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Jun. 16, 2003. 08:18 AM
Next stop, Kabul, and real danger
SONIA VERMA
STAFF REPORTER
LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR
Soldiers storm a building during an urban warfare training exercise in CFB Petawawa. The troops‘ next mission will be far more dangerous: peacekeeping in Kabul.
CFB Petawawa—Soldiers of the Royal Canadian Regiment emerge from their barracks flush-faced and gasping for breath from their morning workout — a 6-kilometre hike along the Ottawa River in full combat gear, carrying a 60-pound pack.
Over the past few weeks of training, they have thrown themselves into booby-trapped buildings, dodged fake sniper fire, been tear-gassed and slithered through phony minefields.
Known for their sense of discipline and physical strength, they are exhausted and wide-eyed and ready for more action.
When word came down that Ottawa was planning to send 3,600 troops to Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), these soldiers cheered.
They are among the first group of 1,800 soldiers who will deploy sometime in August for a six-month peacekeeping mission, patrolling the streets of Kabul.
Many have already served in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia. For them, Operation Athena is something new, a chance to prove themselves on uncharted territory.
A battle group, a brigade group headquarters and a support element from this base will make up Canada‘s military contribution to the reconstruction of post-war Afghanistan.
Their mission, to keep Kabul safe and protect Afghanistan‘s fragile new government, is an exciting one — one that delivers on the promise of adventure that lured them to enlist in the first place.
For the first time in ten years, the cash-strapped military sent them for battle training in Wainwright, Alta.
Soldiers tattooed the Canadian flag on their arms, and trained at the gym until lights out to get into shape for the mission.
"It‘s a chance for us to do what we‘ve been trained for. This mission is one where we can actually make a difference, where there is actually a need," says Lt. Ravneet Comstock, who immigrated to Canada 12 years ago to pursue a career in medicine.
"I think it‘s going to be an adventure and we‘re going to come back better soldiers," adds the self-described military brat from India.
"Hopefully we‘ll bring everybody back who we left with."
But since Operation Athena was first announced, some of her initial enthusiasm has given way to gnawing fears.
Recent attacks on German and Norwegian peacekeepers currently patrolling Kabul have heightened concerns.
"There‘s a different tone to this mission because we don‘t know what we‘re walking into," says Lt. Kevin Stewart, who turned his back on a civilian job as an engineer for fear of boredom.
"I think everyone‘s paying a little closer attention to our training, ‘cause we may really need it," he says.
Since the U.S. scaled back its troops, violence around Afghanistan has steadily escalated. Hardly a day goes by without killings, shooting, explosions and other attacks on warring Afghan militias, western and Afghan aid workers, and on the 11,500 mainly American troops fighting the ongoing war against terrorism in the southern and eastern provinces.
Lately those attacks have moved closer to the Kabul, where Canadian troops are assigned to patrol.
"We‘re walking into a very real threat. The Taliban appears to have resurfaced and where I have a concern is that ISAF is being fairly clearly targeted," says Lt.-Col. Donald Denne, who commands the battalion group.
Last month, a German peacekeeper was killed and another wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine. A British soldier was hurt in a grenade attack on the peacekeepers‘ base and two Norwegian peacekeepers were injured by a renegade Afghan soldier.
When a car loaded with explosives blew up next to a bus and killed four German peacekeepers on June 7, some soldiers on this base had second thoughts about going over.
"When they first told us about the tour, we were all pumped up about it. I remember watching the American soldiers bombing during the war and it looked like a real power trip, I was so excited," says a soft-spoken 21-year old sapper named Sean Trinalty, who plans to wear a locket with pictures of his wife and young son with his dog tags while overseas.
"Now that we‘ve got more details it‘s scarier."
The soldiers have been told to be firm, fair and friendly with local Afghans. Denne says the rules of engagement are flexible compared to previous missions in Bosnia and Kosovo.
They may carry grenades and semi-automatic C-7 rifles on their shoulders, but the safety on their weapons will be kept on.
In Kabul, they will work in tandem with local Afghan police and the nascent national army to keep the peace in the capital and allow the Afghan Transitional Authority and U.N. agencies to do their jobs.
Capt. Adam Zima, returned from a reconnaissance mission to Afghanistan last month.
He describes the sight of bullet-ridden airplanes rusting on the airfield of Kabul international airport, the darkened traffic-choked streets and freshly built compounds built by NGOs fighting hunger and poverty in the wake of war.
"It didn‘t look like anything I had ever seen before," he says.
" I had seen it on television, but I had never experienced that before so I think some people are going to be in for a bit of a shock."
ISAF‘s peacekeeping duties are still confined to the region immediately surrounding the capital, but president Hamid Karzai has asked for wider patrols.
When Canadian soldiers leave their base camp on patrol they have been ordered to smile and wave.
"We have to go out there with a smiling face, regardless of what is happening, Lt.-Col. Denne says.
"This is mission is largely about winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people."
As part of their training, each soldier is ordered to commit certain words and phrases to memory in the local language: "I am a friend. I am not a foe. Bin Laden is an enemy. Canada is Afghanistan‘s friend. I want peace in Afghanistan."
Denne knows the nature of this mission might change and could suffer casualties.
In the evening, CFB Petawawa still bustles with live-fire exercises and urban warfare drills as soldiers gear up for their final test.
Dressed in full combat gear, carrying a 60-pound pack and their weapons, they will march for 13 kilometres. For the final 100-metre stretch, they will carry another soldier on their backs.
