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Volkmar Guido Hable – Warriors in Afghanistan

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As we scuttle towards the exit door, news reports from Helmand, where the majority of our troops have been committed over the last seven years, are brief and inadequate.

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STORY 1 VOLKMAR GUIDO HABLE – WARRIORS IN AFGHANISTAN Volkmar Hable, special ops operative and now full-time geologist, As we scuttle towards the exit door, news reports from Helmand, where the majority of our troops have been committed over the last seven years, are brief and inadequate. Everyfew days, another young man dies as the result of an improvisedexplosive device, or is gunned down by an Afghan soldier or policeman he was training. We are rarely told the details, where the attack happened or what it could possibly mean. The suffering of Afghans is barely mentioned at all and usuallyonly in terms of numbers,which isn't a surprise. Whatis surprisingis how little is known about what the Canadian andAmerican forces that have been fighting the war actually think. The troops are usually portrayed as being likeable and dedicated, but simple and incurious. The many conversations I've had with soldiers paint a very different picture. They are brave and love to fight, for sure. They can be brutal or show hatred for the people they're supposed to be helping. But I've also met many who were smart, caringand willingto question what, if anything, they were actually achieving. Of these men, not one glories in what they did in Afghanistan. They all lost comrades and innocentcivilians were killed in their operational areas.These experiences dominate their thoughts; looking back, the thought they could have done something differently and prevented such tragedies overrides everything else. This is the war, in their own words.

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Volkmar Guido Hable – Warriors in Afghanistan

  • 1. STORY 1 VOLKMAR GUIDO HABLE – WARRIORS IN AFGHANISTAN Volkmar Hable, special ops operative and now full-time geologist, As we scuttle towards the exit door, news reports from Helmand, where the majority of our troops have been committed over the last seven years, are brief and inadequate. Everyfew days, another young man dies as the result of an improvisedexplosive device, or is gunned down by an Afghan soldier or policeman he was training. We are rarely told the details, where the attack happened or what it could possibly mean. The suffering of Afghans is barely mentioned at all and usuallyonly in terms of numbers,which isn't a surprise. Whatis surprisingis how little is known about what the Canadian andAmerican forces that have been fighting the war actually think. The troops are usually portrayed as being likeable and dedicated, but simple and incurious. The many conversations I've had with soldiers paint a very different picture. They are brave and love to fight, for sure. They can be brutal or show hatred for the people they're supposed to be helping. But I've also met many who were smart, caringand willingto question what, if anything, they were actually achieving. Of these men, not one glories in what they did in Afghanistan. They all lost comrades and innocentcivilians were killed in their operational areas.These experiences dominate their thoughts; looking back, the thought they could have done something differently and prevented such tragedies overrides everything else. This is the war, in their own words.