Kabul's Kids

Before I deployed to Afghanistan I had the pleasure to visit the staff and students at Westglen Elementary School in Edmonton, Alberta.  With the help of two wonderful assistants I was able to make presentations to all of the Westglen classes. I really tried to give the students some idea of what it was like to be a kid growing up in Afghanistan.  We looked at pictures of schools, teachers, and students in Afghanistan.  We drew some comparisons between schooling and education in Afghanistan with their experiences in Westglen.  My goal was to demonstrate that despite horrible poverty and insecurity the kids in Afghanistan share many of the same interests as the kids at Westglen. Although they may live far away from each other kids in Kabul are not really that different from Westglen kids. It was an effective lesson in equality and empathy, for all of us. The Westglen students had many good questions and observations.  One young student told me that it made him mad that kids in Kabul didn’t get the same chances that kids in Edmonton had.  That my friends is the wisdom of youth.  

It hasn’t taken me long to find practical examples in Kabul of just how similar kids in these two cities really are.  I’ve seen many groups of kids playing soccer and cricket in vacant dirt lots, schoolyards, paved streets, and even in a cemetery.  I’ve also seen kids skateboarding, playing tag, and riding bikes.  I’ve been driving through Kabul when school lets out and I’ve seen the kids walking home. 

  

Skateboarding with friends in Kabul.  Note the security checkpoint and the barbed wire on the walls behind these boys.  Along this stretch of road boys and girls as young as 6 work selling trinkets and souvenirs to Westerners. That is what the 2 girls in the background were doing when I took this photo.

There are no green spaces in Kabul where kids can play.  But kids will usually find a way. In this photo a group of boys are playing soccer in an empty dirt lot.  

However, I’ve also seen how poverty affects the young children in Kabul.  This is where the similarities end and the reality of life in Afghanistan is clear for all to see.  There is a particularly bumpy stretch of dirt road not too far from my camp where traffic needs to slow down.  Almost everyday, standing in the middle of traffic is a woman with her young son.  I think he is maybe 5 years old.  She holds out her hand hoping that drivers will stop and give her some money.  Her young son sits at her feet in the dirt surrounded by dust and exhaust.  When it’s raining he sits in the mud on a rock at his mother’s feet.  They are there for hours at a time almost every day.  Tonight after dark, while driving home we stopped for a very young girl, maybe 6 years old, who was standing on the side of another very busy road selling eggs.  Traffic was very slow because the police had a checkpoint in the area.  Even though it’s against the rules I cracked open the door just wide enough to hand the girl two American dollars.  Believe it or not $2 dollars will buy 18 large loaves of naan bread in Kabul. That is enough bread to feed a family for a week.

These are sad things for us to see everyday but it helps all of us to recognize how fortunate we are.  So on those occasions when I see Afghan kids at play I stop and watch them for as long as I can.  It reminds me that kids are kids the world over and they ought to be playing, not working the streets.

This sentiment is shared by the staff and the students at Westglen.  As part of their “Go Global” theme they have decided to reach out to the kids in Kabul in a meaningful way.  In the coming months I will be fortunate enough to do my part to “bring” Westglen to Kabul and help facilitate Westglen's interaction with a group of Kabul’s kids.  Please stay tuned and check back in to see how Westglen truly lives up to the school’s motto: “We’ve Got Character”.  

 Here is the link for the finest elementary school in Edmonton: Westglen Elementary:  http://westglen.epsb.ca/

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

SOLA: School of Leadership Afghanistan

Our collective future lies in the hands of our young people.  This statement is as true for Canada as it is for Afghanistan. One of the goals that I set for myself during my deployment to Afghanistan was to be a conduit that brought young people from Edmonton and Kabul together in a meaningful, and hopefully, enduring way. My hope was that by using technology to span the distance between them these young people would be able to gain a new level of understanding and appreciation for each other and hopefully make some lasting friendships along the way.

In December 2010 I turned to the staff and students at Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton.  I met two wonderful teachers and made presentations to their classes on Afghanistan, the role of Canadian Police in Afghanistan, and invited them to ‘meet’ Afghan youth.  The staff and students were very keen and I was very encouraged by their enthusiasm.

During my pre-deployment training in Ottawa I was fortunate enough to meet a talented woman, herself a student completing a Master’s program at Royal Roads University in British Columbia, who used her contacts to introduce me to the School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) in Kabul.  After exploring SOLA’s website I was sure that this was the right school to approach.  Once in Kabul I contacted SOLA’s Founder and Managing Director Mr. Ted Achilles.  Interested in the prospect of connecting with Ross Sheppard Ted was very gracious and invited me to SOLA for dinner to meet the students and staff.

I was fortunate enough to visit SOLA on Tuesday March 08, International Women’s Day.  I attended with two members of the European Union mission and Ted welcomed us like family.  We were introduced to a number of students.  All the students, save one, were young ladies.  It was a wonderful night and I was very honoured to meet these exceptional young people and their dedicated teachers.  The enthusiasm, energy, and ambition of these young people was very inspiring.  They represent everything that is great about the people of Afghanistan. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, shared a little bit about ourselves, and enjoyed each other's company.  I don't mind saying that being surrounded by such vibrant young people and their infectious laughter made me a bit homesick.

I could have listened to Ted all evening.  Its clear that Ted is very proud of the personal and educational achievements of his students and the students certainly love Mr. Ted.  Ted explained to the other guests and I that SOLA is not only the name of the school but it also means "Peace" in Pastu and happens to be a girl's name.  SOLA's goal is to prepare the very best Afghan students for study in the U.S. and abroad so that they may return home to become future leaders of Afghanistan. SOLA places special emphasis on creating the conditions for ambitious young women to pursue their studies

Ted spoke with great pride about the current students and SOLA'S graduates.  One of SOLA'S recent graduates was invited by the Office of the President of the United States to spend that very evening with the First Lady at the White House to celebrate International Women's Day.  Another had recently finished her first semester at Yale University and scored a perfect GPA.  Another is a Madeline Albright fellow at a prestigious American University.  Perhaps most demonstrative of the "Leadership" in SOLA is the success of another recent graduate who is a finalist for a large grant which she plans on using to continue building a school in Afghanistan.  I say 'continue building' because this remarkable graduate has been building that particular school since she was 16 years old. 

SOLA and Ross Sheppard have since been introduced and over the next few weeks the students will get a chance to meet each other over the internet to Skype and e-mail.  SOLA’s students are the future leaders of Afghanistan and it was a privilege to meet them.  I am very grateful to the staff and students at Ross Sheppard for sharing a bit of themselves with SOLA’s students. 

Please visit the websites for SOLA and Ross Sheppard:

http://www.sola-afghanistan.org/Home

http://shep.epsb.ca/

Thanks for checking in.

Ken

Yet Another First

Well I made it through my first earthquake yesterday. At about 2 pm Monday afternoon the 5.8 magnitude tremor rumbled through the Hindu Kush Mountain Range 120 kilometers below the earth’s surface.  It was my first experience with earthquakes and I won’t soon forget it.  I was working at the desk in my room on the second floor of our quarters.  My building is a two-storey structure made of steel and concrete and is solid by any measure.  Suddenly, the whole building started to shake and rattle.  The broom that stands up against the wall in my room fell to the floor and the lamp on my desk began bouncing around.  At first I didn’t know what was happening.  It felt like I was in a fifth wheel trailer at Whistler’s Campground that was getting rocked back and forth by some drunken college kids.  Once I realized that it was an earthquake my steely reflexes, honed to a razor’s edge by years of specialized police training and experience, kicked into action.  I bolted from my chair and ran out into the hallway flailing my arms like a ragdoll screaming “EARTHQUAKE!!  EARTHQUAKE!!” 

Now like I said, I’ve never experienced and earthquake before.  Apparently a 5.8 magnitude tremor 120 kilometers underground is not much of an event.  The old salty veterans that live on my floor didn’t even blink when our building shook.  Truth is that I caused more damage to the building than the tremor.  While sprinting towards the exit in my rush to preserve my own safety I kicked over a garbage can and broke a light bulb.  I never I said I made it through the earthquake gracefully but I’ll try and do better on the next one.

Today I made another trip into downtown Kabul.  On the way I saw this resident auditioning for a part in the sequel to the movie “UP”.   I think he may be the most cheerful person in all of Kabul.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

CivPol's Changing Role

I thought this might be a good opportunity to explain how Canada's Civilian Police (CivPol) Mission to Afghanistan has recently changed.  Canadian police officers have been in Afghanistan since 2005.  These officers have served primarily in Kandahar Province providing basic training to front line Afghan National Police (ANP) officers. This training included some of the basics of police recruit training but also involved going out on patrols with ANP through villages and farmlands, spending considerable time at Police Sub-Stations, and attending village meetings.  Each of these is a very dangerous proposition. Their living conditions were less than glamorous and more difficult than they'd probably care to share.  

Coinciding with the upcoming 2011 shift in the Government of Canada's military mission, the CivPol mission has also changed.  Our rotation is the first group of CivPol to work within this new mission mandate.  The job postings have shifted almost universally from Kandahar to Kabul.  Now CivPol are focused on advising and mentoring the senior ANP officers at the strategic, organizational, and tactical levels of police operations.  Identifying opportunities for training remains a priority for all CivPol members regardless of their particular assignments even within our new mandate.

For the most part this means that CivPol will not be out in the field as much as we have been in the past.  Most of us will likely not travel outside of Kabul.  We all know how dangerous Kandahar has been and continues to be.  I have only spent a few days in Kandahar and even then I never left the monstrous base.  I can tell you that it is a very different place than Kabul.  When you're on the Kandahar Air Field you know without question that you are in a war zone.  Military armoured vehicles, attack aircraft, thousands of armed soldiers, and all the other machines and noises of war surround you.  All these are also present in Kabul but seemingly to a lesser extent.

For those Canadian CivPol who lived and worked out in the field Kandahar was a tough place to serve.  It still is and we CivPol in Kabul often talk and fuss about our colleagues who are still there.  Their professionalism and accomplishments have earned Canada a great deal of respect and credibility by our Afghan and NATO partners.  Our invitation to counsel the ANP senior ranks is largely a testament to those Canadian CivPol who slugged it out in Kandahar.  Their's was, and continues to be, a difficult job, and a job well done.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

A lesson in contrasts

A few days ago I had the chance to climb the mountain behind my camp.  We went up as a group first thing in the morning and were treated to some spectacular views.  Here are some photos.

The above photo is of a mountain range on the other side of Kabul.  In other words Kabul lies between this mountain you see and the hill I was standing on.
 

These two photos were taken looking down off the other side of the mountain I was standing on.  Kabul is on the south side of the ridge and these spots are to the north side.

In this shot we are above the smog and looking across the valley.  Kabul is between our position and that mountain across the valley

After coming down from the hill I quickly checked the Afghan headlines and was reminded of the contrasts between the stunning landscape and the shocking circumstances intertwined in Kabul.  Below is a an excerpt form an Afghan news story dated 2011 February 27.  If you read my blog about Gen Romeo Dallaire and his book on child soldiers you'll recognize that tactic being used by the insurgency here in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan.

By Rahim Faiez And Amir Shah, Associated Press

The Afghan intelligence service announced the arrests of a Pakistani boy and two teenagers — one from Afghanistan and the other from Pakistan — who claimed they had been coerced into becoming would-be suicide bombers.

All three appeared at a news conference and recounted stories of how militants forced them into becoming suicide attackers for the insurgency. The intelligence service wanted to highlight claims that have surfaced in the past two weeks of insurgents trying to persuade young people to give up their lives for the insurgency.

Akhtar Nawaz, 14, from South Waziristan in Pakistan, said six men in a vehicle nabbed him off the street while he was walking home from school.

"They told me that I had to carry out a suicide attack," Nawaz told reporters. "I told them I didn't want to, but they forced me to go with them. They told me that there were foreigners in Afghanistan and if I carried out a suicide attack, I would go to heaven."

Nawaz said the men took him to various locations and taught him how to shoot a pistol, ride a motorbike and detonate a suicide vest. His mission, he said, was to shoot guards at an Afghan military compound in Khost province, then to ride inside and detonate his cache of explosives. He said he was told that if the detonation button on his vest didn't work, he should detonate the explosives by shooting himself with the pistol.

He said he was driven to Khost and shown the target but decided not to go through with the attack at the last minute, turning himself in to Afghan security forces instead. He remains in custody.

Ghamia, a 19-year-old shopkeeper from the southern city of Kandahar said he was approached several times by militants trying to persuade him to become a suicide attacker to ensure himself a place in heaven. For his service, he said the militants promised to give his parents 500,000 Pakistan rupees ($5,800).

"They told me `This is a good job. We are paying 500,000 rupees to your parents and you'll go to heaven. What more do you want?'" he said.

Over two months, he was taken to various locations, sometimes while blindfolded in the car. Intelligence service officials, acting on tips, arrested him in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province along the Pakistani border before he ever received instructions for carrying out a suicide attack.

Yasur, 19, of Peshawar, Pakistan, was arrested while eating lunch at a hotel in Laghman province, east of Kabul.

Yasur said four men in Pakistan encouraged him to join the insurgency as a suicide bomber. He said he was eventually taken to the east side of Kabul where he stayed with a cleric named Zunelabidin.

In a videotape provided by the intelligence service, the cleric told authorities that he had helped the Taliban two or three times in the past year to get equipment, including wire for making bombs. Zunelabidin, who was arrested at the hotel with Yasur, said he also had provided a place for suicide bombing recruits to stay.

At least five high-profile suicide bombings have struck security forces and civilians across Afghanistan since January.

One bomber struck an upscale supermarket frequented by foreigners in Kabul on Jan. 28, killing eight people. Seventeen days later, another suicide bomber in Kabul attacked a Western-style shopping mall, killing two security guards.

Taliban insurgents wearing explosive vests attacked a police headquarters in Kandahar on Feb. 12, unleashing an arsenal of car bombs, automatic rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades and killing at least 18 people, many of them police.

In Khost, a suicide attacker in a bomb-laden car struck a police station on Feb. 18, killing 11 people.

In northern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up Monday at the entrance to an Afghan government office in Kunduz province, killing at least 30 people, including many who were waiting in line to obtain government identification cards, police said.  

Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann in Kabul contributed to this report.

check http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2011/february/feb262011.html#4 for the entire article.

If these abductions make you angry, well that's good.  I doubt stories like this make the news back home.  If you'd like to do something to raise the political and social profile of child soldiers then check out General Dallaire's Child Soldier Initiative called Zero Force.  I have a link at the bottom of the blog.  Also, talk about the issue with your friends and colleagues and feel free to share my blog with them.  Finally, write a letter to your MP and make your representative in Ottawa aware of how you feel.  The government can raise the priority of child soldiering as a security issue but only if we make MPs accountable.  If you write such a letter feel free to post a copy on this blog (just post your initials and not your full name).

Thanks for checking in.

Ken

Driving Through Kabul

Here are a few photos I took today.  It was clear afternoon and I could easily see the snow covered mountains of the Hindu Kush range.  These mountains ring Kabul and the area is frequently subject to minor earthquakes and on occasion stronger more devastating quakes.  As you can see in some of these photos not much steel goes into construction here and when walls shake roofs collapse.  My colleagues tell me that its not always easy to see Kabul because of all the smog.  The breeze was just right today and it blew all the smoke and dust away. This is the view from my camp.

I took these photos from a moving vehicle so some of them might have been a bit shaky.

 

This last photo was taken closer to the center of Kabul.  The roads are better and traffic gets very heavy at all times of day.  Driving in Kabul is not for amateurs and the rules of the road are interpreted liberally.  There are no traffic lights that I've seen, just round-abouts and uncontrolled intersections.  Yet everybody seems to understand the flow and people get where they're going.  I feel bad for one of my colleagues on my deployment....he was assigned to mentor the Traffic Section.  He's got his work cut out for him.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

Touchdown in Afghanistan

Earlier this week I arrived in Afghanistan.  The trip was a long one but we made it safe and sound if not a bit exhausted.  Our first stop was the Kandahar Air Field (KAF) for some training and acclimatizing.  A few of our members are assigned to Kandahar and, after saying our goodbyes, the bulk of our members made the flight north to Kabul.  Once in Kabul we made our way to our respective assignments.  The mission for Canadian Civilian Police (CivPol) has changed substantially this year and ours is the first group to work under this new strategy.  More on that later though.  In this post I’d like to show some images of the stunning Afghan landscapes and share my first impressions of the Afghans I have met.

I knew that Afghanistan was a mountainous country but I did not expect to see all the snow on the mountaintops.  I know that soon all the snow I see will be melted and before long temperatures will soar to the 40’s and 50’s Celsius.  I consider myself fortunate to have seen the snow capped mountains when I did.  This morning I woke up to light snow and overcast skies.  The cold can be a significant challenge in Afghanistan because there is no natural gas utility to heat people’s homes.  Most rely on burning wood which as you can see is scarce.  By then end of winter anything that is combustible has been burned for heat including dried manure, a measure not unlike that which Canadian homesteaders had to rely on.   A very fortunate few can use an electric heater but electrical service is often scant and unreliable.  

I’ve met only a few Afghans so far.   One of my colleagues is a young Afghan who speaks 7 languages and is very literate and computer savy.  Another is a young person born and raised in Kabul, immigrated to Canada, and is back in Afghanistan working for the Canadian Government.  Its clear to me already the potential and determination in the Afghan people, of all ages.  I feel fortunate to be here and assisting them in renovating their nation into the kind of country they seek.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

A Word About The Blog

I thought I might give you a bit of an explanation for the design of the blog.  I chose a photo by Luke Powell as the centre piece. Powell has captured some beautiful and stunning photos of Afghanistan's people, culture, and landscapes.  Many of these photos were taken prior to the Soviet invasion and show a side of Afghanistan that we just don't see in mainstream media.  Many of the photos I use in my PowerPoint presentations for elementary, junior high school, and high schools come out of his on-line collection.

The photo in the blog captures three people making their way through ancient city gates.  The oldest man is walking; perhaps the grandfather, a younger man is seated on a donkey; perhaps the father, and if you look very carefully you'll see a small child also on the donkey; perhaps the son. The gates are in ruin but are clearly very ancient, likely from the time Alexander the Great.  The city itself is no longer there. In the distance the mountains remind the viewer that Afghanistan's geography, climate, and mountain ranges pre-date its antiquity and are part of its future.  The symbolism in this single frame is very rich and captures much of what we see transpiring in Afghanistan right now.  I'm sure we can each draw our own meanings from this photo.  Please feel free to comment on your own interpretations.  Here are a few of mine.

The gates are extremely symbolic.  Gates exist to keep others out, to guide others in, to separate, and to welcome with great fanfare.  These gates are very clearly solid, apparently made with local bricks and mortar, and have withstood the punishing effects of time.  They have been worn down and crumbled in places but are stoically stubborn, resilient, and persistent.  The gates have outlasted the city which they were built to protect and have survived it all.

The grandfather is escorting his son and grandson out through the gates toward the vastness and uncertainties of the plain in front of them.  I find this symbolic of Afghan's future.  It is not entirely clear what lies ahead for the country but there is most certainly a mountain ahead that needs to be climbed.  It is a challenge for the young to undertake and with some help. I guess that makes me the donkey.....oh well I've been called worse.

Afghanistan's future lies in its youth and the journey ahead is sure to be slow.  That theme is reflected in the title I've chosen for the blog: Forward Motion.  The title recognizes that one year's contribution by a group of well-intentioned Canadian police officers and their families back home will not significantly change the political, economic, or security landscape of Afghanistan. Rather, at best it will keep the Afghan momentum moving forward.  Afghans know what it is they want and they've spoken clearly in the polls that the UN has conducted.  They want above all security, liberty of education, the opportunity to earn a living, own property, and reliable legitimate governance by Afghans.  The goal of our mission is to help them set up the institutions they have identified to meet these ends.  This time line is measured in years, not months.  Our contributions may be only a speck of sand in the desert but the desert is better off because of it.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

A Test of Philosophies

I am writing to you today from the comfort of my hotel room looking over a frozen and snow-covered lake Ontario.  We are over the halfway point in our training now and we’re finally starting to get into what many of us consider the most valuable part of the training; the meat and potatoes so to speak.  This training reminds us in vivid and chilling ways that we have volunteered and committed ourselves, our families, and our friends to a very difficult mission.  Many of us tend to downplay this particular aspect of the mission because it’s not a very comfortable prospect to dwell upon, neither for us nor for those who love us.  We’re accustomed to facing the risks of police work and we’ve grown quite proficient at operating among threats and uncertainties to our personal and collective security.  One of my colleagues from Montreal recently reminded us that we’ve been ‘on mission’ for 20 years.  For me that experience brings comfort and a degree of confidence.

Stepping into one of the most dangerous places in the world demands reflection and serious deliberation.  Do the guaranteed risks outweigh the potential benefits? Are there any benefits to be realized at all?  Will our efforts in Afghanistan and the separation from our families be worthwhile?  I think so, and so do my family and each of my colleagues going over.  I’ve had a chance to speak to just about all of the police officers and I can tell you with certainty that they are each true humanitarians committed to this mission.  We have come from all parts of Canada, each with different professional and personal backgrounds, of different religions and ethnicities, Franco and Anglo, equally resolved to giving our best to our tasks because we believe in what we are doing. 

As I continue to prepare myself mentally and physically for the assignment ahead I find myself wondering to what degree my ideals about this mission might change as the months drag on and my future becomes my past.  This blog is as much a vehicle to let you know what I am thinking as it is to let you know what I am doing.  So in the spirit of self-reflection, and maybe a bit of cheap self-administered therapy, I’d like to share a couple of the personal philosophies that compel me.  I’ve been accused many times of being naïve but I don’t mind because it means I’m also easily inspired. 

There is universal equality in humanity.  Nobody can claim credit for the conditions or circumstances of their birth and nobody is entitled to claim privilege as a result of their beginnings.  Likewise nobody can be assigned any blame or responsibility for the situation into which they were born.  When I realize that it could just as easily be me walking in their shoes then I recognize the equality of humanity. There is no privilege assumed in birth, only the responsibility to do what we can in the name of humanity.  If you want to read a compelling example of this philosophy then please pick up General Dallaire’s latest book: “They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children”.  Imagine your child’s soul in the body of a 10-year old boy or girl child soldier in the African bush, or pedaling a bicycle loaded with explosives into an Afghan marketplace and your life will never be the same again.  General Dallaire is eloquent, honest, and writes with the vivid emotions he carried away from a genocide.  You’ll never forget this book.

No relationship is inevitable.  That’s a small statement but it carries with it a self-evident truth that relationships, be they between states, between a government and its citizens, between families, and between individuals, are created and manufactured.  Because they are created these relationships (which some would call social structure) can be changed.  The present condition of a relationship is not the only condition possible and sometimes change just can’t be stopped.  Consider what is happening this very day in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen.  This belief has a particular significance for me now as my colleagues and I become actors in the fractured and violent relationships in Afghanistan.  I understand and believe that the current social structure of Afghanistan, rife with violence, insurgencies, religious extremism, and corruption is not inevitable.  Afghanistan's citizens know what it is they require in order to live a better life and we; I, can help them get it done.  And I will.

Thanks for checking in.

   "PEUX CE QUE VEUX, ALLONS-Y"

LGEN. THE HON. ROMEO DALLAIRE

Shift in Training

As you can see, our training has taken on a different look.  We arrived earlier this week at CFB Kingston for the Individual Pre-Deployment Training course at the Peace Support Training Centre.  The school is part of the Canadian Forces Centre of Excellence for Peace Support Operations Training (http://armyapp.forces.gc.ca/pstc-cfsp/ipt_e.asp).  We joined approximately 25 members of the CF who are also taking this course.  The soldiers come from all three branches of the CF, are of different ranks and trades and come from all parts of Canada.  Most of these CF members will be coming to Afghanistan but some will be going to Bosnia, Sudan, and other places.  The two groups got along well from the beginning and camaraderie and morale is high within the class.  Our instructors are supremely qualified and many have been on multiple tours in Afghanistan.  They are very professional and eager to teach us what they know.

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday learning and qualifying on the C-7.  It is essentially the same carbine that most police services issue to their Tactical Teams and carbine operators.  Its been 10 years since I trained on one but things came back quickly enough.

The weather was perfect and gave us a good taste of what we can expect in the deserts of Afghanistan!

In this photo we are qualifying in the prone position from 200m.  The woman in the yellow snow pants is a civilian 'war artist' commissioned by the government who will be going to the Sudan.   The middle photo shows us qualifying at 100m.  We came back later that evening for a night shoot from 50m.  Believe it or not it was actually warmer in the evening.

Thanks for checking in and feel free to share the link with family and friends.

Ken.

We're working through the weekend on our pre-deployment training.  We spent the day on firearms training.  On this mission we will be issued the handgun carried by the RCMP which is a 9mm Smith and Wesson.  All municipal police officers (Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Montreal, Ottawa, etc) carry a different firearm and for some of us it was the first time we have shot with this particular style handgun.  The day went well and we will all qualify tomorrow. 

The weather here in Ottawa turned a bit sour today and it's not as sunny as the photo taken the day before.  However, its much better than the weather in Edmonton: -34 C with another 6 inches of snow.

Thanks for checking in and all the supportive posts.

Ken.

Kit Issue

Yesterday afternoon I received my kit issue from the RCMP International Peace Operations Branch stores.  Talk about a bunch of stuff!  The quality of the clothes and gear all looks good and the quantity certainly is generous.  We'll get a chance to test out some of the clothing over the next few weeks when we transfer to a nearby CF base for our military component of pre-deployment training.  The quartermasters were good guys, supremely organized, and good-natured.  They kit out all the members for all the UN missions including Afghanistan.  They loaded us down with gear, shook our hands, wished us luck, and off we went.

The Afghanistan mission is unique in some respects because it is a NATO mission and not a United Nations mission.  Because of this arrangement we won't be wearing the UN blue berret or the UN crests on our shirts and jackets.  Instead we have a Canadian flag and "Police" shoulder flash and a brassard (slips over the sleeve of your shirt and covers your shoulder) with the shoulder flash of our home police service.  There is a chance that some of our rotation will be assigned to the European Union Police Mission to Afghanistan (EUPOL) ( http://www.eupol-afg.eu/ ). Those members will be issued a EUPOL berret but the rest of the uniform will remain more or less the same. 

We've been advised of the postings that we've been tentatively assigned but since changes are guaranteed for many of us I'll postpone telling you my assignment until I'm actually there.  It looks good though.

Thanks for all the kind posts over the last few days.  We sure appreciate it.  If you have any questions or curiosities please post them.  I'll do my best to answer them.

Pre-Deployment Training Underway

I'm settled in at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa and we're into Day 2 of our pre-deployment training.  I've had a chance to meet and talk with most of the mission members. We've got a pretty senior group with an average seniority of about 18-20 years.  The most senior member has 40 years and the most junior has around 10 years.  The members have come from all parts of Canada and some have been on United Nations missions before.  One of my cohorts has been to Haiti twice already.  Nobody has been to Afghanistan though and we're all eager to soak up any bits of knowledge our course coordinator throws our way.  We've already picked up a few interesting bits on Monday morning.  Suffice it to say that nobody is expecting a comfortable stay in Afghanistan regardless of where we might get posted.  That hasn't dissuaded the group and enthusiasm and anticipation remain high.

This is my first trip to the Canadian Police College and I'm impressed so far.  The accommodations are nice and the food is great.  I've got the internet in my room and a nice view over the river.  My neighbour is from Fredericton Police Service but is a former Camrose member who went through EPS recruit training a few years ago.  My good friend and old patrol/tactical partner J-GL is an instructor here at the CPC and he has given me the grand tour.  Its always nice to have a familiar face around and I'm going to enjoy spending a few evenings shooting the breeze and catching up with him before we deploy.

I've been able to Skype home every evening and stay connected.  N was tested early; she woke up Monday morning to a burned out motor on the furnace.  She took it all in stride though and got it all sorted out in short order.  It was probably a good confidence booster for all of us.  On top of all that N had the recent snowfall to clear away too.

I'm able to check out what's going on with C and J at school on the EPBS web site.  I can review their homework assignments, school events, and even send e-mails to their teachers.  Tonight I'll practice their spelling words with them on Skype.  Skyping is going to take some of the edge off this separation and we're glad to have such technology available. 

I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement that were sent our way in the days before I left Edmonton.  A very special thanks to JS and RP who surprised me at the airport early Sunday morning.  They braved the icy roads to wish us well and bring us a card signed by Squad 8.  Thanks for the nice words everybody.  I love you too Turtle but not like you hope.

That's all for now folks.

Thanks for checking in.

Ken.

Kick-Off

Our patience and persistence have finally paid off and our adventure is set to begin. I leave for Ottawa to begin pre-deployment training January 09, 2011. I expect to be in Afghanistan by March 2011. Please visit the site often to catch up on where I am and what I'm doing.

I want to open this blog site with by honouring the three most important people in my world for their love and support. I'm glad that we can share this adventure together.

Ken.