WAR! What Is It Good For?

I got two calls from Afghanistan today. My friend "Joe" is over there as part of the Canadian NATO force fighting the Taliban. He didn't call me from the FOB (Forward Operations Base) either. He called me from the field. He sounds so exhausted! They've been "outside the wire" for a month and living under a constant state of alert. Currently they are stationed on one side of dry river bed and the Taliban are on the other. They can see each other. There are rockets firing, bombs dropping and weapons blasting, every day and night.

Of the 120 guys in his company, more than 40 have been injured. Five have been killed. My friend was about 10 feet away from the blast that killed four of his comrads. He told me he was "just lucky". He helped them into body bags and sopped up the blood for others. There's a big hole in the front of their LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) from when it got hit and a few bullet holes too. There are six guys in his crew and between them, they go through four cases of water a day. The temps are 60C during the day and 40C at night. He hasn't had a shower for a month. This is a guy who loves 30 minute showers, twice a day.

He said a 4 year old Afghani child gave him the him the finger the other day. I told him I blamed the parents. That made him laugh! He's been lifting weights (?) to help deal with the stress but they are all jumpy. The recent deaths and injuries have devastated his company. He says he doesn't have time to grieve and that he'll do it when he comes home. He's knows he's not going to be the same when he returns to Canada but he hopes the military will get him the help he needs.

He assured me that they are not peacekeeping. I assured him that we all know we're in a war now. No one in Canada is operating under the misapprehension that they are simply peacekeeping over there any more. I also told him that the people of Canada support all the troops and that seemed to give him some solace. He wants me to write him letters. They are starting to get mail drops twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. They are also getting special dispensation to use the phone because they have been out in the field for so long. He decided to call me instead of his family or buddies back home because he knows I won't freak out when I hear weapons firing in the background. I waited until I got off the phone before I freaked out.

I told him I had a dream about him last night and he mentioned dreaming about me last week. He said that the country is quite beautiful and the stars are breathtaking at night. He's been sleeping on a ground sheet or in the back of the LAV. He never knew what he was getting into when he quit his civilian job and volunteered for this tour. He wants to shower, longs to sleep in a real bed and eat anything else but rations. He says there were some young guys in his company who became men within their first 72 hours outside the wire. He said he is more afraid of the camel spiders than he is of the Taliban. That made me laugh ...