Operation HYDRA: A sapper's first experience

By Sapper Meghan Wambolt

On 12 November 2009, I started to pack all my kit for my first operation. My search partner and I packed our bags with everything we would need for Operation HYDRA – the first major operation of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) Battle Group — with the mission to clear insurgents out of two villages, Nakhonay and Hajji Baba. My pack was quite heavy when I was finished, and a funny sight to see when I tried to get it on my back.

The next day I left Kandahar Airfield, catching a ride with the medics, to arrive at a Forward Operating Base (FOB). We stayed one night at the FOB before leaguering next to a platoon house. It was a cold night for everyone but, luckily, we brought extra sleeping gear. (I think it safe to say that those -5°C sleeping bags didn’t have a good reputation by the end of the operation.)

The next morning we were on the road for Hajji Baba. It wasn’t supposed to be a long ride but, when our vehicle hit a bump and mashed the steering mechanism, I thought differently. Luckily, the mechanics did a fantastic job, properly sorting the situation, and got us back to the leaguer in no time.

On arrival, I felt very confident as we had a full battle group of combat power massed in one location, so we were ready for just about anything. My engineer search team stayed back until we were called out by Charlie Company, 1 PPCLI to commence our compound searches. Upon reaching the compounds, we immediately started our isolations and searches, calculating the safest point of entry depending on the threat and what would give us the best manoeuvre.

Our teams searched until we ran out of daylight. By the end of the day, we had an entire unoccupied compound searched, and it was safe to set up security and spend the night. This would be our home until the handover was complete days later. The mud huts the locals build hold in the heat surprisingly well, which made for a great sleep — aside from the critters.

The following day we did other searches into the surrounding unoccupied compounds seeking dangerous threats such as weapon caches, IEDs and components of that nature. During the second day of searches, another counter-IED team was called forward to give us a hand. These teams are very helpful and, seeing as they are the experts when it comes to any IED suspicion or threat, they are a valuable asset on the battlefield. As well, their robots are quite handy.

On the third day, we finished searching unoccupied compounds. Everything was conducted smoothly, safely and properly, and nothing dangerous was found — always good news. Once our main search portion was completed, we finally reached Hajji Baba itself and started presence patrols.

At first, I thought it might be dangerous, but once in the village it was evident that if anything or anyone hostile had ever been there, they were gone before we arrived. There were lots of children and families around, an unexpected and comforting sight. All the townspeople were very nice and seemed happy to see us. In fact, a lot of the children and even some of the adults walked along with the patrol, laughing and carrying on with us.

When we returned, two days later, I saw some little girls who were very happy to see me again, waving and playfully jumping around. When it came to searching more of the villagers’ compounds, they were welcoming and helpful for even the smallest searches.

Op HYDRA was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. I saw the components of a combat team bring their abilities together to form a synchronized force, demonstrating the professionalism of the Canadian Army. The most fascinating aspect of the operation was the interaction with the locals of Hajji Baba; it was fulfilling to see how our presence brought a certain amount of comfort to their village.

I must say that all of those long months of training paid off. They helped me to anticipate what was expected of me and how to approach whatever situation I was to encounter, both as a sapper and as a soldier.

Spr Meghan Wambolt is a member of 11 Field Squadron, a sub-unit of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in Edmonton that is deployed in Afghanistan as part of the 1 PPCLI Battle Group.