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www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF · FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2007 31 Fifteen days changed Blatchford's life C hristie Blatchford didn't ask to go to Kandahar. She went because The Globe and Mail asked her to, and she never says no to a story. Simple as that. What started as a request became "a profoundly life-altering experience" for the veteran reporter. "I was hooked," Blatchford said, "on the Canadians, the soldiers." It's the stories of these men and women, these heroes, that Blatchford said "compelled" her to write Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army. The author told a crowd of more than 150 members of the Canadian Federation of University Women Oakville chapter she wouldn't be doing a book tour ­ which she described as "a living hell" ­ if the cause wasn't something she really believed in. "I believe in the men and women in uniform," Blatchford said. "If I didn't, trust me, I would not be interviewed on chirpy breakfast TV shows." A former sports reporter and humour columnist, who wrote for The Toronto Star, National Post and Toronto Sun, and is now reporting for the Globe, where she began her career, Blatchford had the women at the Oakville Golf Club laughing at times, emotional at others. She earned three long ovations and was several times called a hero for casting light on Canadian soldiers and what some of them have experienced in Kandahar. Blatchford has been to Kandahar three times since that initial trip, and plans to go again next spring. "I want you, and all Canadians, to see these 20 and 30-somethings, to see these soldiers as they really are," she said. Trevor Greene is one of these soldiers. His job in Civil Military Operations was to work closely with the Afghan civilians, to build relationships, to build wells and roads, said Blatchford. Greene was axed in the head by an Afghan. At the time, he was sitting beside fellow smithereens." But it's what happened after that really struck the reporter. A Canadian soldier named Justin MacKay led a group to the horrific scene. He knew his younger soldiers would be ruined if they saw this ­ they needed five body bags to pick up the pieces of four dead men. Blatchford said an arm was placed in a body bag, but no one knew who it belonged to. "Mackay had the grace and presence of mind to try to spare his young soldiers the worst of it," she said. He made sure their backs were turned to guard the site as other more seasoned officers picked up the remains. He made sure none of them saw the Canadian carnage. "I take comfort from just knowing I'm in the same world as Justin MacKay," said Blatchford. While Fifteen Days tackles the sad stories, the author says it's more a story of the humanity, the human qualities of our soldiers. "There is such wit and intelligence and humanity beneath the veneer, if only we came to look," Blatchford said. The Canadian soldier "is thoughtful and considerate of others, to his own personal sacrifice." And while she admits it may sound old fashioned, a "calling to service" is the common tie she found among the Canadian soldiers. "Almost without exception, part of it is they feel drawn to do something good," Blatchford said. Fifteen Days is not about bureaucracy, about whether the war should be happening, or about the Afghan people. "It's a book about Canadian soldiers, period. From grunt officer to commanding officer," Blatchford said. "Young men and women who went to the same school and played on the same teams and grew up with the same culture as us." Except they ended up at war. "The one thing I know for sure is they're worth knowing, and they will enrich your lives, as they have mine," Blatchford said, wiping her eyes beneath her glasses. DEREK WOOLLAM / OAKVILLE BEAVER PROFOUND EXPERIENCE: Well-known columnist Christie Blatchford was guest speaker at the Canadian Federation of University Women - Oakville meeting Tuesday night. She discussed her 15-day assignment with Canadian Armed forces in Afghanistan, which led to her latest book and left her with a tremendous amount of respect for the soldiers serving there. soldier Kevin Schamuhn. "Suddenly from behind," Blatchford said, "came a blood curdling scream. Kevin Schamuhn saw Trevor's head split open." He saw his friend's brain. Miraculously, Greene is alive. Recovering. "This illustrated the difficulty and complexity of the mission there," said Blatchford. "Why had none of the villagers warned them? Why had none of them told them what was in store?" It's but one demonstration that danger in Afghanistan "can come in any form, at any time, in any way," she said. Blatchford told the story of Bill Turner. Like Greene, his job was to build relationships and assist the Afghan civilians. Turner was losing weight because of stress and was told to return to the Canadian base in Kandahar to get some rest. Along the way, Blatchford said his GWagon was "hit by a huge IED and blown to