Friends in High Places

April 1, 2011, South Panjwai Afghanistan.

Today Shaun and myself moved from KAF to a forward operating base (FOB) in the South Panjwai district of Afghanistan. Along the way we ran into our good friend Mike S at the linkup for the ride into the FOB. Its was great to see another friendly face in KAF and indeed, it was because of Mike and others that Shaun and I have the gear we need to be able to operate here. Mike was generous enough to provide our body armor, ensure we had transport to the FOBs and even the day of our meeting he showed up with more goodies. Thanks again Mike.



The ride out to the FOB was quick and efficient. Rotary transport into FOBs is all business and they don’t want to hang around any longer than they need to. After a few quick stops to drop off personal at other patrol bases, we arrived at ours (name withdrawn due to OPESEC). Those who have been here will know it for its high feature that was built by the Russians. We were met by a young MCpl who gave a quick briefing of the base and walked us around the perimeter. Immediately, Shaun and I felt very welcome here. Our accommodation was better than KAF, we were surrounded by cheerful, efficient soldiers going about their business and there is very positive vibe about the entire base. We met the base commander and SgtMaj and again were welcomed and afforded every courtesy. Once we explained what we were doing there (you’re a what??), everybody got it. More than that, they truly appreciate that somebody has come all the way from Canada to document their story. I think they feel a little bit forgotten about over here as they do watch CBC and the only time they are mentioned, is when one of their own is flown back to Canada under a flag.
A word on food. Anybody who has ever served knows the importance of food and when you’re operational, in a theater of war, it becomes more than just food: it becomes part of your existence, your routine and if its well prepared, it becomes a highlight of your day. The food on the large bases like KAF and KAIA is managed by a catering contractors from the US and UK… and it was very uninspiring. Plastic food at its best. In contrast, the food in the FOBs is created by military cooks who take a great deal of pride in work and it shows. The food in this particular FOB is as good as any I’ve ever had. I’ve actually had to cut back for fear of gaining weight. My associate Shaun on the other hand dives right in.

The Arrival

Getting to Afghanistan is much easier than I thought. All it take is 3 flights and 18hrs of flying over 3 days. Easy-peasy. I even found the experience of flying Ariana (Afghanistan's national airline) not unpleasant: we had great seats, food was decent everything was pretty well organized. I will state one simple fact: the plane was ancient. The crate we flew in/on should, by all account, not be able to fly. But it did and it got us to our destination ahead of time and even cheery... and then you land in Kabul.

The Kabul International Airport looks like its getting some major investment thrown into it. Despite all the new seats and fixtures, its still a bit of a gong-show going through customs. Thankfully Shaun had a friend Dave and his assistant meet us at the airport and take us to their secure villa. CanPro Villa is an oasis in the middle of Kabul. Our host pointed out several places on route where suicide attacks have taken place. He also pointed out where the trauma-pack was in the truck and where safe houses were on route in case we were attacked. This isn't paranoia. Indeed, Dave was attacked inside a market just down the street from his villa back in January this year. A bullet and grenade wound latter and he's showing us how he escaped the attack. There is a grit to this city that is quite humbling. One one side you see abject poverty while on the other, you see Afghan's trying to meek out a living through industry and trade. Its a city in transition. Courage isn't necessarily confined to the act of strapping on a gun and going on patrol: sometimes the very essence of courage is the fact you can start a business in a place where things have a tendency to blow up all the time.

So again Dave, thank you for your hospitality and help.

Gala's and Ranges

Last week Shaun and I traversed some unusual ground in preparation for the trip. Everything from attending a black-tie fundraiser to refreshing our wpn handling drills.

On Wednesday, Shaun and I attended Operation Western Front dinner at the Vancouver Convention center. This event raised $1.5M for the True Patriot Love Foundation in support of Canadian military families. Shaun and I got to speak to the CDS, General Walt Natynczyk, veterans and leaders of industry. Gene Simmons and his partner Shannon Tweed also attended and between the two of them raised about $120k. It was a great event and I wish we could have contributed more. Maybe next year.


We also hit Dave's Surplus this past week to pick up some more kit. Slacks and dress shirts won't cut it in the desert so I picked up some pants and tops that are more appropriate. A HUGE thank you to MP and CanPro OH&S. They sponsored our little shopping spree there and I can't begin to express how much both Shaun and I appreciated it.

On the weekend Shaun and I headed out to the range. Some of our regimental friends suggested (heartily suggested) that we refresh out weapon handling for heading over to Afghanistan. I should note that Shaun and I will not be armed while in Afghanistan. That said, we also don't plan on being shot but we're still wearing body armor (IE: it doesn't hurt to be prepared). Its been a couple years since I was on the range and I'm amazed how much of the drills and SOPs have changed. Lots of muscle memory still there ("don't bother with the forward assist Bair...") and its still a rush to put holes in the target.

Thank you SB, DB, TS and JS for helping us out. It was great to get out there and go through the drills. I'm really doubt we'll need them but it was great to go through the motions.

Press Release

Artist paints himself to Afghanistan

British Columbia artist Christopher Baird Hennebery is a former soldier who always assumed he would serve overseas. But he never would have guessed he would do so armed only with pencils and paintbrushes. Chris’ project, Painting to Afghanistan, focuses on documenting, through painting and photography, the effort Canadian soldiers are making to create stability in Afghanistan. The goal is to create paintings that accurately portray the environment and the impact Canadians are having in Afghanistan.

For over 20 years Chris served as a reserve soldier in the Royal Westminster Regiment in New Westminster, BC. He is also a classically trained painter, attending Emily Carr University after graduating from high school in 100 Mile House. This March Chris and photographer, Shaun O’Mara, are heading to Afghanistan. As an embedded artist he will be sent out to the forward patrol bases to sketch and paint Canadians serving on the front lines of the Afghan conflict. By combining his passion for painting and his knowledge of the military, Chris intends to create a unique visual legacy that captures the spirit and commitment of Canada’s reserve soldiers.

Since the start of the Afghan conflict, over 2000 reservists have served overseas. Many of these volunteer soldiers have been wounded and, to date, nine have died. Chris feels that Canadians are not very well informed as to who these soldiers are. “The average Canadian looks at these men and women and believes they are all full-time, career soldiers. In fact, many of them are reservists: they are your neighbors, your postal carriers or your local firemen,” said Chris. The reserve’s role is to augment the regular armed forces; in past missions as much as 40% of the mission personnel were reservists. In order to serve overseas, many reservist soldiers give up their jobs or put their education on hold in order to volunteer for foreign duty. Unlike the United States, Canada provides no job security for reserve soldiers who choose to serve overseas.

Shaun and Chris have been fortunate to receive some donations to help pay for the project. “We couldn’t have done this without the support of our friends. Body armor and Kevlar helmets aren’t the sort of things one normally has on hand,” Chris said. “It’s an inspiring project and an exciting opportunity to document the many efforts of Canada’s reserve soldiers in Afghanistan.” Many of the finished art pieces will be donated to local regiments and Chris is hoping that the Canadian War Museum will also accept a piece. A Painting to Afghanistan exhibit is being organized for April 2012.


Christopher Baird Hennebery, CD, MBA
Vancouver, BC, Canada
chris(at)hennebery.com
P 604-240-6824
www.paintingtoafghanistan.com

Commencing Countdown, Engines On...

In just over a month from now Shaun O'Mara and myself will be heading to Afghanistan. We've received our embed approval from the Canadian Forces and ISAF. Our body armor has arrived (thanks MS), helmets and protective eye-wear provided (thank you RH, PK and stores!) and our plane tickets are booked (thanks GL). We've depleted our entire budget on airline tickets so from here on out, we're begging, borrowing and borrowing (without permission). Luckily, there are not a lot of expenses once we're out in the forward operating bases otherwise we'd have to fall back on bake-sales (although that is not entirely out of the question).


As I've stated in other posts, we (Shaun and myself) are very, very fortunate to have generous and supportive friends and family. The Hon LCol of the Royal Westminster Regiment, Karen Baker-MacGrotty has gone out of her way to help us raise funds, awareness and promote our cause. The guys in stores, support from the CO and old friends helping with flights in/out of Kabul all amounts to the start of a successful project. This is the power of the social network.

Our focus over the next couple of weeks is to improve our French language skills, ensure our kit list is completed and begin preliminary work on the themes we want to capture. That last part is important because, although we don't want to land on the ground with too many preconceptions, we do want to build up content around some general themes. This gives us some direction instead of the "waiting for it to fall on us" approach to the creative process.

With that said, I'd like to hear what themes are important to you. Soldiers, ex soldiers and the general public alike. Everybody has established some mental images of how they view the conflict and how they view the soldiers. I'd like to hear about some of those themes so please post below.

Dinners and French

Re-learning French is lot of work. My trip to Afghanistan will have me embedded with the Royal 22e Regiment (Vandoo) and being able to parle français is important to our ability to document the story effectively. Shaun has a better grip on the language than myself but I'm determined to improve my own skills before we hit the ground. This past week Shaun and myself were interviewed by Alexandra Guité from CBC. She was very thorough and I'm looking forward to seeing the interview. Its airing on French CBC next week and I'll post it when its up.



This past weekend Shaun and myself also attended the annual Paschendaele Dinner at the Sgt/WO mess at the Royal Westminster Regiment. It was my pleasure to present a painting to the Mess of WO Curtis Beglaw. I've tried Curtis' patience over the years by creating painting on many of our friends and unfortunately, until this painting, none of them included him. Hopefully this sets the record straight. Curtis has always been very supportive of my crazy projects and remains one of my closest friends.

Posted below is a time lapse video of the painting process.

A Soldier's Christmas Song

I've created this time-lapse video of the 'Road Move - Small' painting I did a few months back. I've added some music from Xander Rawlins '1000 Miles Apart' which can be purchased on iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/1000-miles-apart-single/id401905022

Merry Christmas