Cabar Feidh

Things Have Changed
50-60 O C of Separation Shilo to Afghanistan
I first went over in 2008 attached
to 2PPCLI battle group. We
left during the Manitoba winter
and transitioned from -30 in barren
and frozen Shilo to 20-30 in the
early Afghan spring. Our platoon
was moved out to a small combat
outpost called Talukan along the
Arghandab River in Khandahar.
This area was and still is very much
a stronghold of the Taliban. We
would build up our walls and go on
patrols to let the people there know
who we were and that we would be
around. It wasn’t until the opium
harvest was underway that we encountered
much direct action. With
their harvest done, the “fighting
season” picked up and from then
on one would either be in contact,
supporting it or hear it happening
nearby almost every day. The vast
amount of explosives planted in the
roads made re-supplies difficult and
dangerous and effectively took our
vehicles out of the fight outside of
paved guarded roads. We left there
in early September and I am certain
it is less secure now than ever.
During my time there I ate a lot of
meals from a metal bag, breathed a
lot of dust and endured heat reaching
55 degrees at times. I also was
in two IED strikes, the second of
which caused me mild TBI, leaving
me with a few years of headaches
and memory loss, which fortunately
is almost completely gone.
The second time was in
2010, but this time as a bodyguard
to a Canadian General working on
police development. This was a totally
different experience. In Kabul
it may as well have been a different
planet as there were personnel
from all over NATO, with enterprising
Afghans catering to western
tastes with supermarkets and bars.
Being so separated from the fighting,
there was an air of optimism
that our efforts were not in vein.
While not near as dangerous as
the first time, this other side of the
war let me see the massive scale
of planning and people involved in
such an effort as well as the skill of
some of our generals and the respect
they commanded from other
nations.
By MCpl Daniel Lee
21