I was lucky enough to be part of
The Snowbirds for the 05-06 seasons. I was Snowbird 10,
team coordinator. During this time, and since, I have heard
the term "life of the rock star" bandied about.
Images of convertibles filled with starlets, casks of champagne,
5-star hotel rooms, late sleep-ins. Rarely do we think
of 6 months away from home or finding yourself in a steamy
laundromat polishing your boots at 0700 hrs for a show
that afternoon. The Team has a saying "Every night's
a Friday and every morning’s a Monday". There
were fantastic times and I met phenomenal people. Believe
me, everything you can imagine about being a Snowbird is
true and all of it is paid for in hard work and dedication.
I would jump at the chance to do it all again.
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| Tery Lebel, far left, poses with
the team aircraft, the Canadair CT-114 Tutor and newly-selected
pilots and mechanics for the 2005 Snowbirds season.
Photo DND |
Now I'm in Afghanistan. Allow me to introduce you to Kandahar
Air Field (KAF) 15 km from Kandahar. The population of the
camp is approximately 25,000 from 20 odd countries. When
we arrived the daytime highs were 125 degrees. Their now
down to the 50s by day and 30s at night. The rains have started
which has thankfully kept the choking dust clouds down.
My "5-star hotel" is a 6 by 9 space in a tent.
They call them "weather havens" but the walls are
canvas and to us they’re tents. There are 8 of us sharing
this one.
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| Welcome to Weather Haven,
Kandahar Air Field - a "weather haven" suburb...
a dusty compound of miserable tents to the thousands
of Canadians living in them. Photo via Tery
Lebel |
|
| While every attempt is made to normalize
life in Kandahar, life is not at all like the streets
of Ottawa - the signs are everywhere. Photo
via Tery Lebel |
There are three large messes on base and food is plentiful.
Once in a while the cooks really outdo themselves and add
some flavor. Three times a week, the long supply chain
permitting, we get something they call ice cream. Good
thing they told me what is was.
We have our own water re-cycling
facility. We have hot and cold running showers, 100 meters
up the gravel path. The toilets are pumped out twice a
day, most days. The camp also boasts an American PX stocked
with all the amenities from home until you need them.
|
| Timmy’s [Tim Hortons
- a Canadian coffee and donut shop chain - verging
on a cultural icon - Ed.] is here and doing gangbuster
business. Sincere kudos to the staff that always have
a smile for everyone who walks through the door.Canadian
soldiers line up to buy coffee and donuts at the Tim
Horton’s in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The staff
there have all volunteered for the duty because they
are committed to the well-being of our Canadian troops.
Photo by Sgt Roxanne Clowe, Canadian Forces Combat
Camera |
We have beer here and wine for that matter. We are entitled
to two beers per person per day. We’ve been here
three months and we’ve had one such day.
This is my 4th tour. Mother Nature is on the one hand
with heat, cold, wind, rain, dust, sand storms, spiders,
scorpions and snakes, and on the other hand is the enemy.
As for our employment here, I am a Mission Commander (MC)
on the Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
( TUAV ). Our vehicle is the French built Sperwer, powered
by a Rotax engine and about the size of a pool table. As
MC I am responsible for the planning and execution of missions.
I have 2 crewmen to help me in this endeavor.
|
Captain Tery Lebel, former Snowbird
10, and now Mission Controller on a three-man TUAV
team, poses with the Sperwer tactical unmanned aerial
vehicle at the Kandahar airport. Photo via
Tery Lebel |
Each crew has an MC, an Air Vehicle Operator (AVO), a
Payload Operator (PO) and an Image Analyst (IA). The AVO
does the driving, the PO operates the camera and the IA
helps define what it is we are looking at. Fantastic guys
to work with!
|
| Bombardier Jean-Francois Paré (far
left), a member of the artillery flies the CU-161 Sperwer,
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), from a mobile ground
control station while Bombardier Karin Khoudja (foreground)
operates the Sperwer’s high-tech camera. Captain
Clay Rook (far right) is a Canadian Forces pilot like
Tery Lebel and as the UAV mission commander. He is
responsible for planning the flights, ensuring that
the airspace and fire support measures are clear and
supervises the ground control station activities. The
CU-161 Sperwer is sent deep into hostile territory
where it would be extremely dangerous to send a helicopter. Photo
by Sergeant Carole Morissette, Task Force Afghanistan
Roto 1, Imagery Technician |
|
An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
descends within the vicinity of Kandahar Airfield
after conducting a mission early July 6 2006.
Photo by MCpl Robert Bottrill, Canadian Forces Combat
Camera. |
|
Master Bombardier (MBdr) Patrick
Moreau (left) and Bombardier (Bdr) Steve Michaud-Hébert
recover the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) after descending
from a mission out of Kandahar Airfield, Air bags
are deployed under the wings to cushion the landing.
Afghanistan. MBdr Moreau and Bdr Michaud-Hébert
are part of the 5e Régiment d’artillerie
Légère Du Canada, from Valcartier,
Quebec, which operates the UAV - instrumental in
providing valuable information to the Commanders
and troops on the ground. Photo by MCpl Robert
Bottrill, Canadian Forces Combat Camera |
What we do can be summed up in two words, Shield and Strike.
We exist to protect our troops by gathering information
on the enemy’s movements and whereabouts, thereby
denying the enemy room to maneuver and depriving him of
the element of surprise. If the enemy doesn’t take
the hint then we move to the Strike phase. This is when
we call in “Higher Means”. We have tanks, artillery,
fast air, AH, Predator, Reaper, and even Bones (Rockwell
B-1 Lancer bombers) available to ensure the enemy takes
the hint to heart, literally.
|
Tery poses
with the Taliban Persuader - the much larger Predator
unmanned aerial vehicle and a laser guided munition
- prior to a mission launch. Photo via Tery
Lebel |
|
A lot of the mission work in
the TUAV and UAV teams is done under the cover of
darkness. Here, the same RAF Predator as in the previous
photo is set to deliver its package. Photo
via Tery Lebel |
We do have one secret weapon that I will let you in on.
We try to fly in the lower levels, say two to three thousand
feet. With the Rotax spinning its brains out we’re
fairly noisy. Experience has shown that when the enemy
can hear us they disappear back under their rocks. It may
not be much but it does provide a deserved break for the
troops. Perhaps only time for a hot meal or some sleep
but it’s something. If that is the sum total of what
we accomplish here during our six months, keeping the Bad
Guys away from our troops, I’ll still go home a happy
man.
While it’s true that we are separated by distance
from the hard action, we are inextricably a part of it
through the electronic eye of our cameras. On a scale of
one to ten, the top tier belongs to the troops in the field
who live it daily. I’d say we are a solid seven.
Just try to watch and listen, even from a distance, and
not be involved.
Is there a parallel between what we do here and what I
did as a Snowbird ? Of course there is. There is no autograph
line full of eager school children and I have already touched
on our five-star accommodations but have a quick read of
the Snowbirds mandate: skill, professionalism, teamwork.
Need I say more?
Life of the rock star, not really, but worth while? Oh
yes.
|
In other wars
on other continents, men have always longed to be
home and made their stay at Christmas time a bit
more bearable by constructing a unit Christmas tree.
Kandahar was no different. Photo via Tery Lebel |
Post Script
Today is the 13th of December. I’ve been holding
on to this article a few days to fine tune it and see if
there was anything I wanted to add. Unfortunately there
is.
This morning while returning to their base an RG-31 of
the Provincial Reconstruction Team ( PRT ) was destroyed
by an Improvised Explosive Device ( IED ). Three Canadians
were killed and one was badly wounded. Whatever parallels
I was able to draw between my time with the Snowbirds and
this mission still stand. They are both deadly serious
endeavors that must be treated with utmost respect. They
both demand the highest levels of professionalism, skill
and teamwork. The glaring difference is the presence of
an armed and determined enemy. Whereas skill, professionalism
and teamwork will keep you alive in the Snowbirds, over
here, it also takes the Grace of God.
No crowds, no cheering, no autograph lines. Since December
13th, there have been several more Canadian Heros laid
to rest in their home towns in Canada - a terrible price |
