08w35:1 Letter from a Soldier

Posted August 29th, 2008 by timothy. 0 Comments

Goodreads | 2008 week 35 number 1 (Letter from a Soldier)

A response to Goodreads 07w26:1:

Hello,

My name is Callum Kyle.

I want to reply to your, `support our troops` post that you made at the top of your page.

This is not a message of anger, that so many of my supporters or family may have written out of passion and indeed love.

I simply wanted to express how I believe you gravely mis-understand us soldiers.

I`m not angry, nor am trying to use a harsh tone because you know as well as I do, that hot headed internet debates lead to us all loosing our credibility.

But to stay on topic.

I, myself, if you want to use your own words, am a volunteer killer. I`m not here to deny that, nor am I ashamed of it.

But i`m afraid you miss and focus on one aspect of my job.

I`m a son, a sibling, a grand child, a nephew, and hopefully one day, a father.

I look around Canada, having traversed across most of it, and am in awe of the beauty, and the freedom that my fellow Canadians enjoy. Having the military been in my family since before the first world war, I only feel that its natural that this is what I was born to do. And because of people like me, who behold Canada and her people`s lives before our own, that we may live in peace.

I being in the Forces, and having been told the generations of horror stories of the battle field, know the disgusting and unfortunate fact that today’s world, much like our past, is no where near perfect, and people still hate and kill one another. Because of this, I do my job, not for the sake of killing, or being a blood thirsty thug as your post seems to make me out to be. I do this job because I never want to have to see my friends, my family, or any other Canadians experience what I am ready to put myself through in their name.

This leads me to my reasoning to wanting to go to Afghanistan. My dad has lost 7 friends in Afghanistan, 2 of them where family friends. I know many Afghanistan war veterans. I know what wars true cost and horror is from their stories. From 3 year old girls having bombs strapped to them, to some of the most intense fire fights since Korea. I want to do this, not only to protect those mentioned, not only their and your rights, but to give the Afghan people a chance of living a life free of fear of the Taliban, to give their women rights, and their children a chance to go to school, and make a better life for them selves, to give them a safe environment that I was able to grow up in. I think that’s worth the risk personally.

I am fully aware of the risk, and I understand that civilians get killed in war, and it is truly horrible and unfortunate. I’ve heard first hand accounts of Afghan civilians being hurt or killed by both NATO, ANA and Taliban forces. But if we stay there, struggle and not give up like we never have in a time when we’ve been needed, isn’t the fact that they may one day live in prosperity and freedom worth it…

I don’t want to kill, but I know its a part of my job and I am willing to do it so others may not have to. I understand that you may not agree with, or anything I’ve written, but the fact that we can disagree makes it worth it. I just feel that you may have gotten the wrong idea of what I or my fellow soldiers are, Fathers, sons, mother, daughters, aunts, uncles, nephew, and a nieces, but most of all, sworn protectors of this country, no matter the circumstance or what people may think or say of us.

Cheers. 🙂