Captain Patrick Petitclerc, Master Coproral Francis Crépault, Corporal Dan Cloutier, and Corporal Joey Dorval, four members of the 4th Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment (Laval). They are in Afghanistan with the Canadian Military Mission that provides security for work sites that are part of the reconstruction program in the province of Kandahar. They are not expected home before February of 2008.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo: Van
Laval in Afghanistan
Four soldiers on the front lines hail from here
Four Laval residents, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, have been in Afghanistan since July, part of the security operation attached to the rebuilding of war-torn sites in Kandahar province.
Deployed in Afghanistan since the summer, Captain Patrick Peticlerc, Master Corporal Francis Crépault, Corporal Dan Cloutier, and Corporal Joey Dorval of the 4th Battalion of the 22nd Regiment housed in Laval, do not expect to come home before February of 2008.
“We sometimes feel far from our families,” candidly admits Captain Petitclerc, reached by telephone in the early hours of this past Tuesday. “We’re staring to get weary, but it’s a mission that’s close to our hearts. We believe in it what we’re doing and we’re motivated to do it.”
The Canadian soldiers have set up a street hockey league to keep their spirits up, says Patrick Peticlerc.
“It’s the real thing, with standings, individual stats and referees,” he explains. “It’s become a topic of conversation all over the place. When your work becomes your daily life, this type of activity is crucial to the need to unwind a little.”
Reconstruction
The Laval soldiers are assigned to the reconstruction team whose principal mandate is to provide security for the various construction sites throughout Kandahar province.
Most of the projects they work on are situated in Kandahar city, but they are also called on to intervene in other districts such as Zharey, Panjwayi, Arghandab and Dand.
Captain Petitclerc is in charge of the detail, Master Corporal Crépault is the personnel administrator, and corporals Dan Cloutier and Joey Dorval are assigned to patrol the actual construction sites.
“We meet with political leaders in villages where we intervene to establish what their needs are,” relates Petitclerc. “After they tell us their needs, such as wells, school repairs, or agricultural infrastructures we locate a local contractor and set up measures to secure the work site.”
The mission
Asked to comment on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan which won’t conclude until 2009 and on the dozens of Canadian soldiers killed on Afghanistan soil since the mission began, Captain Petitclerc says that although he’s sensitive to the problems, he still firmly believes in the mission.
“It’s never easy to deal with the death of a soldier. Nobody escapes its horror. But we are prepared to cope with these situations. The tempo is so high that we hardly have any time to think about it. It comes with the job and we’ve accepted it. Personally, apart from routine maintenance, I’ve never had to use my weapon since I got here.
“I know that our presence here is controversial for some people,” he adds, “but being out there gives us the opportunity to see for ourselves the benefits of the rebuilding projects in each village. It’s a great source of motivation. Our role here is for politicians to debate, it does not concern us as soldiers.”
Photo:soldats
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo: Van
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
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