Yet another month completed – this makes 7, with 5 remaining – but who’s counting?!

The month of December seemed to go by quickly, and it’s hard to believe that it’s 2011 already.  I can remember the craziness of starting the new millennium – and here we are, 11 years later.

This month has seen it’s share of challenges here in Afghanistan – Kabul had a few incidents, albeit ineffective ones – and there continues to be insurgent activitiy.  We lost another soldier in December, and that always brings us back from a complacency that tends to set in when things are going well to yet another reality check.  Cpl Martin wasn’t even 25, yet this was his third operational tour – one in Haiti and this, his second to Afghanistan.  When you think of it, I am surrounded by so many young men and women here – military members the age of my own children – and when all the Canadians get together here in Kabul for our own ceremony to honor those who have died, it is generally my honour to say a few words.  Though it’s hard and never gets easier – nor should it – I can’t help but wonder what I would do or feel if I was the parent, the peer or the leader of the fallen.  Sobering thoughts – and to be honest, I am glad my children are safe at home.

I still maintain that progress is happening.  We continue to see insurgents laying down their weapons to reintegrate within their families and communities, village elders and others coming back to their homes because the security has improved, schools and shops opening, and remaining open, freedom of movement where there wasn’t any before and in many other areas.  This certainly doesn’t mean drastically reduced violence throughout the country – but it does give us hope that we are heading in that direction.

The beginning of Dec saw me visit the School of Hope once again, this time to be present at something of an awards ceremony.  The ceremony itself was quite traditional, filled with prayer, speeches by school officials, government officials and religious elders, music and food – however, one big exception was that every award (which comprised a certificate and 200 Euros) was given to a female student.  The rationale of course to motivate them – and their parents – to keep them in school, but also to motivate other girls to do the same.  Interestingly, the money for the awards came from 7 different Rotary Clubs in the Rome area of Italy.  The Rotary clubs were even represented at the ceremony and got to meet with the girls afterwards.  I am constantly amazed to learn where our Rotarians are engaged around the globe – and this was no exception.  10,000 Euros for 50 female students.

Christmas and new years for me were spend connecting with family through skype. We were so fortunate to have more than an hour of uninterrupted skype Christmas morning so I could partake in the gift opening with Ian and the kids and in the gift exchange for my side of the family.  You know, when I was deployed to Bosnia for a year, we only had the odd phone call and hand written letters – this is much better , I couldn’t imagine doing this without skype and email!  And I was really blessed in that so many of my family and friends sent me packages of home-made goodies, chocolates, coffee, treats, gifts, Christmas trees (yup that’s right!  Both my husband and sister-in-law sent me small Christmas trees with ornaments!), and a whole host of other things.  I have to admit, I’m pretty popular with all these edible goodies!

The good news of course is that I am well over the half way mark, and I will be taking my second R&R period sometime in Jan.  I will be going home for this one – spending time with Ian and the kids.

Well – as always, I would ask for you to continue to keep our Canadian military members in your thoughts and prayers.

Well as of today I have done 185 days down, 180 to go – half way – WooHoo!!  But who’s counting?
I had my first R&R this month, and met husband for a 7 days alone until our kids showed up for a week together away from home.  So, a calm, relaxing week to re-acquaint myself with my husband, then a week of re-acquainting myself with the minor chaos of living with the family again.  These trips are important, and I will be doing another before I leave Afghanistan.  It’s hard to describe. but it feels somewhat surreal being in a hostile environment where you are working long hours, where your life is singularly focused to being back in the relative safe enviornement of home, surrounded by loved ones.   Which is why I think it is important to be able to have these opportunities to see eachother before the grand return.

Getting back was hard – the jet lag was brutal (9 and a half hours difference) and then the feeling that I hadn’t left.   I had been looking forward to this trip since I left back in June, so to come back from it and not have that on my mind to look forward to was a bit difficult.  But I’m back at it, and things are back to routine.
Work hasn’t changed much – though little by little I am seeing signs of progress and optimism.  As you probably know, the priority of effect in terms of battling the insurgency is in the south and east – and in those areas there are increasingly more stories about progress – the elderly, the town’s elders and others coming back because the security environment is better, farmers deciding to grow crops instead of poppies, kids going to school, more schools opening, and I think the most telling, insurgents that are willing to put down their weapons, and agreeing to be ‘normal’ members of society (in the press this is called reintegration).  Are the numbers of this happening big?  Well, no, but it is a start – we always said progress was going to be slow.  Just seeing it though is a positive indicator, and hearing things like that are making me more and more optimistic (what does this say about someone who is naturally an optimist?).
I have been involved in helping a local school get some school supplies – it was a wonderful moment for me to see the hundreds of students wanting to show me how they can read – children as young as 7 or 8.  With the high rates of literacy, it is likely their parents don’t read, or that they will surpass their parents ability soon.   Seeing these children was a highlight – and I have been invited back a few times, soon to be there to be present while bursaries are handed out to some girls for further education!

Finally, I understand that the documentary Sisters In Arms, was aired this past month in Canada.  I haven’t seen it, and may not until I get back home – but I hope it was well recevied and enjoyed.  Kudos to the team who put it together.

Well, a very early Merry Christmas to all of you who read this – I will be here for the holidays as those with young children spend them with their families.  Please keep our Canadian soldiers – and all those here in Afghanistan – in your thoughts and prayers especially during this holiday season.

Thanks

It is almost the end of October and I have officially missed my daughter’s 18th birthday and my son’s 21st birthday – both milestones that I managed to ‘witness’ on skype.  My other daughter will be 20 in December, and that too I will miss.  Coupled with missing my husband’s birthday at the beginning of my deployment – and then mine in September – I guess I’m batting a thousand.  Good news is that my first R&R is scheduled to start in a few days and we have decided to celebrate all our birthdays together while we are in Florida.  Yup, we are off to Florida for a bit of a family vacation.  A week for my husband and I alone and then a week with the kids all together.  It was a hard decision to go somewhere besides home, my parents are older and I won’t be home for the Chirstmas holidays, but I really wanted all of us to have some time away from the stresses of home life and school.  This way we can just relax and get to know eachother a bit again.  There is no doubt I will be heading home for my next leave period – but that’s a way off!

Besides thinking about a break from serving in Afghanistan, I – and others from here in Kabul – are spending some time right now looking into how we may be able to give something to the local Afghan people. I visited a local school here this past week and was thrilled with the sight of seeing an 8 year old actually read from a book – the literacy rate here as you know is so low, much of it due to war and hostilies in Afghanistan for the last 30 years, and due to the closing of schools, especially for girls, during the Taliban regime.  This young girl epitimizes to me what we are doing here – creating a safe environement where people can be free to go about their business – work, school, shopping, whatever.  Coupled with that the fact that for Afghanistan to develop further, education must be a priority.

I know there is a lot of great work being done by Canadians all through this country – whether fighting the insurgents, building schools and medical facilities or mentoring and advising government and other institutions – we are a people who have a lot to offer and we are a people who believe in giving of ourselves.  Which is why so many Canadians and other coaltion forces here at ISAF HQ are happy to help me with taking this school I visited to the next level.  They need anything and everything – wish us luck.

It has been almost 5 months since I got here, and I can honestly say that I do see progress in this country.  And I do see hope in the eyes of the people.  It’s not all good, but it’s getting there.

I am looking forward to seeing my family for a few weeks and when I get back here I will almost be at my half way mark.  A year is a long time, but I am feeling good about the work we are doing and the support we get from all of you.

Take care – until the next time – and I hope the screening of this important film goes well

Well, it’s been already a little over 3 months since I arrived in Kabul, and I am finally putting my fingers to the keyboard to update this blog on my work to date.  I was asked to explain a bit about what I do here as with most military terms, giving a job title may not mean much to many.  My official title is Deputy to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communication.  Two deputies?  Isn’t that confusing?  Well no, Deputy DCOS COMM just means that I am the next in line to the actual DCOS COMM, who is a US 2-star general.  In terms of Communication, we are responsible for coordinating and putting into effect messaging plans that help our mission.  Given that I am not a public affairs specialist, (I am an engineer) I am learning new jargon everyday and I am understanding how important it is that we all communicate the same message, whether it is to our Afghan partners or to our national capitals.

It was a steep learning curve for me, and one where I wondered what I could possibly contribute given I had a limited background in this area of work.  Luckily I found a niche, and the more I learn the more I have to offer.  Our days are long, anywhere between 14 and 16 hours, except for Friday mornings where we can start a few hours later.  Even with these hours, I manage to get some work-outs in as I believe that keeping fit is one reason we are able to put in such long hours.  The food is ok, the weather hot, the accommodations fine, and given we are relatively safe here in Kabul compared to our other Canadian friends in Kandahar, we have next to nothing to complain about.

Lately I have been particularly busy as both my boss is away as is the ISAF Spokesman – fortunate for me as I get to do both their jobs….  Being the DCOS isn’t so bad, but being the ISAF Spokesman on short notice (more on that later) has been more challenging.  I am not new to being in front of the camera, but this normally happens because I know the subject at hand and the message that we want to impart.  There is so much going on here – all you have to do is read the paper or listen to the news – so to be completely up to date on all subjects is a bit difficult.  I’ve had a number of interviews, done a press conference and a round table.  I have to admit, were it not for this opportunity, I wouldn’t be as up to date on what is going on in this theatre.  It has been interesting, especially when I get to speak about the progress we are making on the ground, the glimpses of hope I see in Afghans and when I get to tell about success stories where normal people do amazing things.  In fact I had the distinct pleasure of being the keynote speaker at the Afghan National Youth Conference a few weeks ago, and I was genuinely impressed with the level of desire and hope that is resident in the young – and half the conference participants were young women!

On a more personal side, the reason I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked to have been to become the spokesman on short notice is because my husband Ian suffered a heart attack in early Aug and I had to head home.  We are truly fortunate as members of the Canadian Forces because I was able to go home.  I have to admit, this was hard – but the support to both myself and my family was wonderful and heartfelt.  He is doing well now, and we are looking forward to when I can see my family at my first R&R early November and we can spend time together in a more relaxed environment.

My thanks to all of you who support our Canadian Forces, to which I am a proud member.  Take care, until the next time!

BGen Whitecross’ first blog post from Afghanistan:

Q How did you feel when you found out you were going to Afghanistan – what were some of the personal challenges?

A I was surprised as it was not something I had expected at the time, however, I was thrilled that I would be chosen by the Canadian Forces senior leadership to participate in this mission. Of course, knowing that your going to be gone for a year is always a challenge personally and professionally – this was something we discussed as a family. Luckily I have a tremendous support network at home and a family that understands the importance of this mission and my participation in it.

Q What is your job while you are in Afghanistan?

A I am part of the Multi-national ISAF HQ in Kabul and hold the position of Deputy to DCOS Comms (Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications)

Q Can you describe where you will be living?

A I am living in Kabul, at ISAF HQ. I live in an accommodation container, eat in the central kitchen facility run by NATO and have an office to work from. We have all the necessities of home, even a place to work-out when time allows it!

Q Can you describe your first impressions when you arrived in Afghanistan?

A I came through Kandahar and the first thing that struck me was the immense heat and humidity. Having since arrived at Kabul, where it is still hot, but no where near as hot or humid as Kandahar, I continue to be impressed and amazed that our soldiers work in such a climate as Kandahar. Work-wise, I am surrounded by determined and motivated people from all over the world here to do what has to be done – I marvel at the great work relationships and focus by all members of the staffs. Unfortunately I also feel the sense of loss when a member nation looses a military member, it is felt by all.

Q What has been greatest challenge for you so far?

A Like any new post, it’s learning new terminology, finding my way and learning what I need to know to do my job.

Q Have you met any Afghan women?

A Only a few and not on a personal level.

Q How do the Afghan men react to you?

A For those limited few I have met, no different than other men I meet.