Millard blog: Afghanistan wake up call

Major General Tom Lawson apologized on behalf of Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff General Walter J. Natynczyk.

We had just stepped off the plane in Ottawa where the groggy group of NHL alumni expecting a promised greeting by the country’s top soldier had just learned of the catastrophic events in Japan which required the CDS to lead a planning session for Canada’s response.

It was another shocking lesson in how fast the world can change.

A 15-hour flight, safely home from a war zone instantly transitioned from a celebratory feel into fear for a nation and concern about tsunami waves rolling up on British Columbia’s coast.

It was time for Lawson to once again step in for his boss. Natynczyk was supposed to travel with us to Afghanistan but stayed home to monitor the events in Libya. Lawson had just spent a week with this group and witnessed first hand the impact on Canada’s deployed men and women at Kandahar Air Field.

Ball hockey games, a concert featuring Canadian comedian Tom Green and an MMA card were the official events in Kandahar, but Lawson also spoke of the time soldiers mingled with the likes of Perry Berezan and Tiger Williams at Tim Horton’s, hung out with Pierre Turgeon at Canada House or bumped into Lanny McDonald and Jamie Macoun at breakfast.

These moments were significant because they elevated efforts to give Canadian Forces personnel a touch of home by letting them know Canadians had not forgotten about them. At a barbeque under the Canadian flag at Canada house, across a dusty dirt road from Tim Horton’s, Canadian soldiers and civilians peppered the hockey players about the chances of the Flames and Leafs making the playoffs, while others asked if the Canucks really have what it takes to win it all.

More than a few were upset that Zdeno Chara was not suspended (to a man the alumni feel the decision by the NHL was correct, glad we didn’t fly Air Canada) while others were curious how long will it take the Senators to rebuild.

Of course these same conversations were taking place in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, but somehow they were different.

One is a hockey discussion, the other is a form of therapy, providing a much sought after connection to home.

You have to experience it to really appreciate a soldiers’ life.

On base at the Kandahar Air Field the battle is against monotony, lulled into a sense of security until the siren sounds alerting the base to a Taliban rocket attack.

When we were there three rockets hit the base in one such attack last week which fortunately caused little damage and no injuries. I had just finished watching the Islanders beat the Maple Leafs on Rogers Sportsnet at Canada House when that rocket attack occurred.

Our civilian General Manager Louise Derosches came running in screaming in her native French.

I chuckled, “speak English and we’ll get on the bus.”

She said, “get on the floor, rocket attack, rocket attack.”

Sixteen former NHL players were in the building at that time and not one even tried to act too cool (for the record, Mark LaForrest slept through the entire thing).

No pun intended, but it was a wake up call. We’d read about casualties, been educated about the risks, but now we realized we were on more than a ball hockey tour.

One big question: if this can happen in the safest place in Afghanistan, how do the soldiers ever cope in theatre? I honestly don’t know.

I spoke to several over the course of the week, some would be going out for an extended stay, a lot were coming back to embark on their leave and a few were just heading out on day trips.

Those flights and convoys outside the wire provide perspective to the intensity of an NHL playoff race.

“Life and death,” or “it’s a war out there,” are often used hockey phrases.

I have benched them.

I appreciate the sacrifice and dedication required to win a Stanley Cup, it’s just not fair to the soldiers and their families to compare the two.

Amazingly most of the Canadian soldiers all wanted to discuss their team or if Lanny, Tiger, Pierre, or Mario could sign their card/stick and/or flag.

We were only there for a week, but again it offered appreciation of the challenge.

At the Forward Operation Bases, special ops in from spending days and weeks in the field said it was nice to be home and talk hockey with Mario Tremblay and Doug Risebrough.

A sniper I met who spends his deployment at the FOBS told me over a coffee on a sunny morning told me that being home on the base offered the comforts of home, while across the table a soldier at the end of his tour couldn’t wait to get on a C-17 transport that night and start the trip back home to Canada.

When we landed in Ottawa, Master Warrant Officer Gavin Lee, as complete a leader as I have ever met with a personality to bond even the most diverse group, went from being our Team Canada leader to a soldier fixated on his Blackberry as he received instructions on SARtacs roll in the wake of the earthquake in Japan.

We had flown half way around the world soaking up the amazing efforts of our Canadian soldiers and here was a member of our group preparing receiving and preparing his own response to a staggering natural disaster.

Here we were, Canadian soldiers at home at Kandahar Air Field trying to create a home for the people of Afghanistan, our group returning to Canada while the world unravels in Japan.

I have always been a proud flag-waiver as a Canadian hockey fan, but now it’s different. I am home.

The men and women I met are trying to rebuild a nation in the face of an enemy without a conscious.

Libya is in the midst of a civil war while Egypt attempts to find its footing. Now Japan deals with a triple threat.

They are all different situations involving man-made and natural threats.

We are glued to the TV for updates on all, but what keeps ringing through to me is: I am home, I am proud of Canada’s dedication to help solve global issues, which in turn, makes me prouder of where I live.

From Brandon to Markham, to Summerside.

These are my homes, this is where I live.

Dedicated to the Canadian men and women who are and have served in Afghanistan.