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Afghanistan 2009

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« Reply #20 on: May 20, 2009, 09:25:07 am »


Canadians playing a role in new security unit at Kandahar Airfield



KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A new NATO security unit aimed at making the busy Kandahar Airfield a safer place has a bit of a slight Canadian flavour.

Seven of the unit's 66 members are Canadian, including master sailor Peter Hughes, who was in charge of the squad's first shift on Friday.

Hughes, who works on HMCS Ottawa out of Esquimalt, B.C., said the security unit will "drastically improve the chances for our troops on the ground to get air support."

Aircraft are often called in to back up soldiers involved in ground operations in the vast, desert country and the unit will provide much-needed order at a sometimes chaotic air base where traffic is expected to double in 2009.

Kandahar Airfield, which opened in 2005, has seen an increase in traffic in recent months - a situation that will only intensify when thousands of other American soldiers arrive at the base.

Already in March, air traffic controllers oversaw more than 20,000 military operations; the average monthly rate is 16,000.

"As the air base gets busier and busier there are more and more aircraft and more and more vehicles and there's increasing risk of a vehicle and an aircraft ending up in the same place at the same time," said NATO Cmdr. Andy Fryer, who attended Friday's inauguration ceremony.

With vehicles and aircraft crossing the air strip helter skelter at times, the American 451st Air Expeditionary Group decided to look at the situation in mid-March.

The project was put in place in less than six weeks thanks to the co-operation of the international forces.

"It was done quickly," said Master Sgt. Joseph Ilsley of the U.S. Air Force.

Ilsley noted the contribution of Wilf Rellinger, a Canadian major with NATO and the man in charge of security at the airfield.

"Major Rellinger... was one of the key players in getting this off the ground and addressing a lot of the safety concerns," said Ilsley.

"If we didn't have him getting all the political buy-in from the operators on the flight line we never would have never been able to push forward."

Canadian Master Cpl. Roland Wightman is the co-ordinator and administrator of the new unit. Wightman, who is normally based in Halifax, said he was very pleased that the aircraft at the base would be protected.

"I think it's great because now we have proper security," he said. "The air assets to me on this camp are the most important thing because that's what protects the guys on the field."

The new unit should make his job a lot easier, he added, noting that the 12-and 13-hour workdays he was putting in will likely get a little shorter.

"I was trying to run and provide security for the airfield with between 15 and 17 guys on three shifts," Wightman said. "Today we went from that to 66 people on two shifts, so the manning has gone up I think 300 or 400 per cent just today."

The unit is made up of members of the American, French, British, Canadian, Belgian and Dutch military. But it is open to any other NATO members who want to get involved.

"We've still got room, so if they're interested, we'd be more than happy to accommodate them," Fryer said.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

This is a bit outdated yet is a very good read none the less. Local newspaper...

On the front line

Corporal Mike Lawrence of Beamsville has seen the War on Terror first hand, serving as a combat medic with Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Cpl. Lawrence is back in Canada and recently, he and his family shared their experience with This Week's Joanne McDonald

By Joanne McDonald

Kneeling in a vineyard, Canadian soldier and combat medic Corporal Mike Lawrence lifted his own water bottle to feed the wounded Taliban fighter who lay dying in the aftermath of a bloody insurgency that had been initiated against the corporal's small platoon somewhere outside Kandahar.

Earlier Cpl. Lawrence had been on patrol through a mud-walled maze of vineyards with 25 members from the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) India Company unit, serving under the NATO-led coalition.

It was dark and they were using night vision equipment. Taking shelter in a tiny grape hut, he couldn't sleep and dozed fitfully. Around 4 a.m. he put on his helmet. Ten minutes later a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) exploded the night air and launched one of many live fire attacks he would be involved in during his six-month tour of duty.

The platoon pushed forward, advancing and got caught up by machine gun fire. Securing the area, the first Taliban they found had died beside the RPG. They secured his body and continued to advance, continuing to search for more casualties or possible detainees. They found bodies dumped into a wadi (dry waterbed) system.

Cpl. Lawrence came upon the injured Taliban fighter. He was rail thin, weak, about 19 years old and he had been shot through the arm and leg.

"He was alone and he was praying and he wanted us to kill him."

Cpl. Lawrence applied a tourniquet to young man's arm and leg. "Our job isn't to kill." The last the medic saw of him, he was being flown away in an American helicopter, headed for further treatment.

He is careful with what he shares, details, locations.

In 35 patrols, 27 involved live fire. It was like fighting a sponge he said. They would never know from which direction the Taliban would attack. "They would close in all around you."

Later that morning they had air strike support from the Americans. When you're alone on the ground with a small platoon, the drone of the planes "sounds like angels coming in the sky, there's no sound like it". You feel safe instantaneously when you hear the bombs drop. "You don't feel alone anymore."

* * *

A Reuters photo that appeared on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen captured an unbelievably poignant moment with the heat of combat reflected deep in the eyes of the young medic. Cpl. Lawrence had just been shot at, dove down with the reporter in tow, pulling him by the sleeve and telling him, "stay with me, stay low".

Earlier he had calmly advised the same journalist that "when the shooting starts your heart rate will go up two or three times its normal rate".

Moving from open desert to the grape fields lined with mud walls, they marched directly into battle. "How's your heart rate now?" the medic asked the reporter as they ran for cover.

At the age of 26, Cpl. Lawrence has seen so much in his young life. But he has a strong mind and heart and sense of humour. That strength is fortified with the solid understanding and belief in what he is doing.

He also has a most amazing family. Through and through, the Lawrence family is a service family.

His tour wrapped up, he has since been posted to Cold Lake, Alta. But he was with his family during a recent weekend and they generously shared those precious hours for an interview in his hometown.

* * * *

The early morning kaboom of a bird banger from a nearby vineyard sends Mike running for cover behind his dad's truck in the driveway of their Beamsville home.

After months of duty and operating on high levels of adrenaline, being shot at by RPGs and 82 mm cannons, it's hard to make the adjustment.

Mike's fit and he's brawn and he's acutely aware of everything in his perimeter. What's he not prepared for is the juxtaposition back to Canada. "It's definitely different coming home. Over there we were always ready to react." The reflex reaction to the bird banger is a quick read of his state of mind.

Canada is in Afghanistan as part of a UN-sanctioned mission to help build a stable, democratic and self-sufficient society.

About 2,500 members of the Canadian Forces are currently serving as part of Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF AFG). They play a key role in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission's goal to improve the security situation in Afghanistan and assist in rebuilding the country.

Mike is a character says his mother Sue Lawrence. "He has a zest for life. It's calm until he walks in and then there's an infusion of energy."

Sure-footed, self-resilient and proactive, says his mom are attributes he shares with his dad.

Sgt. Doug Lawrence CD was a vehicle technician with the Canadian Forces Decoration. He served on the Golan Heights in the Middle East and was a master corporal with 2 Service Battalion a regular force service battalion united based out of Petawawa. He is now a training sergeant with 23 Field Ambulance of Hamilton.

His mom, Sue, is a principal at Battlefield Public School in Niagara Falls. The closeness they share is immeasurable -- she's his best advocate and friend. "I can tell her almost anything."

When Mike left for Afghanistan he carried an angel coin from his mom.

Doug sent him a drop holster for his pistol so it was more accessible to him when he was tending to patients.

"I am a practical sort of guy," he says.

Marshmallow inside, bravado outside. "There's that sensitivity. Stoic on the outside, but so touched by human response. They both shine," says Sue.

Amanda Wintermute, who lives with the family, considers Mike as her big brother. And in his fianc? Nicole (Nikki) he also has a best friend.

* * * *

The family would see clips on TV news of Mike giving support to others. He doesn't wear the notoriety as a banner. Back at the Kandahar Airfield he was presented with a special RCR coin. Only 20 are presented each year and it is usually to honour longevity of service.

Service is a word that describes Mike. He wants to pay back as many as have helped him. "When he was growing up he had people who believed in him," says Sue. "This is a young man who walks in the door and he's ready."

Both Mike and Doug are very strong willed and very good at what they do. There's never been competition, only support for each other. "We're a military family," she says.

Every day Cpl. Lawrence pushed into the unknown, on patrols from a forward moving base, carrying close to his own weight in equipment and supplies -- a 30-pound Blackhawk medical bag, rifles, food, 12 litres of water -- the helmet alone weighed 11 pounds.

Throughout the entire tour, Mike spent only seven days behind the wire, in the relative safety of the military base at the Kandahar Airfield. During those six months, he operated from a forward operating base at locations unnamed in Afghanistan.

Sue recalls one phone call when Mike couldn't sleep. The desert air he told her was about 60 degrees. The moon was big and yellow over the vast terrain.

"Mom," he said, "it would be an awesome place to visit if you weren't going to get killed." The poetic observations he shared with his mom.

Worry was never been part of the equation. She knows her son was prepared physically. But she read the barometer in his mental well being. "Is he still able to see the beauty?" she would ask herself.

"In all this chaos there's beauty," he told his mom.

Some phone calls he needed to speak directly to his dad. "Doug was his grounding," says Sue.

During his first fire fight "I was shaken to the core" and the first time he picked up casualties and had a chance to use a phone, he said, "I need to talk to dad".

Heading out on patrol he told his father, "I'm not ready for this one." And another night he said, "this is my niche in life. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing".

Cpl. Lawrence's unit deployed Feb. 7 to Afghanistan. During the whole rotation they didn't lose one soldier. Two of his friends died on different rotations - one had been a roommate. "I feel guilty that I got home and my buddy didn't."

The terrain they patrolled was comparable to Vineland, hills covered with vineyards, only different with mud huts and walls. A real fear was the snakes, especially poisonous snakes and it was well founded as the soldiers learned to check their gear and roll their sleeping bags tightly to deter poisonous vipers from finding a hiding place.

Part of the time they would provide medical outreach within their mandate to residents in the local communities. They patrolled out of a forward moving base. Their mission was to find Taliban.

Sometimes it was disheartening as a human to provide medical outreach to people in a village only to be attacked by the Taliban in the same streets.

"It has changed my entire outlook on life," says Lawrence. "Every day is a sunny day."

People complain about insignificant things. Kids complain they don't want to go to school. "There kids pick up a gun and go to war. We have it so good in Canada."

By the time he could walk, it was in his father's footsteps. A snapshot taken when he was four shows Mike in his camouflague pants holding a fish he caught in Algonquin Park.

"He would match everything Doug did," says Sue. The Special Services Forces put on a family day. There was a competency course set up for kids, crawling under netting and through heating ducts. Mike excelled. The military was already his calling.

A former student at Senator Gibson, Jacob Beam and Grimsby Secondary schools, Mike came up through the ranks of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada Cadet Corps and has been in the Forces since the age of 18.

When he joined, Doug took him to a recruiting centre, intent on a five-minute visit. Three hours of testing followed. Mike showed a high aptitude and was given his choice of studies. He chose paramedic.

Over five years he studied to be a paramedic at Camp Borden and at the Justice Institute in British Columbia.

He worked the G8 Summit at Alberta. His initial training to go to Afghanistan was with the Van Doos,the Royal 22e R?giment. Moving up in rotation, he deployed with the Royal Canadian Regiment. His home unit is 1 Canadian Field Hospital.

"I'm very proud of Mike. I'm very happy he was with the Royal Canadian Regiment. I know their competency, the level of training," says Doug.

"Dad trained me without realizing," says Mike. "If it wasn't for Dad, I wouldn't be who I am."

"Doug was there to support him through difficult emotions," says Sue. "I had total faith in his commanding officer."

* * *

Opinions may vary on Canada's involvement at the international level, but the importance of support for the troops, the individual soldiers who are serving on the country's behalf can't be overstated says Sue. "It means everything to hear from home, to receive something familiar and comforting."

"The support from the Niagara region was insane." Schools, businesses and individuals sent cards and letter and care packages.

Niagara Falls Mayor Ted Salci sent a 30-foot banner that had been created by students at Battlefield School. They gathered information about their own family history of service and copied it onto the banner. They sent care packages, food, magazines, bandannas.

"It was great to have the support for the troops and individuals. I can't overstate the importance of that support," Sue said.

Canada's veterans can be proud of the work being done - their memories are constantly alive with the current serving members.

"Veterans can be assured the young generation is moving forward with Canada's legacy in service,"says Sue. She watched the mutual exchange of respect and information between the old guard and current service members, united by pride and dedication, when Mike, who had just returned from Afghanistan was with his family for the 100 years history of service celebration at the 23 Hamilton Field Ambulance annual parade in Dundas.

Mike was on tour with the (RCR) India Company -- a battle group commissioned to secure the area -- which included about 200 members and four medics. He has already been honoured with accolades including an ISAF medal and the RCR coin.

* * * *

The war in Afghanistan began in 2001, launched in response to the 9/11 attacks in the United States. News reports say the war removed Taliban from power for a time, but there has been a resurgence in Taliban forces.

From January 2006, the NATO ISAF force started to replace U.S. troops in southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Canada is in Afghanistan to help Afghans rebuild their country as a stable, democratic and self-sufficient society as part of a NATO-led, UN-sanctioned mission.

Reports say 2007 has been one of the bloodiest years since the fall of the Taliban six years ago and there have been no breaks in fighting as Canadians have pushed into Taliban strongholds to reassert control and establish security.

"We do the best we can under the conditions we're given," says Cpl. Lawrence. He's limited as to what he can discuss.

"It is frustrating when people don't understand, but how could they?"

While Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February, 2009, the government's Throne Speech delivered Tuesday said it will likely continue to 2011.

Cpl. Lawrence wraps up the interview.

"The work is undone," he says.
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