As part of the Parliamentary Military Program, I participated in military exercises at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta this past summer. The objective of the program is to introduce MPs to the rigours of the Canadian military and to have them experience military life. 

The military exercises are conducted by regular army troops for our reservists, some of whom will be deployed to Afghanistan and elsewhere. CFB Wainwright is designed to replicate the Afghanistan experience and three replica Afghani villages have been constructed on base.

As part of the experience MPs are fitted with full uniform upon arrival and embedded with logistics troops that include our very own Queen`s York Rangers.  Logistics ensure that our troops have the necessary supplies and that the movement of soldiers and necessities to the conflict is not interrupted.  The experience is as real as it gets. During the week I flew in a Chinook helicopter, travelled in a high-security LAV4 vehicle and lived on issued rations in the field.

The latter part of the program has MPs reverse roles to become embedded with the insurgents. I took on the role of a female member of the Afghani village (yes I wore a burka). This allowed us to view our forces from the enemy perspective.  I observed the results of a suicide bomber who rode his bicycle into the village.  The army replicates as closely as possible through theatrics – talcum powder is used to replicate the bomb; after the explosion and the dust clears, the results of injury become part of the exercise.

I saw first-hand our troops’ perspective during this ‘real life’ scenario. When returning to my ‘Afghan village’ with string I was using to weave bracelets for sale to the troops, I was suddenly faced with several troops facing me with their weapons pointed. The reason? An observant reservist saw the string in my hand and identified me as a possible suicide bomber.  A wake-up call indeed on the realities of military life overseas.

The entire exercise opened up the eyes of myself and my MP colleagues (from all political stripes I may add) to the harsh realities our troops experience on a daily basis as they serve our country on missions around the world. 

As a parliamentarian I am tasked with two responsibilities: 1) budget allocations for the military and 2) decisions on deployment.  For these reasons this experience was invaluable. Our Canadian Forces are truly outstanding.  They are the best trained in the world, and their reputation is world renowned.  Our Forces deserve our respect and continued support!
Lois Brown, M.P.