ESTEVAN, Sask. — Dylan Holzer spent eight and a half months serving Canada during the Afghanistan War.
Not only did it have an impact on him – a toll that he continues to feel – but it was also tough on his family, including his mother Allison Campbell-Holzer.
Allison was the guest speaker at the Royal Canadian Legion Estevan branch's Remembrance Day service Nov. 11. She reflected on her son's service to his country during the Afghanistan War. A large crowd at the Estevan Comprehensive School's gymnasium listened to her speech.
She noted this year marks the 25th anniversary of the start of the Afghan war. Citing an article from the Canada Remembers Times, Allison noted more than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. A total of 158 Canadian Armed Forces members died and more than 2,000 were wounded.
Dylan graduated from the Estevan Comprehensive School in 2008 and went to Dalhousie University in Halifax for a year to become an engineer. The career path didn’t work out for him, Allison said, but he saw a number of men and women who were involved in the military in Halifax and decided to join them.
"Who would have thought a boy from … Estevan, Saskatchewan, would join the navy?" she asked.
After his initial training and a couple of years learning weapons technology, Dylan was assigned to a ship named The Montreal. After one short sail down the eastern coast of the U.S., his ship pulled into port for a retrofit and was scheduled to remain for quite some time.
In the meantime, Dylan had taken a military driving course which Allison said qualified him to apply for placement in Afghanistan, driving his superiors to and from base for meetings and appointments. She described the role as a bodyguard or guardian angel for VIPs.
Dylan's Afghan tour spanned from October 2012-July 2013, and he was stationed in Camp Eggers in Kabul along with 1,000-plus other people of 30 different nationalities representing the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Camp Eggers was one of the most vital coalition installations in the heart of Kabul, she said. It served as the central nervous system for the transition and training responsibilities. This transition centred on training, advising, and assisting the Afghan forces as they prepared for the December 2014 total missions closure.
"High-ranking Canadian officers and experienced staff personnel were integrated directly into these headquarters. They were responsible for high-level planning, logistics and organizing the broader coalition training strategy," Allison said.
"As a mother, it was extremely difficult to see my son go to a strange country, and one where I knew he was going to be in danger. Although there was no longer a war going on, there were still some very hostile factions, and I felt my son would have a large target on his back as he drove in his black armoured Suburban through the streets of Kabul, transporting high-ranking military personnel," she said.
Dylan shared some of his experiences with her so she could pass them along to the crowd. Some of his lowest points were realized while he was there.
“I’m sure most of you have had a close call, maybe almost getting into a car accident, and you have the butterflies rushing in your stomach because you realize it was such a close call. Well this was my day on a regular basis," Dylan said.
"We would go out on a day-to-day basis with the constant thoughts racing in our heads thinking, 'we could die today'. Every vehicle that rolled up beside us, every Afghan that would come up to the vehicle, or even the beggars fully covered in the burkas, were all potential threats."
According to Dylan, a turning point was the birth of his son in February 2013. He was able to go home on leave that April to meet him and hold him.
"His birth made me want to live and it gave me the energy to have the desire to get out of Afghanistan alive," Dylan said.
He recalled driving home one night with some high-profile Canadian VIPs when suddenly they felt their bodies slammed back into their seats.
"This was a real shaker. I hadn’t slammed on the gas. There was an explosion. The explosion shook everybody into their seats and had us all looking at each other helplessly, not knowing what was going on. After radioing to the rest of the convoy, making sure everybody was safe, we made a quick trip home. At that moment I felt life was worth living and I knew I had to fight to make it home to my son," Dylan wrote.
For most people, hearing gunfire is a rare occasion, but he heard gunshots every day and woke up to it. When the camp was under fire, he'd have to wait to go outside and get a bottle of water. A hatred of non-Muslims made leaving the camp dangerous, unless on a mission, he said.
"So why do it? How can you live like this and feel like this and continue to be ready for the fight? Well, the fight finds you," he said. "You are in this country to build hospitals, schools and universities. You are here to create job sites, teach women how to read and write, introduce computers and even bring simple things like running water and power to these people. You are here to help reduce infant mortality and bring modern medicine."
There is a radical element in Afghanistan that does not want to see these things happen and would rather have complete dominance of the people, he said, and these radicals or enemies could be anybody.
"They don’t show themselves and they don’t fight fairly. They could be one of your translators, your cooks, the counterpart that you are teaching, or even the janitor who you gave a little money just to help him out," said Dylan.
Allison said her son's message is "freedom is not free". It comes with a price, so respect the soldiers and the job they must do, and remember and respect the sacrifices men and women made in various wars and missions.
Canadians also need to be mindful of sacrifices that happened in training, Dylan said, such as those who died recently in Wainwright, Alta., and the sacrifices that are presently being made in Latvia along the Russian border as soldiers prepare to defend against further invasion.
"Remember you have these men and women to thank for having given you as well as others a chance to live a life of freedom."
Allison said her son isn't the same man he was before going to Afghanistan. Adjustments had to be made, ranging from coping with anger to being a father, and being comfortable going out into big open loud spaces such as malls or large gatherings to coping with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"For me as a mother, it was difficult watching and knowing that he was dealing with all of this internal turmoil and worrying about how he would cope, always hoping that things would work out positively."
But he has been home and safe for 13 years. He has left the Navy, retrained for civilian life and now works with the provincial government as an Occupational Health and Safety officer, and is the father of three boys.
"So, I am thankful, and I do remember and reflect on Remembrance Day, as we all should. We are all benefactors of the sacrifices, large or small, visible or invisible, that others have made. I now know that more than ever," said Allison.
