Why I wore my uniform once again
BY LEWIS MACKENZIE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2005 POSTED AT 8:21 AM EDT
FROM WEDNESDAY'S GLOBE AND MAIL
In 1993, when I took my release from the Canadian Forces, I promised myself that, in retirement, I would never don my uniform when there was a chance I might criticize government policy while wearing it. Loyalty to the principle of civilian control of the military is an essential characteristic of democracy. I had not worn my uniform for 12 years -- until this past week in Afghanistan.
Canada has more than 1,500 soldiers serving in Afghanistan and surrounding locations. The work they do is tough, dirty and, yes, dangerous. They are in the process of redeploying from the Kabul area to a more volatile region in and around Kandahar, and their numbers will grow to more than 2,000 in early 2006.
Appreciating that Canadians are less than well informed about our military's largest overseas commitment, Defence Minister Bill Graham and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Rick Hillier, invited a number of them to spend a week in Afghanistan with the men and women of the Canadian Forces.
Since Mr. Graham and Gen. Hillier would be meeting the Afghan leadership during our Team Canada visit, details of the trip (including the schedule and participants) were tightly controlled. Of course, enough was leaked to the media before our departure on Oct. 10 to draw the inevitable condemnation of our trip from some quarters as a waste of time and money.
The critics cited costs, presumably without checking that the military flights to and from Afghanistan were moving cargo and soldiers in and out of the theatre, with Team Canada in the rear of the aircraft. Eight hours to Zagreb, five hours to an "undisclosed location," three hours sleep followed by five hours to Kandahar -- that's not the definition of a luxury boondoggle.
Team Canada included Mary Ann Burdett and Tom Irvine of the Royal Canadian Legion; Rudyard Griffiths of the Dominion Institute; Bob Sweet, the mayor of Petawawa, Ont.; Tim Page of the Canadian Defence Industries Association; John Eaton of the Canadian Force's Liaison Council; Raf Souccar, assistant commissioner of the RCMP; sports superstars Catriona Le May Doan, Daniel Igali and Guy Lafleur; and entertainer Rick Mercer.
Our aim was to see as many soldiers as possible. We ate with them, patrolled with them, played with them, slept beside them and, most important, talked to them.
At first light and late at night, ball hockey games broke out, and Guy Lafleur took to the "ice." Ms. Le May Doan and Mr. Igali were inundated with requests for pictures and autographs, and Mr. Mercer never failed to bring smiles to hundreds of dusty faces.
Toward the end of our visit, Gen. Hillier invited us to attend a number of dusty parades, where he informally addressed his soldiers. When he called on Mr. Igali, the Olympic wrestling gold medalist, to say a few words, he spoke for all of Canada when he reminded the soldiers that, when they patrolled the dark alleys of some of the most dangerous places on Earth, every Canadian walked with them. I truly wish that were true.
Here's my message to some opposition MPs: Don't play politics with our soldiers. One defence critic who should know better questioned the wisdom of the Afghan visit even before our departure from Canada. The unit he commanded as a lieutenant-colonel in the 1970s is now serving in Kandahar. A number of the unit's solders indicated they would have him drawn and quartered if he showed his face in Afghanistan. Not exactly the type of endorsement he would appreciate, but one he should have expected.
As someone who has served in and commanded numerous overseas missions starting with the Gaza Strip in 1963, I can guarantee every Canadian that I have never encountered a deployed soldier who didn't appreciate the time, effort and risk volunteered by Team Canada participants in the past. So, before the critics offer commentary on such matters, perhaps they should contact the only people who really matter in this debate -- the soldiers doing the dirty work for the rest of us -- and ask them what they think.
Retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie was the first commander of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Sarajevo.
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