“Making IED’s is a very difficult and dangerous procedure. The result is that a great number of would-be jihadists blow themselves up. Unfortunately, this means that the ones who don’t kill themselves are very good at what they do. That’s the way evolution works.”
Ryan Flavelle is a writer, not a soldier. A reservist serving with Calgary based 746 Communication Squadron, he volunteers for Afghanistan and through his book “The Patrol” gives us an excellent first-hand account of a one week patrol into that difficult landscape.
But the book is so much more than a story of that patrol. Shifting effortlessly between Afghanistan, his current life in Calgary, time spent at the University of Calgary, basic training, high school, his family and non-military friends, Flavelle gives us a unique and intriguing insight into a typical Canadian boy who felt compelled to contribute.
His descriptions of the dirt and terror of being ambushed, the ever-present IED’s, his detached reaction to first “contact”, the death of Cpl. Arnal and the professionalism and effectiveness of the unit’s reaction to being attacked are described so well that you feel you are right beside him, kneeling there in the dirt. The reader can feel the 42-degree heat, the thirst, the ever-present layer of dirt and sand covering everything, the sandflies, the weight of his kit.
Flavelle alludes to a factual assessment of the opium and marijuana production in that country, which is more likely a cause for combat than differing political or religious ideologies. But more intriguing is the description that modern day technology has on the life of a combat soldier. Satellite phones to call home with from the battlefield, near-constant email and internet connections, vacations to exotic locales, calling Xerox helplines for technical support; absolutely none of which lessen the importance, influence and impact of your troopmates.
“The story of my tour does not end with this patrol, but something fundamental inside me changed during it.” Reading this book will give you a good idea of those fundamental changes, and it is an excellent, insightful read.