Reflection on a job well done

Times Contributor     

 

On May 9, Canadians are asked to reflect on the contributions our Canadian soldiers made in the war in Afghanistan. Mixed political opinions are on social media sites, but many Canadians express support for the soldiers and the values they fight to uphold.

Major Graham Longhurst is a reservist in the 41st Calgary Brigade, who was deployed to Afghanistan for nine months. He was tasked to train Afghan National Army (ANA) members to protect and rebuild their country. With boots on the ground and eyes on the target, he said change is slow, but Canada’s relationship building exercises are worthwhile; creating the pathways the Afghans will use to achieve a freer more secure country in the future.

“After deploying on three different missions – one to Bosnia, Sudan and Afghanistan – I feel we are so fortunate to live in the society created in North America. Many do not realize how fortunate, until you see some of the simple freedoms we take for granted are taken away; and one lives in fear, or has to struggle day to day to simply survive,” said Longhurst.

In Afghanistan, the Canadians were in charge of a 14 nation team that was designed to mentor members of the ANA, who ran the Kabul military training centre. Longhurst and his team worked 12-14 hour days making sure there was support and supplies available, ensuring relationships with the Afghan people remained intact, taking over where the United States (US) efforts left off. Daily duties included training basic recruits and their leaders, teaching specialties like language, reading and computer systems, locating and distributing supplies and providing logistical support for the NATO allied teams involved in mentorships.

They would work with interpreters, but often the translations took time, as they left out a lot of the details and nuances. 

“I established a great relationship with my interpreter, learning a lot about life and family in Afghanistan. I learned about people and a way of life that was very focused on family and extended family, which is something I think we have moved away from in North America,” said Longhurst. “He was an amazing and honourable person, putting his life on the line every day to help us help the Afghan people.” 

The interpreters’ lives were always in danger, and they would often change their names to protect their families from being targeted by the Taliban.

Longhurst reported to the Logistics Colonel, whose role was to oversee trainers and trainees in the ANA. Longhurst said just feeding and clothing up to 12,000 new recruits was a big challenge. The US was contracted to leave supplies and support, but took it all with them when they left the area; so the Canadians had to creatively locate other resources from area organizations when necessary. It became more difficult, when Canadian supply lines were tightened, to ensure Canadian resources were going to Canadian allocations. 

The assignment was not without danger. Longhurst said Taliban always tried to infiltrate new recruitments. They found pop bottles filled with poison, smuggled into the kitchen. They were detected by one of the Afghan police, right before the poison was slipped into food. Improvised devices detonated, killing those planting them in the road, and bombs were found in vehicles. A Canadian soldier was killed, when the armoured bus they used to transport soldiers around the city was blown up in a collision with a vehicle packed with explosives. One American member had been lured off-base, to be discovered dead in a cave. Riots and anti-government protests often occurred outside the training camp, but no NATO members were engaged. Mentors could be killed or injured by those they were working with, but thankfully no Canadians were ever targeted.

Longhurst said many soldiers had high expectations of swift change coming in, but soon learned that change is a slow process and small victories needed celebration. 

“It becomes important for us as Canadian soldiers to focus in on the little things. The down side to that is we don’t often see the positive effects of the little things we did. It could end up making a significant difference down the road and occur after we had already left,” said Longhurst.

He said he did see Afghan perspectives shift, as they learned to do their own problem solving and the people began to make their views heard, speaking out about government corruption.

“This shift in attitude, and the ANA taking responsibility for coming up with solutions, was the most positive and potentially long lasting change that we were able to help facilitate. Under the previous Soviet system, the Army would not do anything unless told to do so by their commanders. There was no reward for initiative and they were often punished for attempting to take initiative. The Afghans themselves are very guarded in expressing their views, due to the fact that they have spent nearly a generation under repressive regimes. Just expressing themselves could cause injury or death, if they expressed counter opinions to those in power,” .said Longhurst. “I did see some optimism in the potential for a future for the country. The ANA was truly the only unifying organization in the country that treated all who joined the same and did not discriminate on the basis of family, clan, or region of the country the person came from.”

Longhurst agreed that these efforts sometimes took a toll.

“It is certainly a struggle for our families… when we deploy it usually means we are away from home for a year or more,” said Longhurst. “The struggle is that the partner is not there during that time to share life and parent responsibilities. There are also the possibilities of having to deal with physical and emotional scars, based on each individual’s experiences.”  

Longhurst said the support of Canadians back home is crucial.

“The one big factor, making a significant difference for us, is the support we get from the Canadian people back home. In my 23 years of service, it has not always been that way,” said Longhurst. “They have been able to separate support for the Canadian soldier from government policy. While Canadians may not entirely agree with military interventions around the world… they do realize that we ‘the soldiers’ go where we are told and do our ultimate best to make those small differences, offering up the chance for people in different countries to have similar opportunities to what we have here in North America.”

For more stories of Canadians in Afghanistan see www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca.