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The picture says it all....

Great to be home.

Last trip to KAF

I have to apologize up front for this particular post as it is a little self centered (given that I am in every photo). That being said, I have mixed feelings about this post as it captures moments from our last trip down to KAF.

The pictures directly above are of Wendall, Joe and I. These are the two guys that I worked the closest with as we spent all day, every day together. Two absolutely "top shelf" guys who I would work with again in a heartbeat.

The one picture is of Tom Wolfe and I. Tom was my Troop Commander 33ish years ago when I was in the British Columbia Dragoons. That was my short, sharp military career in the militia....my assessments always read "has trouble with authority". Tom is a great guy and it was really nice to meet up with him after all this time.

Our medal parade was the final one for CivPol in KAF. The members receiving medals are all part of the same group heading home in a couple of days. The folks who just came in to replace them, are all posted in Kabul and there will be no more postings in KAF or Kandahar. Really, the end of an era.

I keep getting asked by the various people I work with if I am excited to be leaving...I answer the question by saying, I not excited to be leaving, but I am extremely excited to be going home. This has been one incredible experience and oppourtunity for me, however it is time to go home....everyone and everything I love and cherish is not here, but back home. That's where I belong.

The Critchleys in Kandahar

That's right everyone...the Critchleys in Kandahar! Can you imagine...what are the odds that two generations of Critchleys are in Kandahar at the same time!

Today I travelled with our Ambassador to Kandahar for meetings and of course made a special effort to find Bonnie and have a coffee at Tims. This trip was actually my last trip to Kandahar before I leave Afghanistan in the coming days. I must tell you how extremely proud I was to introduce my niece to Ambassador Crosby and Deputy Head of Mission, Jess Dutton. I explained how Bonnie had arrived a couple weeks ago and we really represent a number of Critchleys who have served our Country. It's really quite something when you think of it. Of course my brother Steve (Bonnie's dad) had an outstanding career in the Military travelling across the globe to various conflicts, both my Dad and Mom served in the Armed Forces, Debra in the Reserves, my Father-in Law in the Airforce, and of course it continues on from there...Grandfathers, Uncles, etc. Without question, our family can stand tall and proud when we speak of Canada and all it means to us...

I gave Bonnie a big hug, told her we loved her and to stay safe.

OK...I'm back, for awhile

Hello All!

I must first apologize for not doing a post in such a long time. I have been very busy for a couple of reasons. First Debra and I went on a fabulous 3 week holiday to the UAE, Turkey and Spain. Then when I returned to Kabul I had to turn around and head back to Canada where I attended a International Police Conference in Kelowna (what are the odds...). Following Kelowna I was off to Burnaby BC for an interview on my next job (which I was successful on...yeah!), and finally back to Kabul where I have been busy getting ready to turn "the keys" over to my successor in the next several days.

I have lots to share and of course a pile of pictures from our trip. So, for the sake of clarity the pictures are as follows from bottom to top:

1) Beach in Dubai in front of our resort...incredible.

2) Grassed area of our resort where we would go to hide from the heat.

3) View of the ocean from our hotel in Istanbul.

4) Debra's "Force Protection" in Istanbul. One morning I was in dire need of a coffee and had to leave in search of one. I asked the hotel security to provide "protection" for Debra until I got back...I had my fingers crossed that Debra wasn't going to fall in love while I was gone! The one guy was a International Kick Boxing champion (I still could have taken him).

5) A tunnel in one of the Underground Cities in Capadocia Turkey. Centuries ago, people carved entire cities underground as a means of hiding and protection from invaders. They intentionally made the entrances very small, so they could attack the invaders if they happened to find the entrance. This picture was taken 8 stories under ground and the city could hold up to 100,000 people.

6) Also in Capadocia just outside our hotel. As the years went on, people would carve houses into the hills and mountains. They are all over Capadocia and some were quite extensive with entire communities living in one mountain.

7) Dinner with Cristel and Claus in Barcelona. We were so lucky to meet up with Debra's cousin and her husband and spend a couple days together. We had such a great time and it was really a shame to have to say goodbye.

8) Debra took a picture of this guy on the beach in Barcelona. We couldn't believe it when he started walking up to us..I know the Europeans are quite liberated, but this guy was funny. He saw Debra taking the picture, waved and walked right up and asked if she wanted to have a picture with him....Debra politely declined. I edited the photo, but I can tell you...his mother must be very proud.

That's it for now and I will do another post in the next couple of days!

Chiefs of Police - Chapter 3

While the CoP were in Kabul I took then around to the various organizations that we have our members seconded to. First stop was NATO Training Mission Afghanistan (NTMA). This group is led by LGen Caldwell a US 3 star General and he is the guy I am getting a golf shirt from. NTMA spends 1 billion (yes billion) dollars a month to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). The Afghan National Police are part of ANSF and our guys are in there to assist training and mentoring of the police.

Another stop was the European Union Police Mission (EUPOL). A couple of years ago the PM stood up in the House and said that Canada would contribute up to 22 members to the EUPOL Mission in Afghanistan....so here we are. There is quite a stark contrast bewteen EUPOL and NTMA as it relates to the "quality of life" for the members stationed at each place. NTMA is a military base where you share a room with 3-4 of your closest friends. You do not have a bathroom in your room and have to walk several blocks to find one, which is usually shared by a couple hundred people. At NTMA you work every day, all day. Literally from the moment you wake up until you go to bed. Plus, no alcohol allowed at all. At EUPOL...not so much.

EUPOL has an indoor swimming pool, squash courts and bar. You get your own room complete with a private bathroom and the work day is from 8:00 to 6:00 with Friday and Saturday off. As you can imagine, there are some long faces when the crew gets to Kabul and receive their assignments. I have to admit though...everyone really steps up and gets to work...the EUPOL guys of course just have to remind the NTMA crew that every Thursday night is "Margarita Night".

The picture at the Kabul airport is our Close Protection Team (CP). Great bunch of guys who kept us "company" throughout the visit.

Chiefs of Police - Chapter 2

No visit by senior officials to Afghanistan would be complete without an official dinner at the Embassy. Of course I was more than happy to oblige.....

I held the dinner on the CoP first night in Kabul and it turned out quite well, even if I do say so myself. One of the things I enjoy about being at the Embassy is that all of us here are like one big happy family. Everyone will pitch in to assist with each others programs. We had great help from all our colleauges at the Embassy, even though they are not part of our program. Everything from printing out the menus, setting up the tables, moving the food, etc. was all done by folks helping out.

The dinner was really the only oppourtunity the members in Kabul had to all get together as a group. As there are only three of us that work at the Embassy, it was quite a logistical feat to get everyone over from their various locations within Kabul. Not something we can do very often, so is was a nice evening of simply getting together to meet the CoP, socialize and share experiences with them.

I started the visit with the CoP in Kabul for a couple of days and then we made our way down south. The group picture represents about half the members we have in country. The remainder are stationed throughout the city and province of Khandahar...

Chiefs of Police Visit

I just had the incredible oppoutunity of taking several high ranking police officers to Afghanistan for a tour of what we do in the country. I have a pile of great photo's that I want to post but I am having problems with our Embassy internet connection...these three photo's took me an hour to post!

So...as with any good story, I have to start at the beginning. I flew to Dubai to meet D/Comm Paulson (my boss), Commissioner Lewis from the Ontario Provincial Police, Chief Blair from the Toronto Police Service, D/Chief Whiteway from Durhma Regional Police and Commander Fournier from Montreal. I arrived in Dubai a day before them so I could meet with our RCMP Liaison Officer (LO) to ensure the appropriate VISA's, security, etc. were all in place for their entry into Afghanistan.

The two pictures above were taken from my room in Dubai. The weather was outstanding and the service at the hotel was second to none. The first night in my room, I ordered a pizza and beer for supper. I was in heaven...sitting on my balcony in the warm air enjoying a great meal.

The third picture is how we started our Chiefs of Police (CoP) visit. The LO picked me up in the morning at the hotel in a brand new Range Rover. We were running a little late to get to the airport to pickup the CoP as they arrived from Toronto. The LO was backing up in front of the hotel in the parking lot and I was screaming at him to stop...he didn't. He backed up into a Lamborghini resulting in a scratch and dent in the hood. The parking attendants lost their minds and began wailing because the car belonged to an "Indian Princess". People were running everywhere, waving their arms in the air. The police were called and an investigation commenced. After about 30 minutes, the Indian Princess came out of the hotel....and she was in fact an Indian Princess. She was drapped in gold and jewels, approx 25 years old and talking on her cell phone. She looked at the damage and told the person on the other end of the phone that she would now get the "blue one" as the orange one was now damaged.

The poor LO was beside himself. He ended up getting a ticket and we are still waiting to find out how much it is going to cost to repair the hood. He kept looking at me and couldn't believe I was laughing over the whole thing...I told him not to worry. I said "if your going to back into a car, might as well make it a Lamborghini!".

We were late at the airport, but it didn't matter becasue the flights were delayed and two of the CoP's luggage was lost......

Chapter 2 on the next post.