Canadian troops decompress in Cyprus after Afghan tour
August 04, 2007
LARNACA, Cyprus: After tours of duty in Afghanistan, war-weary Canadian soldiers are being treated to five-star luxury on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus to prepare them for the return to civilian life.
Most of Canada’s 2,500 troops in Afghanistan will undergo “decompression” — military terminology for a programme designed to ease the physical and mental rigours of life in the combat zone.
After completing their six-month tour on the Afghan battlefront, some 2,100 soldiers are under orders to enjoy five days of sun and sea in this holiday playground before they go back home.
But it is not just gratuitous pampering. The programme is also about mending the battle-scarred minds of those who may be grappling with the pain of loss.
“Some soldiers have experienced the loss of friends and colleagues; that’s why we have mental health staff on hand to deal with such cases,” said Major Michel Ouellet, the 47-year-old Montreal native in charge of a 40-person team overseeing the month-long decompression tour.
“A fair amount of soldiers will have been affected by such loss. This was expected and that’s why we planned for it,” he said. Since the US-led occupation of Afghanistan was launched in October 2001, 66 Canadian soldiers have been killed there — 22 of them this year alone.
The most recent fatalities were on July 4, when six Canadian soldiers were killed by a bomb southwest of Kandahar in Canada’s highest single-day toll in the country since 2002.
The Cyprus trip is the second organised by Canada in a year. Twelve months ago some 1,700 Canadians were billeted in five hotels in the island’s southern coastal town of Larnaca. “It’s just common sense,” said Ouellet. “The weather and location of the island are perfect. It’s not too far from Afghanistan... it’s an ideal place for the troops to relax.”
Canada is not skimping on creature comforts meant to keep the pleasure quotient high, which helps soldiers shed battlefield stress and switch off from combat mode. This time they are enjoying the Azia Resort and Spa near Paphos, a five-star complex of spacious hotel rooms, private bungalows and ultra-exclusive suites commanding daily rates upwards of 2,400 dollars.
“The people here are very welcoming everywhere you go. It’s a million-dollar view. You don’t get this often. Everything is impressive,” Ouellet said. The palm tree-ringed resort on the southwest coast has every amenity, including a world-class spa that Ouellet said soldiers are encouraged to use.
In fact a spa, pool, nearby airport and easy access to a hospital were among the criteria stipulated in a Canadian Department of National Defence decompression tender.
The Azia fits the bill. “The welfare of the troops comes first, especially to provide the best for them to enjoy and decompress appropriately. We had requested from bidders specific items that they had to have. It’s all been factored in,” Ouellet said. Roughly 150 soldiers stay at the hotel in each five-day cycle, translating to a plane-load of soldiers every other day.
The first soldiers have already arrived and the last decompression rotation will depart Cyprus on September 11. Chartered and military aircraft fly the troops from Kandahar to Paphos airport after a brief stopover at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Most of Canada’s 2,500 troops in Afghanistan will undergo “decompression” — military terminology for a programme designed to ease the physical and mental rigours of life in the combat zone.
After completing their six-month tour on the Afghan battlefront, some 2,100 soldiers are under orders to enjoy five days of sun and sea in this holiday playground before they go back home.
But it is not just gratuitous pampering. The programme is also about mending the battle-scarred minds of those who may be grappling with the pain of loss.
“Some soldiers have experienced the loss of friends and colleagues; that’s why we have mental health staff on hand to deal with such cases,” said Major Michel Ouellet, the 47-year-old Montreal native in charge of a 40-person team overseeing the month-long decompression tour.
“A fair amount of soldiers will have been affected by such loss. This was expected and that’s why we planned for it,” he said. Since the US-led occupation of Afghanistan was launched in October 2001, 66 Canadian soldiers have been killed there — 22 of them this year alone.
The most recent fatalities were on July 4, when six Canadian soldiers were killed by a bomb southwest of Kandahar in Canada’s highest single-day toll in the country since 2002.
The Cyprus trip is the second organised by Canada in a year. Twelve months ago some 1,700 Canadians were billeted in five hotels in the island’s southern coastal town of Larnaca. “It’s just common sense,” said Ouellet. “The weather and location of the island are perfect. It’s not too far from Afghanistan... it’s an ideal place for the troops to relax.”
Canada is not skimping on creature comforts meant to keep the pleasure quotient high, which helps soldiers shed battlefield stress and switch off from combat mode. This time they are enjoying the Azia Resort and Spa near Paphos, a five-star complex of spacious hotel rooms, private bungalows and ultra-exclusive suites commanding daily rates upwards of 2,400 dollars.
“The people here are very welcoming everywhere you go. It’s a million-dollar view. You don’t get this often. Everything is impressive,” Ouellet said. The palm tree-ringed resort on the southwest coast has every amenity, including a world-class spa that Ouellet said soldiers are encouraged to use.
In fact a spa, pool, nearby airport and easy access to a hospital were among the criteria stipulated in a Canadian Department of National Defence decompression tender.
The Azia fits the bill. “The welfare of the troops comes first, especially to provide the best for them to enjoy and decompress appropriately. We had requested from bidders specific items that they had to have. It’s all been factored in,” Ouellet said. Roughly 150 soldiers stay at the hotel in each five-day cycle, translating to a plane-load of soldiers every other day.
The first soldiers have already arrived and the last decompression rotation will depart Cyprus on September 11. Chartered and military aircraft fly the troops from Kandahar to Paphos airport after a brief stopover at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
