Monctonians make a difference
Published Wednesday November 11th, 2009
Veteran has served in Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan
With nearly 20 years of service under his green beret, Warrant Officer Earl Rouzes has seen his share of destruction in some of the world's most war-ravaged countries, but the Moncton-based construction engineer firmly believes that Canada is making a difference by helping people help themselves.
"I'm convinced that we can make a difference and winning the hearts and minds of people is the way to go," says Rouzes, 41, a native of Cape St. George, Nfld., currently serving with the 1 Engineer Support Unit (1ESU). Headquartered in a large grey building on the Moncton Garrison compound off St. George Street, 1ESU has a revolving crew of engineer and construction support experts that have been involved in several reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. They have helped design and build new roads, police checkpoints, a prison, electrical systems, schools and other projects. Their main objective is to plan these projects and hire local contractors to actually do the work, which provides much-needed jobs in villages ravaged by many years of conflict.
Rouzes says the main objective of Canada's mission in Afghanistan has been to restore a sense of order so reconstruction can be carried out, but the good work being done by engineers is often forgotten as the news is dominated by reports of battles and soldiers killed by roadside bombs planted by Taliban insurgents. In Afghanistan, engineers from Moncton making the rounds to various construction sites must always be escorted by a force protection group. They always face the risk of an ambush or running over one of the dreaded improvised explosive devices, which have already claimed the lives of 78 Canadians.
"The work that we do can't happen if we aren't in a secure environment. If you can involve the local contractors, they are hiring local people, so they are working for us and not the Taliban. If the locals are employed, they are being taken care of and if they are working for the contractor, they are not working for the Taliban, who want to blow us up."
Rouzes understands the anger and frustration felt by many Canadians who call for the withdrawl of Canadian troops from Afghanistan every time a soldier dies. He has lost close friends and fellow engineers but believes Canada will always have a role to play in helping war-torn civilizations rebuild themselves and find peace.
Rouzes became a full-time soldier 19 years ago and has served in some of the worst places imaginable. He was in Kuwait in January of 1991, Iraq in 1992-93, Croatia in 1994, did three tours of duty in Bosnia between 1995 and 2003, and has since completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was also involved in rebuilding after ice storms and floods in Canada.
"You do what you gotta do. We're doing the job for real."
After witnessing the horrific sights, the brutality and the destruction left behind by war, Rouzes says Canadians should consider themselves lucky to live in a world untouched by conflict.
"I think back about myself as a cadet in the 1980s and wondering what I would be like in 20 years or so."
In the 1990s he went to a reunion of the First Special Service Force, a unit comprised of soldiers from the U.S. and Canada for special missions during the Second World War.
"I sat with a couple of the old guys and they were hard as nails and really very nonchalant about their actions in Italy during the Second World War. These are the kind of guys who are in their 80s and still drink their whiskey straight up. And I was wondering to myself, am I going have that kind of stamina when I'm their age."
When he joined the military 20 years ago, it seemed like there was a lot of time between 1945 and 1990, and those veterans seemed so old. But after 20 years of his own service, he's come to realize that those old veterans he sat with were young and fiesty in their day and they were just the same. Times change, but the story and people remain the same.
Rouzes says service in war zones forced him to mature quickly, especially when he attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kandahar honouring friends who had been killed there.
"When you hear the news about people you knew and soldiered with who were killed in action, it is very sobering and it hits home."
He says the ramp ceremonies, where soliders are loaded onto the plane for their last trip home, are very emotional for the troops on the ground.
"In 2006, I was on my third day in Afghanistan and watched three coffins going on the plane for home. That was a real eye-opener."
But despite the danger and apprehension, he says working with local contractors in Afghanistan is a rewarding experience. He says the local construction industry has grown as Canadian soldiers provide advice and mentorship. This is creating an environment where small businessmen can make some money and create jobs while being involved in the rebuilding of their own country, to make it a safe and secure place to live.
He recalls his first tour in Bosnia in 1993-94, when he saw a look of desperation in the local people following a civil war that gave rise to vicious battles and ethnic cleansing that included the destruction of entire towns.
"It was a civilization that was completely broken and smashed. But when I went back in 2003, 10 years in the Balkans made a big difference. The destroyed streets that I had driven on were completely repaired."
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