Calgary veterans reflect on Afghanistan service, loss and unkept promises

CALGARY · Lt.-Col. Terry Larson served as a medical liaison officer in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from October 2009 for eight months, tending to wounded soldiers and fulfilling a promise to a fallen comrade's family. He had known Cpl. Michael Starker, who was killed by Taliban fire in May 2008, and became the military liaison to Starker's family after his death. Larson said he created a lasting emotional bond with them. "It's the most important thing I've ever done . . . I'm still very close to the family," said Larson. He had committed to Starker's widow, Nicole, that he would be with her every Remembrance Day, but had to break that vow when he deployed.

Larson said his exposure to the trauma of combat was constant, with rocket attacks every few weeks and the sight of injured soldiers being brought into hospitals. He said a lengthy stint as a Calgary firefighter prepared him for those sights. While he noted their efforts reduced child and birthing mortality, many of the gains made, particularly by women, have been rolled back since the war's end. His deployment was frustrating, with most Canadian casualties due to roadside bombs. "The Taliban wouldn't fight head-to-head because we'd kill them," he said. "We were doing a good fight, but the soldiers could only do so much on the ground."

He recalls meeting Nicole Starker when she visited Kandahar in November 2009 to better understand her husband's final posting. In a roundabout way, he felt his Remembrance Day vow to her had been kept. "It is a seminal event for me. In my many Remembrance Day speaking engagements, I often use a photo of Mike, and one of me and Nicole taken at the (Kandahar Airfield) memorial on Remembrance Day 2009," said Larson. His experiences have shaped his views that Remembrance Day should also honour survivors. "We should also remember those who came back with injuries seen and unseen," he said.

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Retired Maj. Kent Griffiths of the Calgary Highlanders recalled making a grim pact with a colleague before his own whirlwind visit to Kandahar in 2006 with the 41 Canadian Brigade Group. "If for some reason we were (about to be) captured, we didn't want to be executed on video, we'd take each others' lives," said Griffiths. "Those were the fears at the time . . . the impact that (execution scenario) would have on families would be so bad, we'd rather have died in combat." Those fears subsided amid the competence of the soldiers he relied upon, particularly outside the base. "It's the kind of mental environment where everyone was so switched on and hypervigilant, there was no time to do anything but your job and be professional," said Griffiths.

He was impressed by the reservists' performance and the work of support troops. He recounted an incident where a Canadian light armoured vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. "The mechanics said 'this isn't a writeoff,' and they had it fixed for the next day and made sure the identifying numbers and bomb damage were visible," said Griffiths. "The Taliban could see it back in service the next day and knew they'd accomplished nothing." He also praised the medical contingent and the culinary skills of cooks at a forward post named for fallen soldier Nathan Smith, located at the end of a perilous road dubbed IED alley. "People from different militaries would go down IED alley just to have this fresh food from Canadian chefs and cooks," said Griffiths.

During the year of Griffiths' tour, Canadian forces led Operation Medusa, the country's largest single engagement since the Korean War, which killed a dozen Canadian soldiers and hundreds of insurgents. Despite that, the Taliban prevailed, taking Kabul in 2021. For some of the 40,000 Canadians who served and their families, it has been a bitter pill. "They confront it internally, they'll talk among themselves that it shouldn't have happened this way, that's it's almost wasteful and they feel guilt about that," he said. Witnessing the emotions of grieving families "has been tough to see, but it's something they need to do, to come to these services," added Griffiths.

He insists his comrades can remain proud of showing Afghans a better life and fighting oppression. Dr. Rob Huebert, a University of Calgary political scientist and director of the Centre for Military Security and Strategic Studies, said the defeat should not diminish the soldiers' efforts. "It doesn't take one iota from the sacrifice of the men and women who went there," said Huebert. He said the Canadians faced an implacable foe determined to wait them out while suffering heavy casualties.

With files from Yahoo News and Calgary Herald