The Adventure Begins

After the posh treatment of the team on the overseas flight, we arrived at Minhad Airfield where we were to regroup and get our weapons issued before we head into theater.

The weather in Dubai got up to 54 degrees Celsius on our second last day and that isn’t hot apparently.

After a couple of days of prepping we were finally ready to jump in with both feet. We joined a small group of Canadian Forces on a Hercules military flight into Kandahar Air Field. We wore our full battle gear which barely fit into the cargo webbing seats. Our means of safety were a loose-fitting 2 point leap belt . I affectionately dubbed this seating as the “Takin’ Care of Business” class.

Three and a half hours later and a really numb bum we touched down at KAF met by the CIVPOL entourage who preceded us a few months prior. From there we were whisked to our rooms, unpacked, issued security passes and had our passports stamped! All while hitting Tim Horton’s, which, like back home is constantly lined up.

All of this didn’t happen quite as quickly as it sounds. Things here get done ENSHALLA (if God wills it).

KAF is a very busy base which shocked me initially. There are literally thousands of Americans there as they have taken over operations. The U.S. military machine is truly impressive.

Kandahar Air Field is the Middle East dust capitol of the world. Everyone on our team was afflicted with runny noses, allergic reactions and the coveted KAF cough. The beige talcum powder gets everywhere…I mean EVERYWHERE !

After a few days at KAF things started to really get cool. We had to move to Camp Nathan Smith by BLACKHAWK helicopters !!! The tactical flight path was an awesome experience as we rocked back and forth and followed the contours of the terrain!

We got settled in at CNS and had “in clearance” training where we met more CIVPOL officers and managed to get some range time to sight in our weapons. Camp Nathan Smith is where we all were assigned our postings and headed out to our work regions.

Moving Day. I found out on one of my last days at CNS I was going to have a job change. My job at the Regional Training Centre had gone to someone else and I was to be posted at Forward Operating Base Walton. My new job is mentoring senior officers of the Afghan National Police in the Criminal Investigations Division.

On the 20th of September we mounted up in full PPE (personal protective equipment) also known as battle gear, headed over to the Canadian Forces convoy briefing before we hitched a ride to Forward Operating Base Walton.

Our first drive into Kandahar City was a little ominous but our faith in the force protection of the Canadian military gave us confidence that we would arrive safely. A 15 minute drive took about 50 minutes as intelligence came in that we should change up our planned route due to possible IEDs on the original map.

We arrived at FOB Walton without incident, were offloaded in a hurry and the convoy pressed on to KAF with the remainder of the passengers.

After stripping off the heavy armour we had a quick briefing and settled into our temporary quarters. I found myself in a tent with 8 Canadian military men, those who’ll be responsible for my safety when outside the wire (A good group of guys to get to know).

FOB Walton is very austere. Take M*A*S*H* and make it just a little dirtier, a little messier and a lot more populated.

But more on that later.