Supporting the Troops Our Way
The engine of the Canadian Forces Hercules pounds away at our ears, as we make our descent onto the Kandahar Airfield (KAF). We feel grateful for the opportunity to serve our country abroad and this will be one of the greatest experiences of our lives. We know the other cooks we are relieving are as grateful as we are that we have arrived. This being our first tour, it will give us the understanding and knowledge of how the military works when deployed to such a volatile region of the world. We feel the landing gear vibrate below us as our stomachs go into knots. We keep telling ourselves over an over and “this is what we trained for, to help better these people’s lives”. We finally land and make our way across the tarmac. Excitement is starting to take over after the long voyage. Wow!
We get our orders from the Sergeant Major and proceed to load our kit onto the ten-ton trucks. The troops board the buses that will take us to our quarters. We stare out the windows to catch a glimpse of what we’ve been thinking about for the past several months. We are amazed at the size and general appearance of KAF compared to our visions. It is extremely overwhelming. We have the opportunity to experience the food being served at the kitchen making our own opinions despite the rumours. There is a vast selection to choose from, but the downfall is: such large quantity cooking reduces its quality.
Although our stay in KAF is a day and a half, we are thrilled to leave and get to our final destination, the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team of Camp Nathan Smith (KPRT). We load our kit into a sea container and board the Bison that will take us there. For the first time in our careers, we load and ready our weapons away from a range. We are now soldiers, not just cooks! Our cook training is forced to the rear of our brains as we scramble to remember everything we have learned from the combat arms soldiers that we feed.
After a nerve-wrecking journey of half an hour (that feels like eternity when in a vehicle that has no windows to see outside), we exit the Bison and feel the relief of being safe back on a camp. In the star filled darkness, we turn and watch the previous rotation board the luxury of a Chinook to return them to KAF and begin their long journey home. Our jealousy at their transportation is overridden by our anticipation of our up-coming duties. We have been told that the PRT’s claims to fame are the empty swimming pool and the kitchen, producing outstanding fresh food. We know we have an important job to do and high expectations to meet, but we are up to the challenge. After all – cooking is our calling! We are shown to our quarters and told to get some rack-time for the first time in days. We are filled with joy to discover that we reside in an actual building and have most of the luxuries of home without actually being there. And yes there is porcelain to use!
In the morning we are brought to the kitchen to reunite and meet with the team we will be working with for the next six months. We haven’t spiralled our unique talents together since the Wainwright exercise last September/October (Exercise Phoenix Ram). But we worked great with each other there and we know we will here as well. Again we experience a career first. Two thirds of the staff are local Afghan nationals. We suddenly realize that our job will include additional challenges – learning a new language (Pashto) and learning to overcome our cultural differences in order to collectively achieve our goal of giving the troops delicious and healthy sustenance. Fortunately the local employees are as eager to achieve this goal as we are. We generally try and speak to them in Pashto, while they bounce back with a little English they have learned over the years. They really do try and speak as well as they can but English is one of the hardest languages to learn for them.
The kitchen itself is a weather haven, a large framed tent with flooring. It has all the great amenities of home. We have a general prep and cooking areas with two Hobart bombers, two tilt fryers, two combination steamers, and two industrial ovens. We also have a new Hobart mixer, which is completely digital. The salad room is located in the back of the kitchen. We have three reefer fridges and three reefer freezers located in the back storeroom. Fresh rations arriving once every ten days. The dining room is very well laid out, with the salad bar and bread table sitting in the main hallway. And of course God’s necessity two water fridges and one pop fridge. The overall appearance and setup of the kitchen is not what we had expected. It is excellent and adds to the overall production of some of the finest food in the country.
Once we are assigned our shifts (nine on, one off with rotating early and late shifts), we step outside to gaze at our surroundings by the light of day. At first we fixate on the glorious mountains rising above the camp to the south. As we explore we discover that our camp, and the entire city of Kandahar, is completely surrounded by mountains. They lack the snow-peaked tips and safety of the Canadian Rockies, but they are a reminder to us how small this world is and that these people experience their land in the same sense we do – always in the shadow of majesty. Camp Nathan Smith isn’t a large camp. There is a Helicopter Landing Pad, quarters, bathrooms, gaming rooms, and the computer and phone sea cans. We have a swimming pool under construction, and officer’s quarters. These buildings tell a story in themselves. They give us a look at how this country is so different from our own, typically speaking. Buildings that seem like they have been standing on their last brick for numerous years. But, it really beats staying in modular tents.
Over the course of the day, we get to know our military co-workers. We have already met Master Warrant Officer Jim Brown while in KAF, and he will remain there throughout the tour. The KO for this roto is PO1 Mike Charette from 2 PPCLI out of Shilo, Manitoba. Everyone else is from Edmonton, Alberta. Both Sergeant Mike Sheff and Master Corporal Terry Schuba are from 1 PPCLI, and Corporal’s Chuck Clare & Chris Butler is from Service Battalion.
I, Corporal Selwyn Langdon, am from 1 RCHA out of Shilo, Manitoba and Corporal Kim Doucette is from 1 CER out of Edmonton, Alberta. As individuals we have outstanding abilities and as a team we will secure our objective; “To keep the troops fed with excellent meals”. The moral level here must exceed any other in Canada, for we know the troops really need a boost after coming off of long hot and sometimes dangerous patrols every day. They are the reason we exert ourselves to shine!
With the setting of the sun and the chilly onset of the desert evening, we say farewell to our first day of OP Archer. We look forward to six months of hard work and the immense reward of troops who brag about us around this country. Our duty in Afghanistan will be fulfilled when this tour is over and in our minds, we will understand the reasons why we were here in the first place.
One of the added bonuses of being as close to the city as we are is “the bazaar” which is here outside the gate every Friday. In the afternoon, we see everybody dawn there combat shirts, floppy hat, and weapon loaded making their way to the bazaar. The variety of items you can get there is unbelievable. They have everything, carpets and rugs, movies, various marble, sunglasses, and a whole lot more. It is nothing to go and spend several hundred dollars in one visit. It is really worth it though. Our significant others will enjoy every piece we send back to Canada.
Another really exciting thing that happens every so often is the VIP’s visits. They range from Peter Mansbridge to the Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan. The visit of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier and the Prime Minister, Mr. Stephen Harper gave us the mindset that this is a very important tour and it is necessary for us to achieve every goal put in place in order to better the lives of the Afghan people. We have confidence in ourselves and all the other troops here at Camp Nathan Smith that this will be a great tour.
We get our orders from the Sergeant Major and proceed to load our kit onto the ten-ton trucks. The troops board the buses that will take us to our quarters. We stare out the windows to catch a glimpse of what we’ve been thinking about for the past several months. We are amazed at the size and general appearance of KAF compared to our visions. It is extremely overwhelming. We have the opportunity to experience the food being served at the kitchen making our own opinions despite the rumours. There is a vast selection to choose from, but the downfall is: such large quantity cooking reduces its quality.
Although our stay in KAF is a day and a half, we are thrilled to leave and get to our final destination, the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team of Camp Nathan Smith (KPRT). We load our kit into a sea container and board the Bison that will take us there. For the first time in our careers, we load and ready our weapons away from a range. We are now soldiers, not just cooks! Our cook training is forced to the rear of our brains as we scramble to remember everything we have learned from the combat arms soldiers that we feed.
After a nerve-wrecking journey of half an hour (that feels like eternity when in a vehicle that has no windows to see outside), we exit the Bison and feel the relief of being safe back on a camp. In the star filled darkness, we turn and watch the previous rotation board the luxury of a Chinook to return them to KAF and begin their long journey home. Our jealousy at their transportation is overridden by our anticipation of our up-coming duties. We have been told that the PRT’s claims to fame are the empty swimming pool and the kitchen, producing outstanding fresh food. We know we have an important job to do and high expectations to meet, but we are up to the challenge. After all – cooking is our calling! We are shown to our quarters and told to get some rack-time for the first time in days. We are filled with joy to discover that we reside in an actual building and have most of the luxuries of home without actually being there. And yes there is porcelain to use!
In the morning we are brought to the kitchen to reunite and meet with the team we will be working with for the next six months. We haven’t spiralled our unique talents together since the Wainwright exercise last September/October (Exercise Phoenix Ram). But we worked great with each other there and we know we will here as well. Again we experience a career first. Two thirds of the staff are local Afghan nationals. We suddenly realize that our job will include additional challenges – learning a new language (Pashto) and learning to overcome our cultural differences in order to collectively achieve our goal of giving the troops delicious and healthy sustenance. Fortunately the local employees are as eager to achieve this goal as we are. We generally try and speak to them in Pashto, while they bounce back with a little English they have learned over the years. They really do try and speak as well as they can but English is one of the hardest languages to learn for them.
The kitchen itself is a weather haven, a large framed tent with flooring. It has all the great amenities of home. We have a general prep and cooking areas with two Hobart bombers, two tilt fryers, two combination steamers, and two industrial ovens. We also have a new Hobart mixer, which is completely digital. The salad room is located in the back of the kitchen. We have three reefer fridges and three reefer freezers located in the back storeroom. Fresh rations arriving once every ten days. The dining room is very well laid out, with the salad bar and bread table sitting in the main hallway. And of course God’s necessity two water fridges and one pop fridge. The overall appearance and setup of the kitchen is not what we had expected. It is excellent and adds to the overall production of some of the finest food in the country.
Once we are assigned our shifts (nine on, one off with rotating early and late shifts), we step outside to gaze at our surroundings by the light of day. At first we fixate on the glorious mountains rising above the camp to the south. As we explore we discover that our camp, and the entire city of Kandahar, is completely surrounded by mountains. They lack the snow-peaked tips and safety of the Canadian Rockies, but they are a reminder to us how small this world is and that these people experience their land in the same sense we do – always in the shadow of majesty. Camp Nathan Smith isn’t a large camp. There is a Helicopter Landing Pad, quarters, bathrooms, gaming rooms, and the computer and phone sea cans. We have a swimming pool under construction, and officer’s quarters. These buildings tell a story in themselves. They give us a look at how this country is so different from our own, typically speaking. Buildings that seem like they have been standing on their last brick for numerous years. But, it really beats staying in modular tents.
Over the course of the day, we get to know our military co-workers. We have already met Master Warrant Officer Jim Brown while in KAF, and he will remain there throughout the tour. The KO for this roto is PO1 Mike Charette from 2 PPCLI out of Shilo, Manitoba. Everyone else is from Edmonton, Alberta. Both Sergeant Mike Sheff and Master Corporal Terry Schuba are from 1 PPCLI, and Corporal’s Chuck Clare & Chris Butler is from Service Battalion.
I, Corporal Selwyn Langdon, am from 1 RCHA out of Shilo, Manitoba and Corporal Kim Doucette is from 1 CER out of Edmonton, Alberta. As individuals we have outstanding abilities and as a team we will secure our objective; “To keep the troops fed with excellent meals”. The moral level here must exceed any other in Canada, for we know the troops really need a boost after coming off of long hot and sometimes dangerous patrols every day. They are the reason we exert ourselves to shine!
With the setting of the sun and the chilly onset of the desert evening, we say farewell to our first day of OP Archer. We look forward to six months of hard work and the immense reward of troops who brag about us around this country. Our duty in Afghanistan will be fulfilled when this tour is over and in our minds, we will understand the reasons why we were here in the first place.
One of the added bonuses of being as close to the city as we are is “the bazaar” which is here outside the gate every Friday. In the afternoon, we see everybody dawn there combat shirts, floppy hat, and weapon loaded making their way to the bazaar. The variety of items you can get there is unbelievable. They have everything, carpets and rugs, movies, various marble, sunglasses, and a whole lot more. It is nothing to go and spend several hundred dollars in one visit. It is really worth it though. Our significant others will enjoy every piece we send back to Canada.
Another really exciting thing that happens every so often is the VIP’s visits. They range from Peter Mansbridge to the Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan. The visit of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier and the Prime Minister, Mr. Stephen Harper gave us the mindset that this is a very important tour and it is necessary for us to achieve every goal put in place in order to better the lives of the Afghan people. We have confidence in ourselves and all the other troops here at Camp Nathan Smith that this will be a great tour.