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Shilo civilian off to Kandahar
By Brenda Cavanagh
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As my deployment to Afghanistan as Operations Manager for CFPSA approaches, I question why I applied for a six month posting in a far away land. Come Feb. 13, 2006 I will join 28 other civilians in Kandahar to provide deployed members with Morale and Welfare programs. CFPSA Deployed Ops chose 47 people from 2,800 applicants to attend training in St-Jean outside Montreal. For two and a half weeks we attended information sessions, developed new friendships and experienced what life in camp would be like. We attended mine awareness seminars and experienced the gas hut.
I left St. Jean with a better understanding of what our military men and women do. As a military wife, I have always been nervous when my husband deployed, leaving household and financial responsibilities behind, as well as the children. When our spouses go overseas, we are sad, upset and scared. This time the spouse is going and the military member is staying home. Each of us will experience a new side of deployment. I never realized the emotional roller coaster the one that is leaving goes through. And I never realized how important it is to send letters, care packages and messages from home. Our children were small when my husband was away. While I always looked after the home front, I didn’t send as many letters or care packages as I should have. For those who have family members deploying overseas, don’t forget to send those little things from home that will mean so much to them in camp.
When people ask me why I want to leave my husband and children for six months, I tell them that this is my way of supporting the career my husband has chosen, and a way of supporting our soldiers here in Shilo. If I can bring a little piece of home to the soldiers through a familiar smiling face, and share my experience with everyone back in Shilo, the tour will be a success.
What do my children think? They are supportive, and told me to go for it. I had to forward some of my suitcases just before Christmas, and my son asked why I was packing so soon. That’s when reality hit me.
To Mr. Mom and my children, I love you. Take care of the home front. To base transport, thanks for the Defensive Driving Course. To the base medical clinic, thanks for those wonderful vaccinations!