Fit to Fight

Our mandate in ’96 was under NATO and we were kind of I don’t want to say a housecleaning crew but we were there to fight if we needed to. We were the United Nations mandate had halted and we were the first company of infantry soldiers that were into the country. So, you know, if we had to fight we would have fought but generally we were monitoring the zones and making sure everybody was acting accordingly and politely I guess, so to speak.

Interviewer: Were you considered a peacekeeper at that time?

Well, no not really. You can imagine, I’ve always said you know imagine if one of our provinces in our country actually departed the country or voted themselves out and, you know, we are foreigners in somebody else’s country. And that’s the way it always will be. I mean there’s thousands of years of hatred in these countries and somebody coming from abroad trying to rule, it doesn’t go over very well. Ya, we were there to help. You know, we would pass out candies to the kids but you know there are so many different fighting factions that you don’t know who’s who and they don’t care who you are. Were we well supported? Ya, we were but you know at the end of the day if push came to shove they’d push rather than accept. I was fit to fight and ready to fight, wouldn’t even think twice. There was one thing I know there were a lot of people that were hesitant but for me being a little bit more mature I guess and older I knew what I was there to do right and if it came down to it I wouldn’t even think twice.