What it was like to fight in the war in Afghanistan

So, what does Remembrance Day mean to you? It means remembering the sacrifices that all these great Canadians have done to defend this nation, and that sense of dedication, of love of our country, of our nation. At Remembrance Day, I think about these people, but also I think about the people I've, some of my friends never came back from Afghanistan, so I think, take a moment to think of them. So how long have you been doing this Matthew? This is maybe two months. It's my first ever interview. So I'm looking forward to it. This is awesome. Sorry. Can you introduce yourself to kids across Canada and tell them what you do exactly? I'm a father of three, but I joined the army when I was 18. So I've been doing this for 32 years now. I joined as an armor officer, so I've been with tanks my entire career. I've been doing this for a long time. And I progressed through the ranks. Thanks. And… Thank you very much. Now, all the Canadian army bases across Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. the country fall under my division, so about 9,000 soldiers. Thanks. Thanks. And, uh… You commanded a tank squadron in Afghanistan. What was that like? It was the highlight of my 30-year career. We lived in a place called Massimgar, that was a Canadian forward operation base. And the main... Our mission for that deployment was to secure a perimeter to build a road in Afghanistan. So we built a 17-kilometer road over in almost six months. Yeah, again, in the middle of enemy territory. I read that you were under fire by enemy soldiers in Afghanistan. What was that like? You know, when you were in a tank in Afghanistan, It's almost like being, you know, when you catch a star at Super Mario Brothers, you're almost invincible in a tank, right? Although we faced a lot of adversity and, you know, were in contact with the enemy, I felt safe. I think my team felt safe. It was a dangerous environment, but I think we were trained for it, right? So we were ready for it. What would you say was your scariest moment when you were at war? I would say it's probably those improvised explosive devices because they can go off any time and they always would go off unexpectedly. Very often there's no enemy, it's just the bomb goes off and there's nobody around, but sometimes it was the first step. ...to an ambush from the enemy, so we had to react to that. People have mixed feelings about war. When you were in Afghanistan at the time, how did you know what you were doing was right from wrong? You know, we still have a very strict ethos and ethics in the army, so... I was never put in a position to give an unlawful order. I never ordered any anything that was illegal or unethical but we knew that while we were there we were providing an environment that was safer and better for the population. The road that we built is still there you know. Canadians left Afghanistan but you know the road stayed there and they're still using it. What would you say to kids or younger people who are planning on joining the army in the future? Well I would say I've been doing this for 32 years and it'd be a lie to say that I've enjoyed every day. You hear that a lot. I mean some days were more difficult than others. I think the average Canadians realize now that we need an army. I think people kind of took us for granted. We live in a pretty amazing country and it's, it's worth defending, you know, so when I talk to soldiers, I thank them for their service. What they do is worth it. Thank you very much for doing this interview with us at CBC Kids News. It's been a pleasure talking to you. Likewise, Matt. It was very pleasant. Thank you.