The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Afghanistan is a long ways away from here. It is literally on the other side of the world. Yet, for two young men from Denare Beach, it's a place to temporarily call home, at least for a six month stretch of their lives in the military. Sig Scott Grindle, 23, of Denare Beach returned home last winter after spending six months in Afghanistan serving as a peacekeeper in the Canadian army. He served with the 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group HQ & Sig Sqn which is based out of Petawawa, Ontario. Meanwhile, Pte Steve Baschuk, 22, of Denare Beach is preparing to head to Afghanistan next month with the 1st Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group First Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. His unit is based out of Edmonton. Scott, who is married with two children, spent his six month tour of duty in Afghanistan from August of last year to January of 2004. "I worked with the communications equipment in the Command Post and helped transfer information and personnel around the city of Kabul," he explained. The Canadian Command Post in Kabul, called Camp Julien, held about 1,600 soldiers during Scott's six month posting there. He mentioned that the city of Kabul, which is the capital of Afghanistan, is very densely populated with about three to five million people. It's impossible to get an accurate census because the population is constantly growing due to immigration. Interestingly, there are no traffic signs in Kabul. "We tried to put up some signs once," mentioned Scott, "but they were stolen right away. People either use them for material for their homes, or melt down any metal to sell as scrap." Every day Scott would venture into the city as part of his routine. "We were always armed and we made sure they knew we were Canadians on our patrols," he said. "Most of the people were quite pleased that we were there, but we also had some of the people throw things at us, or spit at us." See 'Really' P.# Con't from P.# One of the more tense moments of Scott's tour was the evening of September 11, the second anniversary of the infamous date that set in motion the need for troops in Afghanistan. "Our camp was hit by one rocket and missed by another," he said, noting that he was fortunate to be out of the camp at the time, as the rocket fell within 50 feet of where he usually stationed within the compound. Four army camps in Kabul were attacked that night and, fortunately, no soldiers were injured. However, one civilian was wounded by some shrapnel. Apparently the weaponry of the insurgents in Afghanistan is mostly improvised, and its accuracy isn't always on target. Some observations Scott had about this international hotspot was the change he noticed in the way women dressed. When he first arrived, a lot of women still dressed in their burka, which covers them from head to toe and shields their identity from public view. By the time Scott's tour of duty had concluded six months later, he said many women had exchanged the burka for a more western style of clothing. "Also, something you notice there is children don't have playgrounds," said Scott. "Instead you'll see them playing in a pile of garbage." Since arriving back in Canada, Scott has been transferred to Edmonton where he is now stationed, along with Steve. Like Scott, Steve also grew up in Denare Beach, his family moving there from Snow Lake in the early 90s. Steve was a member of the local army cadets for about eight years, and now he will be heading to Afghanistan next month on his first peacekeeping mission, as a member of the Canadian infantry. "My job description will be mostly to help maintain the camp security by searching personnel and vehicles that come through the camp gates," said Steve. "Also, I am a part of the group that will respond to any incidents that happen within the Canadian area of operations." Steve returned recently from a two week live training session in Minnesota where he was taught combat skills for an urban environment. Like Scott did before him, Steve will be carrying a machine gun every day he is in Afghanistan. "We are there for peace keeping duties, but we always train for combat if necessary," he said. Both Scott and Steve take pride in serving their country and in being able to help other people, even those living half way around the world. Scott said when he went to Afghanistan on his peacekeeping tour it "really gets you pumped up, you're going there as part of your country's army, it creates a lot of pride and really gives you a purpose." Steve added: "It's good to see the world the way it really is, and to come back here and appreciate what you have in Canada."9/7/04
