 Private Adam Brown from 1 PPCLI, Alpha Company, 1 Platoon, leads a foot patrol of Canadian and Afghan soldiers near the village of Haji Baba. (Master Corporal Matthew McGregor/Department of National Defence)
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SOUTHWEST ASIA - Over 760 VIPs have swept in and out of this buzzing Canadian military base in the past five months.
But to disclose its exact location would jeopardize Canada’s military operation in Afghanistan by breaching strict conditions laid down by the host country.
What Capt. Rob Hawley - who is tasked with logistical operations at the bustling theatre support centre - can say is this is likely the most comfortable time of year to take a peek at the desert operation.
Twinkling coloured Christmas lights are wound carefully around a lone palm tree near the mess hall. It’s a humid 26 C and there’s an early evening breeze under the crescent moon.
“You got here a good time of year — in July, August it was 65 C with 90% humidity,” barks Hawley, a strapping six-foot plus eastern Canadian with 27 years on the job.
“You know when the air you breathe out is cooler than the air you breathe in that it’s too hot.”
Hawley — who more often than not is working 20-hour days, seven days a week — cannot share much else until a scheduled military briefing for guests 24 hours from now.
There are about 120 Canadians on the base, along with other NATO troops, including British, Dutch and Aussies.
As the clock ticks past 10 p.m., the few dozen soldiers still outside trickle back to their camp trailers for some shut eye in dorm-style room bunkbeds. A few wander into a communications shack where they email friends and loved ones. Others gather in twos or threes at patio tables — broken into smoking and non-smoking sections — under a canvas tent roof.
Although it’s still hot and conditions are ripe to kick back with a brew, Hawley stresses that this is a dry base; no alcohol permitted inside the gates and a two-drink limit outside the fence.
Even with that limit, guests risk being scooped by local authorities for impairment. And the prospect of spending unknown days in cells until a fine is determined, he adds sternly, isn’t worth it.
