Читать книгу At Peace with War - Harold Ristau - Страница 6

Preface

George Orwell is credited with saying, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’’ It is easy to judge war while sitting on a couch and listening to reporters expressing their biased opinions through our television sets. Yet this quote reflects to me the necessity of warfare and the military. The legalized application of violence is a necessary evil. Nobody wants war. Nevertheless, sometimes, it is unavoidable. To say that Canadians ought not to fight in a war that has no immediate impact on our national self-interests is clearly selfish. Most of our military personnel realize this. The men, women and families of the Canadian, American, British and other coalition Forces sacrifice themselves daily to do the work of all the citizens of our nations in establishing better lives for those in need. Despite the pessimistic attitudes of many civilians in regards to our foreign affairs, there have been changes for the better. After being deployed twice to Afghanistan, I have witnessed them with my own eyes. Still, these changes come at a cost.

The reflections recorded in this book are derived from the journal that I kept after spending approximately 300 days in theater, working with both the Army and Air Force. As a chaplain I spent several months working in the hospital on the main base on KAF, and also worked with medics on the front line. I have been deployed outside the wire to all sorts of bases: from medium size FOBs consisting of anywhere between one to three hundred troops, to tiny Strong Points or House Platoons in which approximately a dozen Canadians abide. As a Christian chaplain, I cannot but help to filter the world through the eyes of my faith, nor would I want to see it in any other way. Accordingly, these writings do not only offer insights into our Armed Forces’ experience in Afghanistan, they also manifest the devotional reflections of a Lutheran pastor. I have discovered spiritual treasures tucked away in the lives and experiences of the common soldier. These soldiers are a priesthood, practising a vocation as holy as any other. Although some sadly regard them as sub-human killers, I believe that they bring to us insights into a divine language that some lack the courage to hear.

Publishing a journal while our troops are still deployed is a delicate matter for an officer of the Canadian Forces, due to the possibility of breaching security measures that could put at risk the lives of our soldiers. For this reason, I have included only the entries which could not, in any way, jeopardize our ongoing mission in Afghanistan. Furthermore, for the most part, I have not used the real dates or places in order to protect the identity of those that have served, and shared, with me.