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1st Tp, Recce Sqn
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Sgt. Lanny R. Hill 16 October 2004
 The challenge in writing my article for the Strathcona website was how to incorporate Vlad the Impaler (AKA Dracula) into said article, and still make it past the adults. While I ponder how to solve my conundrum, I will recount some of 1st Troop’s activities over the last little while.
Although always busy, the last 3 weeks have been particularly hectic for the soldiers of 41. Between patrol tasks, OP tasks and the training schedule, the troops have been sneaking in disturbingly competitive scrabble games. For pure entertainment value, Tpr Blair Letemplier wins the coveted “most points off words that aren’t actually words” award. Tpr Letemplier playing scrabble is an HBO series waiting to happen.
 Always entertaining as well is watching how individuals deal with certain situations in certain circumstances. Case in point is observing how soldiers deal with the locals while on ground security on an OP. Specifically, and most entertaining by far, is watching soldiers deal with the horde of local children who inevitably flock to any OP. There is a marked difference in how soldiers with kids of their own deal with local children, and how younger soldiers with no kids handle the situation. I am convinced that most of the younger soldiers would rather face 10 T-55 tanks than deal with 10 local kids. Having 4 kids of my own, I know that eventually the tanks will run out of ammunition and fuel, but the kids are not bound by any such limitations. Of course, watching the unfortunate soldiers get driven into the ground by an excited mob of wound up children is far superior to actually helping him. It will only make him stronger, and his future wife will thank me when they have kids of their own. Occasionally, a soldier has an idea that is perhaps not without merit, but perhaps a little too outside the box. I’m not convinced that the pickaxe handle would have helped Cpl Joey Del Duca with his mob of children. To his credit, he maintained his line in the sand and controlled the situation without the use of “Old Hickory”.
Stories from home provide a never-ending source of conversation and humour. Wives, girlfriends, kids, friends and pets prove that no matter where a soldier is in the world, families and friends have a huge influence on him. A phone call home or mail from home will undoubtedly lift spirits and put spring back in a soldiers step. It’s interesting to see children’s artwork proudly displayed in quarters, vehicles and work areas around camp. Being able to identify with family and friends back home makes the thought of the rest of the tour bearable. With that in mind, and having found a solution to my challenge, I will end with this thought; although Vlad the Impaler was an especially cruel tyrant, perhaps if he was able to play scrabble with 1st Troop, or received some artwork from home, he may have cracked a smile instead of a whip. |
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