HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-11-10, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2011.Blyth native appreciates life back in Canada
“I wanted to be able to say that I
had made the world a better place,
even if it’s only a very small part of
the world, and that my actions will
live on after I am gone,” says
Corporal Nathan Loder originally of
Blyth when asked why he decided to
join the Canadian Armed Forces.
“I was single with no kids or other
obligations and considering my
physical shape, age, maturity, and
personality, I figured I was a prime
candidate for the job. Someone had
to do it, so why not me?”
Loder graduated from Central
Huron Secondary School in Clinton
in 1998 and after a few years of
working and hitting the slopes in
Whistler, British Columbia, he
decided to move back to his roots.
“Shortly after the 9/11 attack I
thought about how selfish I had
become and I wanted to have
something to show for my life,” says
Loder.
So after a lot of soul searching, he
made the tough decision to join the
military and served with the Royal
Canadian Regiment, 2nd Battalion,
in Gagetown, New Brunswick as an
infantry soldier and assisted in the
fight against Taliban forces from
May to December 2010.
“At first I was working with the
Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction
Team at Camp Nathan Smith. We
provided security and helped the
people of Kandahar with
improvements to buildings, schools
and water supply,” says Loder. “A
couple of months into the tour, I was
stationed at the Battle Group in
Panjawai, which was a very different
environment. We were clearing
improvised explosive devices
(IEDs), weapons and enemy
combatants, while establishing and
holding strong points along routes
and known enemy locations.”
Nate had to learn several skills
prior to leaving for Afghanistan. One
of the most important skills he
learned is that a soldier must have
360-degree awareness at all times.
“You have to anticipate possible
things that could go wrong and
visualize your best course of action
in a number of situations before they
arise,” Loder says.
In order to perfect this skill,
infantry soldiers are drilled for
hours, in all kinds of conditions.
“Knowing what to do instantly
without having to think about it is
the result of good drills. Practise
enough and it becomes second
nature to react without pause,” he
says. “Being well-trained not only
saves time, but helps to eliminate the
stun factor when unimaginable
things happen right in front of you.
The less you have to think about
what you’re doing, the more you can
think about what you need to do
next.”
One skill that Loder wasn’t taught
in the military, but he believes is a
very useful skill to possess, is self
removal and not only for a soldier
but for everyone who wants to
improve their life.
“Stepping outside yourself in a
situation allows you to see things
from a different perspective. The act
of putting yourself in another man’s
shoes or being able to think like your
enemy can go a long way, especially
for soldiers in such a sensitive
environment as Afghanistan,” he
says.
This attitude is difficult enough to
live by in a comfortable
environment, but weather conditions
were hot. It only rained once during
Nate’s seven-month tour.
Temperatures were over 50°C during
the day and in the evening they
would drop to a comfortable 20°C.
Food and sleeping arrangements
varied depending on where they
were located. At an established
camp, there would be cooked food
from a kitchen (mess hall) and they
slept in beds with 12 soldiers to a
bunk house.
But often they left the camp for
weeks at a time and slept in the dirt
with no laundry or showers. Foodwas ‘unappetizing’ military ration
packs, so soldiers ate for purpose,
not for pleasure. The care packages
from friends and family back home
were a morale booster and an added
luxury.
“It’s so nice to have a house with
furniture and doors and running
water and a yard. I realize how great
these things are after living without
them for a while,” says Loder.
Even tougher was the 100 pounds
of weaponry, ammunition, water,
armour and other supplies that each
soldier has to carry.
Their vests seemed like down
snowsuits, Loder said, trapping body
heat and causing them to sweat
profusely, even when they were
sleeping. Staying hydrated was vital
and it was common practice to drink
about four litres of water per day.
The other major obstacle was
dealing with ‘gastro’. Almost
everyone got sick at some point
throughout the tour.
“When I say sick, I mean
uncontrollably sick from both ends,
every few minutes for about a week
or two,” Loder recalls. “Trying to
stay hydrated in that heat when your
body is flushing everything you put
into it is a difficult thing to do and
then carrying on with the mission at
hand is just as daunting.”
A number of Loder’s friends were
injured in explosions and one was
even killed.
“He was my team partner for a
while in Nakhonay,” he says. “He
was a reservist so I hadn’t known
him long, but it didn’t take long to
gain respect for a guy like him. He
was willing to pay the price for what
he believed in. With everything
going on over there, grieving had to
be dealt with in our down time or
when we returned to Canada.”
What Loder most liked to receive
in care packages were letters from
family and friends to update him on
life at home. He also didn’t turn
away things like energy drinks,
candy and bubble gum.
Whenever soldiers picked up their
care packages, they acted like
children at Christmas time. It didn’tmatter what was inside the packages,
it was the thrill of having some sort
of contact with loved ones and
sharing the largesse with their
comrades.
Newspapers were few and far
between, but he did receive some
books from his mother in a care
package. There were televisions at
some of the camps, but most of the
time they were tuned into sports.
Most of the news the soldiers
received about home came through
word of mouth.
Over time, Loder learned how to
speak Pashto, the local language.
This allowed him to converse with
the Afghans, some of whom were
accepting of the Canadian mission,
while others were not.
“They’ve had a lot of foreigners in
their country who have caused harm,
so I understand why many of them
are sceptical,” says Loder. “The
children were interested in us and
seemed to like us, but would throw
rocks at us all the time as we drove
by. The elders were more apt to
engage in friendly conversation,
however, the middle-aged men were
more suspicious of us. But they are
our brothers and sisters regardless
of how far away they are or how they
live their lives. There are many
things we can learn from each other.”
When asked if war had changedhim, Loder says, “Some people close
to me have noticed a few changes. I
see things a little differently and that
affects how I act at times. It
frustrates me to see how good we
have it here and how much people
abuse those privileges and how they
choose to use their freedom so
selfishly,” he says. “People complain
about unimportant things; they have
so much to be thankful for. Their
lives are not in constant danger; they
are not starving; their future
potential is almost unlimited. It’s
insulting to me when I’ve risked my
life and many others have given their
lives, to hear them complain about
some little thing they don’t have. Is
this why we fought? Is that what
freedom means?”
Loder feels that when we enjoy
life and help others to do the same, it
makes it all worthwhile.
“Abusing your freedom is
discrediting our sacrifice. You
should try to make this country and
the world a better place to live, work
and play. That’s how I try to honour
my fallen comrades,” he says.
After his experiences in modern
warfare, Loder advises Canadians
that if they focused on making the
world a better place, rather than on
themselves, the change would be
Continued from page 13
would provide home-cooked meals,
or offer rides to people in need,” she
says. “I often came home to find that
Dad had cleaned and put away my
sink full of dirty dishes. We said it
was the ‘dish fairy’, but we knew it
was Dad.”
Cook’s example has inspired his
grandchildren to help others and, to
honour his legacy, they are doing
what they believe is the right thing to
do – serve their country.
When asked how they felt about
their sons’ decision to join the
military, Nathan and Shane’s father
Keith says, “We had mixed feelings
but it was what they wanted to do.
The scripture says ‘to be absent from
the body is to be present with the
Lord’. We had faith that we would
see our boys again, if not in this life,
then the afterlife. For this reason,
Nathan had expressed that he had no
fear of death. We feel blessed that
they both returned unharmed.”
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By Shari Simpson
Special to The Citizen
Oscar Mike
Nathan Loder was Oscar Mike (Military phonetic alphabet
for being ‘on the move’) leaving Fredericton International
Airport for Afghanistan for his deployment. (Photo submitted)
Soldiers’ parents
have faith in sons
Continued on page 17