Heather Latter
After a 10-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, Fort Frances native Lt. Andrew Curr, with the 10th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery in Regina, is back in Canada—and just in time for the holidays.
“It’s really nice to be back,” enthused Curr, who visited his parents, Jim and Larisa, here last week before returning to Regina.
“Of course I missed home,” he noted. “You have to. You lack the basic freedom there to do what you want.”
Curr, who joined the military while still in high school here, had been working as a reservist in Regina when he applied for the position of a duty officer with the Canadian Forces headquarters in Afghanistan and learned in June, 2008 that he had been accepted.
He then began extensive training last August and eventually arrived in Afghanistan in January.
“It’s one of those things I always wanted to do,” Curr noted about joining the military.
“I understood what I was getting into, but it’s still a shock to see how things develop,” he admitted.
Curr said getting to the war-torn country was physically challenging on his body.
“It’s also difficult mentally because you are trying to get up to speed on everything that’s going on,” he added.
Fortunately, Curr’s position had him being the watch keeper at the base in Kandahar and out of harm’s way.
“It wasn’t scary. It wasn’t my job to fight,” he remarked. “But I did have to know what was going on all the time.”
He said it was his job to track the minute-to-minute progress of everything that was going on—collecting information and ensuring all the different organizations were doing what they were supposed to be doing.
Curr then would pass this information on to his superiors.
“It’s what I expected, but there were some differences,” he noted. “I wasn’t prepared for some of it—you just can’t be.”
He worked several months straight of 12-hour shifts, which he said “got a little crazy.”
At times, Curr took on the role of senior duty officer, meaning he sometimes was the one in charge there at night. But Curr seemed unfazed by the responsibility.
“I really felt good about what I was doing,” he enthused. “A lot of progress is being made and I, in a small part, contributed to that.”
In his spare time in Afghanistan, Curr watched movies, played sports, and went to the gym. He also was fortunate to be able to have a private cellphone that he used often to make calls home.
Despite the “safe” job he had while on his tour, Curr noted his parents still worried about him. It also was difficult being away from his girlfriend for such a long period of time.
When asked if he would volunteer for another stint in Afghanistan, Curr indicated he wouldn’t want to do the same job as the one he just completed, but would like to contribute further.
“It’s not all the doom and gloom,” he stressed, saying he feels the media sometimes sensationalizes the happenings in Afghanistan focusing more on the terrorism and deaths.
“It’s not that bad all the time. Things really are progressing,” he remarked.
“I’m proud of Canada’s involvement,” he added. “Putting intrinsic human values and attempting to guarantee that other people have those values that we sometimes take for granted.”
Curr’s tour came to an end in November as the next headquarters was coming in to take over. There was a little bit of overlap time, where they passed along the specifics of the job to keep a certain consistency.
“You talk to a lot of organizations and have to know a lot of people,” he explained.
Curr, along with about 200 others from his headquarters, flew into Edmonton on Nov. 24—not long after his 24th birthday.
“I didn’t even think about my birthday because I was just thinking about coming home,” he noted.
When they arrived in Edmonton, they received a warm welcome, with a police escort through the city and people lining the streets waving and honking.
The following day, he was off on leave and headed to Regina, where he currently resides, as well as back to Fort Frances to visit his parents.
“It’s had a really positive effect on me” Curr said. “I really enjoy what I do.”
What he likes about the military is its simplistic environment.
“There’s a hierarchy. You have a determined job and you know what you are doing,” he explained. “Plus, you work outside a lot.
“It can really be a personal challenge. You make it what you put into it,” he reasoned.
In the near future, Curr plans on finishing his history degree at the University of Regina and will continue in his position as acting battery commander.
He said he feels he made the right decision when he joined the Canadian Armed Forces and hopes others, particularly from Rainy River District, would consider it as a career.
“They’re recruiting all the time,” he noted, adding most of the information about getting involved can be found on the Armed Forces’ website.
Curr said through his time in the military, he’s met plenty of people and has been able to help his country.
