause, it had better be for the right Canadian national interest and not some vague notion of "soft power" trumpeted by the Canadian chattering classes.  Make sure every sacrifice is worth it...

 

[McG]

Canadians in Kandahar will be nation builiding
Last Updated Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:27:18 EDT
CBC News

The Canadian soldiers who are going to Kandahar in Afghanistan next month have a dual mission: fight insurgents, and help rebuild the war-torn country.

The first group of 250 soldiers, mostly from Edmonton, will leave for the city on Tuesday. A second, larger group from Petawawa, Ont. will head to Afghanistan by the end of month.

They will form a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), a group of soldiers, police, diplomats and aid workers who will work to reinforce the Afghan government and stabilize the region.

"The Provincial Reconstruction Team will be conducting security tasks, patrols of the Kandahar area to establish a secure environment so the other agencies, including CIDA, Foreign Affairs and RCMP can assist the Afghans," Col. David Fraser said.

The nation-building work done by the PRTs is Canada's most important contribution to Afghanistan, said Mark Sedra, an expert on the country with the Bonn International Center for Conversion.

"Preventing the failure of the Afghan state â “ one more time â “ and preventing Afghanistan from once more degenerating into a terrorist state can, in fact will, really advance Canadian security substantially," he said.

The mission is dangerous, Fraser said. "Canadians have to be prepared that we could have casualties on this mission."

Fraser's comments echo those of Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, on Thursday.

Hiller said the infantry would be joined by special forces soldiers from JTF2 to fight what he called "detestable murderers and scumbags."

The Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, Christopher Alexander, also thinks Canadians may be fighting.

"Let's be clear, when there's an insurgency it has to be met with, by qualified military assets that are prepared to engage in combat. Canadians will be part of that."

Canadian soldiers first went to Kandahar in 2002, where four were killed by an American bomb.

Since then, Canada has kept about a thousand soldiers in Kabul, but the capital is now secure and the main base in moving to Kandahar.

The Kandahar mission is expected to last about 18 months.

http://sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/16/forces-kandahar050716.html

 

[civvy3840]

I would like to think that ALL members of the forces would be chomping at the bit to be able to practice the skills and the training and show our determination to do the job required of us to the citizens of Canada and the rest of the world.  Canadian taxpayers need to see what their forces can do (even if it is with limited and some antiquated equipment). We as members of the military say we need more troops and more equipment and generally more financial support. Here's our chance to put our money where our mouth is.

The world also needs to see that the Canadian forces are just as war worthy as our more experienced allies. We just seem to be alittle more picky about the fights we fight in IMHO.

To those who are going over to Afghanistan...do your job well, look after buddy and do all of us proud.


DT

Well said. The public does need to see what the forces can do. To everyone going to afghanistan Keep safe!

 

[McG]

Troops ship out Tuesday for Afghanistan
Jim Farrell
The Edmonton Journal
July 16, 2005

EDMONTON -- When the first contingent of Edmonton soldiers leaves for Afghanistan on Tuesday, they will be the leading edge of a growing Canadian military commitment to a dangerous section of the country where narco-terrorists are still active, a high-ranking Edmonton Garrison officer said Friday.

"This is a country that is still very much based on narco-terrorist organizations that want to attack and do what they can to destabilize the elected government of Afghanistan," said David Fraser, commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, the fighting arm of the Edmonton-based Land Force Western Area.

The 60 soldiers who leave Tuesday will comprise the command element of a 250-person contingent. At least 200 of the soldiers will be from Edmonton, the rest will come from other Canadian bases.

All 250 will leave Canada by the end of the month and the Edmonton component will leave on three separate flights. The military component of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), comprised of soldiers, RCMP officers, aid organizations and members of the Canadian diplomatic service, will be based in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Kandahar rather than Kandahar International Airport where Canadian soldiers served in 2002.

Within a few weeks of its arrival, the PRT will be visited by military planners from Canada who will plan the transfer of Canada's main Afghan military base from Kabul to Kandahar. There are 700 soldiers from Eastern Canada located in Camp Julien on the southern fringe of Kabul. By February, the camp will be moved to Kandahar to house a new contingent of 1,000 Edmonton soldiers.

On Thursday, the chief of the Canada's defence staff gave notice that with a Canadian presence in an area where western troops are increasingly targeted by suicide bombers and insurgent attacks, Canadians should prepare themselves psychologically for the likelihood of casualties among their troops.

"It is one thing to talk to the soldiers, but we have to talk to Canadians and the leadership to say that this is a dangerous mission. Psychologically and physically we have to be ready to deal with it," Fraser said. "It's not a benign environment."

Three-and-a-half years ago, Edmonton Garrison sent 650 soldiers to Kandahar to fight alongside U.S. troops as they tried to wipe out Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents based in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border.

Unlike 2002, the 250 soldiers who will serve with the PRT won't go looking for trouble, but they will be able to do their share of killing if attacked, Fraser said.

"We are ready to conduct combat operations. We are trained and ready for that, but quite frankly that decision will be taken by the people over there who want to attack us."