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Soldiers receive mixed reactions from Afghan civilians 7 · Thursday, November 19, 2009 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Continued from page 3 majority of Canadian deaths in Afghanistan, they were never far from the minds of those driving along Afghanistan's southern roads. McAulay noted the need to be wary was driven home particularly hard by the roadsides in some of these areas, which are littered with the twisted wrecks and burnt out shells of civilian vehicles destroyed by insurgent bombs. "It wasn't so bad when we were going out on a lot of the operations because we were going off road and they (the Taliban) are not going to set up a bomb in the middle of a field because it's a waste of their time and munitions. We also had a lead tank that plows for mines and a lot of guys who know what to look for," said McAulay. "The most dangerous times were when we would go over bridges and through areas we'd always go to. They always set bombs off on the same roads and we always have to go and repair that bridge or that road and they know we're going to be coming through that area. That's why we have to check everything as we're going along and that's why we have to go so slowly. If we're going somewhere that is only three kilometres away it will take us an hour and a half to two hours to get there because we have to check everything." McAulay said being in a convoy that can consist of more than 100 vehicles and stretch several kilometres in length makes it easier to go through these problem areas. "You're a little bit more on edge, a little more alert, but at the same time you get used to it, I guess," said McAulay. CARSON MCAULAY / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER NAP TIME A makeshift sleeping station is set up outside an armoured truck. "There's so many of you watching each other's backs you have that sense of security that if I don't see it (an IED) someone else will. I was never really worried that we wouldn't be able to handle what came at us. I was never really afraid. Maybe that's not always a good thing, but you can't get bullied." During these missions McAulay also witnessed the mixed reception Canadian soldiers get from Afghan civilians. In some places, he noted, children would run up to the passing vehicles in hopes the soldiers would give them candy or food or toys, which the soldiers did until the children's tendency to run between their military vehicles created a dangerous situation and the practice had to be abandoned. In other areas, the Canadians received a less friendly reception with the children actually throwing rocks at them. "Some people were actually injured by this. I've seen a couple guys get hit in the face by a rock," said McAulay. "It sucks to see it because you're there to try and help them. A lot of these people don't understand what's happening. They don't have a newspaper. It's all word of mouth." Afghans would also get angry when McAulay's vehicle column would drive through their fields, however, in these instances the Canadian Forces were pretty good about reimbursing the owners for the damage, McAulay noted. While most missions went by without incident, there were a few in which the Taliban made their presence known. These usually amounted to brief hit and run attacks in which a Taliban fighter would peak out from a hiding place long enough to fire a rocket propelled grenade before beating a hasty retreat from the area. On another occasion a tank hit an IED powerful enough to injure two crew members inside. Neither of these incidents, however, compared to an 11hour attack that saw a Taliban mortar team stalk McAulay's convoy. McAulay noted his convoy had just assisted the Americans with an operation and were making their way back to base along a dried riverbed when the attack began. "They were kind of following us along as we were trying to get back to our base, but we had a lot of broken down vehicles, we were trying to tow American vehicles. It was quite a show," said McAulay. "We were being mortared. We couldn't see where they were coming from, but they were an effective mortar team, they were hitting vehicles with mortars and that is really dangerous. You don't realize how strong some of these weapons are...you don't think the Taliban are going to have something that can blow apart a vehicle, but then you see some of the vehicles that are hit." It was during this attack that McAulay witnessed a pickup truck, driven by members of the Afghan National Army, blown to pieces. "There was like nothing left of that truck," said McAulay. "We normally feel safe in an armoured vehicle and after you see some of that stuff you don't really feel safe anymore. When you lose that sense of security that you normally have, it becomes a little more real." The situation worsened when other Taliban fighters got ahead of the convoy and began planting anti-tank mines and IEDs in its path. McAulay remembers passing an anti-tank mine that someone had simply thrown on the riverbed, not even bothering to cover it up. It was at this point the lead tank detonated an IED. "When that happens you wonder who's in that vehicle, you can't see them because they are so far ahead, you don't know how bad it is so you're listening to the radio to try and get any information about what is going on," said McAulay. "There's nothing you can do about it and you feel really helpless in the sense that you want to run up and see if your buddy is okay, but you're stuck doing your job. You're being attacked at the time and you've still got stuff to do." McAulay was relieved when news finally came over the radio that everyone in the tank was unhurt. With another tank disabled the convoy called on air support, which dispersed the Taliban attack. "They're a lot more scared of helicopters," said McAulay. With his time in Afghanistan now over, McAulay is hoping Canadians will keep in mind that what is taking place in Afghanistan is a war and wars cannot be won easily. "It's going to be a long road to get anything done there that is going to be long lasting. It's never going to be easy to do something like that," he said."I think people need to be a bit more committed to it and give it more of a chance than they really are." OPEN HOUSE DATE: d November 23rd All sessions will run from 7:30 ­ 8:30 pm and include a shor short presentation follo d followed by a tour of our wonderful school. onderful We W offer full-time and part-time JK & SK and grades 1-8 Oakville, Ontario L6J 7T1 905-829-8048