Can a Saultbie make a difference in Kabul? (10 photos)

SooToday.com has received another e-mail update from Lieutenant Colonel Eric Groulx, the former commanding officer of Sault Ste. Marie's 49th Field Artillery Regiment.

The local soldier writes from Afghanistan, where he's serving with the Canadian Forces.

This photo shows Groulx standing in front of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense garden.

The image gallery accompanying this article is comprised of photos from around Kabul and other areas of operation.

************************* Seventh letter home

Hello from Kabul.

Things have been going very well lately.

Other than a really small room that I have to share, I have found living in Kabul to be fairly comfortable.

I have escaped the extreme heat of Kandahar.

Here in Kabul, the temperatures are much like July in Sault Ste. Marie.

The environment – except for the air pollution - is quite pleasant.

The Afghans are really good at growing roses, and you see them everywhere.

The small group of Canadians here at International Stabilization Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters are a fairly tight knit group.

Everyone watches out for one another, and everyone pitches in to make this place feel like a home away from home.

I have been very busy with work, and developing good friendships with my Afghan partners.

Every day, I travel to the Afghan Army Headquarters.

I work out of the National Military Coordination Center.

In this center, the Afghan military coordinates their forces across the country.

All of the information from their ground and air forces comes into the center, and my job is to collect it all and get the information back to ISAF headquarters.

It is a challenging and rewarding job.

Every day, I am dealing with information and situations that are matters of life and death.

It is easy to become casual about what you are doing, but I do everything that I can to keep myself and those who I work with motivated.

Every day I tell my interpreter that we have to get busy because we have a country to save.

I do say this in fun, but I do take it seriously as well.

I have explained to people with whom I work that if they approach every day with the attitude that they will do something to save the people of this country, then their collective efforts will accomplish exactly that.

I am very encouraged by the Afghan officers who I work with.

They have every reason to be tired, and ready to just give up, but they do not.

General Fazlullah, who is the director of the center that I work in, has shown the motivation and enthusiasm of a 25-year-old soldier.

He is now 60 years old, and has been in the army for 40 years.

He has seen the Soviets come and go, he has seen the civil wars, he has witnessed the rise to power of the Taliban, and he is now fighting for a free and safe country.

This week, I travelled to Jalalabad with General Fazlulah and my translator.

When the general saw a couple of soldiers asleep near a gatehouse, he was upset.

He understands the need for constant vigilance – even in 40-degree-Celsius heat.

He met with the senior staff at the brigade headquarters we were visiting, pointed out the things that they were doing well, and motivated them to do more to achieve our goals.

I was proud to be associated with this very experienced and strong senior officer.

On the Jalalabad trip, I flew in an Afghan MI-17 helicopter that was conducting medical evacuations.

Just as we were about to take off, we had a call to pick up another patient on our way to Jalalabad.

The pick-up location was at a very remote combat outpost, but I was impressed with the artillery support right inside the compound.

I was surprised to see the patient that we picked up – he was an eight-year-old boy who had suffered a fall, and a compound fracture of his upper arm.

He did not complain, or show any signs of discomfort, although part of his bone was protruding through his skin.

He was fortunately heading to an ISAF hospital where he would receive proper care.

Otherwise, he would lose his arm.

On the way back to Kabul, we brought two soldiers on stretchers who were shot, and heading to a better hospital in Kabul.

The one thought that struck me was that these seriously wounded soldiers would get decent treatment, but once better, they would not carry on in safety, but would continue to live in a war-torn country.

I have noticed since working closely with the Afghans that some of the troops posted into Afghanistan from other countries carry some strong prejudices, and believe that Afghan soldiers are less than competent.

There are those that will treat Afghan officers senior to themselves with arrogance, and in some cases are downright disrespectful.

I have quickly learned that when you take the time to listen to these very experienced soldiers, they have a lot that we can learn from.

True enough, some of the soldiers are tired, and have lost their motivation, but they have every reason.

They are not here for a short six-month or 12-month tour.

They are here for a lifetime, and although, we have left our families behind, they have to go to work every day leaving their families living in poverty, and unsafe conditions.

When we drive in an armoured car, wearing protective equipment and carrying weapons, their children are walking to school in the open, wearing sandals and playing in the streets.

They live every day knowing that their family is not safe, and hope that every bombing and shooting does not hit them at home.

An eight-year-old child was killed at school yesterday morning when someone set off an improvised explosive device (IED) at a school.

By taking the time and having a genuine interest in getting to know the Afghan people who we are fighting for, we can find out how good they really are.

They want the same things that we want – to be free, to be safe, to not be hungry, and to have some happiness in their family.

When you recognize all of these factors, and treat these people with the respect that they have earned, we are able to really help them, and they will appreciate it.

Somebody once asked me what I thought I could really do in Afghanistan – it is such a big problem, that has gone on for so long, how can any one person make a change for the good.

I had to think on the question for some time, and now, I see the answer is confirmed in my mind.

Everyone has the ability to add one drop of positive change into the ocean of this problem.

As more people add their positive effort, the tide will change, and good things will follow.

We also have the ability to make a very significant difference in a small area.

That area may be with an interaction with an Afghan partner, it may be in the administrative duties that you are responsible for, or it may be as one member of the fighting force.

In other words, we all have the ability to make a significant difference in a small area, and a small difference in the big picture.

It is up to us to choose to make the difference.

Take Care.

Eric

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