Canadian women pull their own weight in Afghanistan's danger zones
Sue Bailey
Canadian Press
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Medic Angela Townsend is shown by an armoured ambulance vehicle on Oct. 13, 2006 in the volatile Panjwaii district of southern Afghanistan. Townsend is one of few Canadian women doing every job from supply to front-line infantry in Afghanistan. (CP/Sue Bailey)
PANJWAII, Afghanistan (CP) - Medic Angela Townsend erupts into her trademark laugh when asked about the most unusual gift she has received from well-wishers back in Canada.
"I got a package of 30 Freezies and it's 42 degrees here I think," she said. "So I'm going to have to save those for a rainy day.
"If I get to freeze them somewhere, I'll be able to share them with all the guys here."
Townsend, 31, was stationed during a recent interview at a dusty military outpost surrounded by sun-bleached mountains of rock and sand. The other-worldly scene conjures images from Mad Max movies.
Canadians are dug into the former Taliban heartland here, holding crucial ground won during bloody battles last summer.
Cool water is a luxury, let alone anything frozen.
But Townsend is clearly touched that someone cared enough to try sending a bit of relief from the searing daytime heat.
The Cape Breton native is one of few Canadian women doing every job from medic to front-line infantry in Afghanistan.
Women make up about 15 per cent of the Canadian Forces but only around seven per cent of the 2,400 soldiers deployed here. Troops are serving six-month tours that will continue through 2008.
There are now almost 8,000 women in Canada's military and another 4,800 with reserve units.
Townsend says she's treated much like any other soldier.
"I find if you portray yourself as someone who can do the job, and you put in the effort to help them out as well, you'll gain the respect from the guys."
Women are equally expected to unload heavy deliveries of food and water, and to fill and haul the endless sandbags needed to fortify positions against insurgent attacks.
Townsend joined the military full time because she liked the people she met. It also seemed like a good way to see the world.
"The relationships you form are relationships you'll have forever," she said. "Just the experiences, telling people about what you've done, what you've seen. It's amazing."
Townsend has completed missions in Bosnia and with the Disaster Assistance Response Team, or DART, in Sri Lanka and Turkey. This is her first tour in Afghanistan.
By far, the hardest part is leaving family and friends.
"It's a sacrifice," she said. "I wonder sometimes how some people do it with children, being married. I applaud them so much."
The support of people back home helps more than Townsend can say.
"Sometimes it's overwhelming because you don't really realize how much and how many people are actually back there praying for you and wishing you well."
As a medic, Townsend was attached to A Company, 2nd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Light Infantry based in Shilo, Man.
Sgt.-Maj. John Hooyer said gender makes no difference to him as long as every soldier is there to work and be part of the team.
"Each one of them brings their own personality. So it's the personality that's going to allow them to integrate smoothly, or they may have difficulties from time to time."
The presence of women, however, does change the dynamic in some ways, he said.
"Honestly? The nice part about it is, when you talk to (male) soldiers you normally talk about work. When you have a woman here, you talk about things that you like back home. You talk about your family, you talk about your children.
"You talk about something that brings a level of normalcy back to your life while you're sitting here working on a defensive position or you're waiting to go out on an (observation post) or on patrol. That's the nice side of it."
© The Canadian Press 2006
