www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 27, 2007 - 3 Welcome to Afghanistan Continued from page 1 when on Friday, April 13, Smith journeyed to the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton and boarded a plane for Afghanistan, which only a day earlier had brought back the flagdraped coffins of Canada's latest casualties. "There were a number of soldiers that were lost that week and it was just after the ramp ceremony took place in Trenton that we arrived in order to deploy," said Smith. "So, it really rings home as to what we were about to undertake in our lives." Confronted by the grim homecoming Smith's mind filled, not so much with fears of his own death, but questions surrounding what the future would bring. `Have I got all the training I need? Have I done the preparations I need to do? Have I made the arrangements necessary in case something happens to me? Am I good enough to do the job that the country is asking me to do?' "It's pretty comforting when you go half way around the world, you hop off the airplane, you're met by the receiving crew and your daughter is right there to give you a great big hug." SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER NEXT STOP AFGHANISTAN: Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Smith en route to Afghanistan in a military air transport that days before had brought back the flag-draped coffins of Canada's latest war casualties. plane, you're met by the receiving crew and your daughter is right there to give you a great big hug," said Smith. "Who'd have thought 25 years ago that I'd be serving in an operational theatre with my daughter. It's not the way we Canadians often think the world order is going to work out, but it did." As great as the greeting was, it only lasted about 10 minutes as both Smith and Stephanie were in Kandahar to work. Almost immediately, other Canadian Forces personnel took Smith to begin an orientation where he received essential equipment, refresher courses in weapons and first aid, the latest briefings on what was happening in the field, information on what tactics the insurgents were using and training on what tactics the Canadians were using to counter them. Smith was also given time to climatize and recover from his long plane ride. All this training and information proved very useful, very quickly when, after only a few days in Afghanistan the Kandahar airfield was rocked by a Taliban rocket attack. "The sirens went off and away we went into our bunkers," said Smith. "They hit the camp, but we did not have casualties." While a rocket attack would be enough to drive most civilian populations into a panic, Smith describes the Canadian soldiers' evacuation to nearby bunkers as orderly both because of their training and because the frequent real and perceived rocket attacks on the base had given them ample opportunity to practice. Smith noted that some soldiers seemed more irritated than alarmed when the sirens went off, especially if one these raids took place during a meal. But for Smith, the attacks seemed to emphasize the strange duality of the land in which he now found himself. "There is a Tim Hortons there. There's a couple creature comforts of home, but it's very real what's going on there," said Smith. "This is not an exercise, it's an operation and it's very serious." After about a week of preparation and acquainting himself with Regional Command South, the Canadian/Coalition group he would liaise with ISAF headquarters in the north, Smith was on his way to Kabul. Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Smith The recent Canadian deaths also did little to make the parting between Smith and Petersen any easier. "Did we have tears in our eyes when we parted? Of course we did," said Smith. "That's probably a very good thing because you need to let the emotions flow in whatever way they're going to flow. Holding them inside just isn't good." With that tearful goodbye behind him, Smith was off to Afghanistan with Kandahar scheduled as the first stop in his journey. "My first recollection is when we landed. The ramp dropped at the back of the Hercules and it was like a wall of heat hitting you," said Smith. "That hit me right in the face." It was at this point that Smith got to experience something few soldiers will ever know, which was the joy of being greeted by his daughter at the beginning of the mission instead of the end. A lieutenant in the Canadian Forces, Stephanie Smith had served as a nurse in Kandahar since her deployment on Jan. 26. For Smith the experience of being reunited with his daughter a world away from Canada was almost surreal. "It's pretty comforting when you go half way around the world, you hop off the air- SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER HITCHING A RIDE: Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Smith and his daughter, Lieutenant Stephanie Smith, a military nurse stationed in Kandahar, stand in front of an LAV3, used to transport troops in Afghanistan. See My page 4 · Wood & Vinyl Shutters, Supplied & Installed · High Quality at Affordable Prices · Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed · Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service Authorized Vinylbilt Dealer www.shuttersetc.ca Shop at Home Service FREE