Dispatch 1: Tribute to our latest fallen comrade

18 January 2010

Hello to all the readers of Moose and Squirrel. Natasha has been kind enough to offer me the opportunity to post some dispatches as I ramp up for deployment in July. Some times I find myself asking if I’m getting to old for this shite, but meh, it’s a living. Seriously, it’s more than that. It’s a commitment which requires discipline and pride.

It is also an experience many civilians cannot relate to, such as the familiarity that the stresses we work under breeds across all trades and the three elements: Navy, Army and Air Force. (I have placed these in order of seniority, so when you see a Freedom of the City Parade, that is why we Air Force weenies march at the back.) This is why each time we lose someone, even domestically, for many it is like losing a member of the family.

Another big difference is when you bump into or reconnect with someone you’ve worked with in the past. It can have been 20 year or more. There are no “why haven’t you kept in touch” or other castigation. You simply pick up where you left off. After all, we may be like a family in some respects, but a big one.

One of the guys I’m training with has been over three times, just to the Kandahar Air Field (KAF). He said he’s stopped going to the ramp ceremonies. For some, it is just too emotionally difficult. Point being, soldiers have feelings too.

Veteran soldier John Wayne Faught, a year younger than I, died doing what he does best. For every Canadian Forces member over the age of 40 who gives his life, especially someone like Sgt. Faught, they are worth more than all the windbags on parliament hill. I mean really, who in their right mind would put themselves knowingly in peril after so many tours knowing what we have back home? Realistically, regardless of age, the same holds true for all CF members in their relativistic comparison between the childish MPs who don’t have the self-restraint to keep their mouths shut when other members are talking.

We don’t really know all of veteran Sgt. Faught’s motivations for going on tour again, or the circumstances of his death other than what the official press release by the Public Affairs Officer (PAFO). What we do know is he was on his 6^th foreign tour, his third in Afghanistan. And the MSMs had no trouble finding many soldiers who’ve worked with and have known “Toast” to say kind things about him. As Canada remains on this mission, the Butcher’s Bill always gets another levy as long as this proxy war against Islam continues.*

My heart goes out to his mother, sister and girlfriend who have lost John.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2454512

This brings my most recent training last week to the forefront of my mind’s eye. In the CF, each member has to maintain a basic First Aid qualification. At least one year prior to deployment, we now do a Combat First Aid course. It was my first time. Many of the principles of basic first aid go out the window. First you have to win the firefight, assess if the area is secure enough to carry out first aid, or even get the casualty to try to take care of themselves under fire, or return fire if capable. A very specific order of treatment ensues to stop the bleeding and impromptu casualty collection points have to be created. And every member carries at least one tourniquet. Our door gunners actually fly with them already strapped on limbs should they take ground fire.

The CF even has a specially qualified member on patrols, and is in the process of trying to have at least two per. He his called the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guy. Established in April 2005, this two week course provides an extra degree of survivability for our people outside the wire. And the lessons learned in the field are immediately sent back to the trainers who teach TCCC and Combat First Aid, ensuring that the latest and most effective methods of care are taught.

There are hemorrhaging mannequins during the exam which are as close as our course could get, and what the TCCC candidates go through makes what little training I had pale in comparison. However, the training worked, because as soon as I read how Sgt. Faught died, I immediately mentally went through the steps his men must have gone through.

However, it must be noted that our final casualty simulation exercise failed to have the full effect as CFB Valcartier doesn’t have the budget to plow the roads into the training area, so we practiced on a parade square without any blanks or simunition. I never thought I’d have to hold a weapon in my hand and say “Bang Bang” since the bad old days of the late 80’s. Still, good lessons were learned, especially how hard it is to drag a 250 lb guy by his Tac Vest, even when there are two of you.

Next dispatch, I fly commercial for the first time since 9/11, and of course, most recently after the failed Christmas Crotch Jihadist, and how I learned to stop worrying about losing my luggage and discovered government sanctioned safety zones, and what it could mean for our future.

*I know the official line is winning the hearts and minds, but I don’t think the CoC fully appreciates how the 7^th Century thinking combined with greed based tribalism fueled by Jihad against the Kuffar, which is at the very core of their belief system, makes their approach workable. After all, they will never trust or accept the infidel in their land, because once they do, they cease to be Moslem and that just breeds more chaos from their fellow cult members.

Tagged as: Afghanistan, basic first aid, Canada's armed forces, infidels, jihad, John Wayne Faught, soldier's tribute, war casualties