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Soldiers take part in weapons training using handguns on the range at CFB Shilo during Exercise Kapyong Fury on Wednesday afternoon. The soldiers are training to be part of Operation Attention, a Canadian Forces mission to mentor and train the Afghan National Army.
CFB SHILO — On the outside — outfitted from head-to-toe in their military uniforms — soldiers Patrick Grabauskas and Mike Hicks appear the same.
Assistant Range Safety Officer Sgt. Robbie Patterson gives soldiers a demonstration during C7 assault rifle training as part of Exercise Kapyong Fury on the range at CFB Shilo on Wednesday. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
Soldiers take part in weapons training using C7 and C8 assault rifles on the range at CFB Shilo during Exercise Kapyong Fury on Wednesday. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
A C7 assault rifle and military box lunch sit with other gear in the snow during weapons training on the range at CFB Shilo. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
A soldier checks his handgun during training on the range at CFB Shilo during Exercise Kapyong Fury on Wednesday afternoon. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
Soldiers carry over box lunches during training on the range at CFB Shilo. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
Soldiers wait to take part in C7 assault rifle training on the range at CFB Shilo on Wednesday. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
Ammunition sits on a table during weapons training on Wednesday afternoon. (TIM SMITH/BRANDON SUN)
On the inside, however, the two are different.
Hicks, a corporal in the signals squadron, will be deployed to Afghanistan for the first time in his six-year military career when about 320 soldiers from CFB Shilo travel to Afghanistan as part of Operation Attention (Rotation 3).
"I’m kind of nervous and excited to go, it’ll be something new," Hicks said.
As a signaller, Hicks won’t be on the front lines, but he said he’s experiencing a range of different emotions about the deployment.
For Grabauskas, a sergeant with 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, this will be his second tour in Afghanistan.
"The last time I went over the biggest thing was the unknown," Grabauskas said. "This time, after being there for seven months, I know what to expect, so I’m ready to go there and do my job and I’m not as worried about all of the small stuff."
This time, the mission is dramatically different, too, Grabauskas said.
"It’s a training mission."
Travelling to the capital city of Kabul in June, about 470 Canadian soldiers will be working to mentor the Afghan National Army and police to ensure the building blocks of a democratic society continue to have an opportunity to flourish.
"In 2008 when I was there, we were still trying to eradicate the insurgents," Grabauskas said. "Whereas today, our concentration is focused on making sure the ANA and APA are self-sufficient so when we leave, they will be able to conduct their own patrols and handle their own training of new officers coming in."
Yesterday, both men took part in Exercise Kapyong Fury to assure their proficiency handling weapons such as the Colt Canada C7 rifle and Browning 9-mm pistol. Various media, including the Brandon Sun, were in attendance.
Standing in front of a series of targets, a training officer yells, "I want everyone to walk up to the five-metre line — two (shots) to the body, one to the head, left-hand target."
While only a training mission, the threats are still the same.
Pop. Pop. Pop, pop, pop.
A barrage of shots are fired with the C7 rifle as about 20 soldiers march toward their targets firing two to the body and one to the head as the training officer demanded.
For now, the shooting is practice. Later, each soldier will be tested to make sure they qualify on the weapon.
The exercise is designed to prepare the soldiers for the training mission.
It will be the final Canadian mission in Afghanistan.
"It’s quite fitting that soldiers from Shilo and Western Canada are going because they were part of the very first mission into Kandahar," Lt.-Col Mike Wright said.
Wright said the importance of this stage of the mission cannot be understated.
"The international community will never be able to leave if the Afghan national security forces aren’t able to take care of the country themselves," Wright said.
"The 31st of March, 2014, Canada will be done, so this will be our last opportunity to have a lasting impact on the nation of Afghanistan."
» ctweed@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition March 7, 2013
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CFB SHILO — On the outside — outfitted from head-to-toe in their military uniforms — soldiers Patrick Grabauskas and Mike Hicks appear the same.
On the inside, however, the two are different.
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CFB SHILO — On the outside — outfitted from head-to-toe in their military uniforms — soldiers Patrick Grabauskas and Mike Hicks appear the same.
On the inside, however, the two are different.
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