The Patrol: Seven Days In The Life Of A Canadian Soldier In Afghanistan

by Ryan Flavelle

"Nothing can prepare a person for the reality of bloody, concussive warfare. . . . Those who like war are aptly named warriors. Some, like me, are fated never to be warriors, as we are more afraid of war than fascinated by it. But I have the consolation that I have walked with warriors and know what kind of men and women they are. I will never be a warrior, but I have known war.” ( The Patrol ) In 2008, Ryan Flavelle, a reservist in the Canadian Army and a student at the University of Calgary, volunteered to serve in Afghanistan. For seven months, twenty-four-year-old Flavelle, a signaller attached to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, endured the extreme heat, the long hours and the occasional absurdity of life as a Canadian soldier in this new war so far from home. Flavelle spent much of his time at a Canadian Forward Operating Base (FOB), living among his fellow soldiers and occasionally going outside the wire. For one seven-day period, Flavelle went into Taliban country, always walking in the footsteps of the man ahead of him, meeting Afghans and watching behind every mud wall for a sign of an enemy combatant. The Patrol is a gritty, boots-on-the-ground memoir of a soldier’s experience in the Canadian Forces in the twenty-first century. In the tradition of Farley Mowat’s The Regiment and James Jones’ The Thin Red Line , this book isn’t merely about the guns and the glory―it is about why we fight, why men and women choose such a dangerous and demanding job and what their lives are like when they find themselves back in our ordinary world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, History, Biography, Canada

251 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2011

Reviews

[Baron Rothschild · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book...
JAR

[rabbitprincess · Rating 4 out of 5]

* * * * 1/2

A highly engrossing, very well-written account of modern warfare. The author is a reservist with the Canadian Forces and volunteers to serve a tour in Afghanistan as a signaller. This book recounts his experiences on a seven-day patrol partway through the tour, a patrol where he faced difficult tests and changed as a person.

As a history student, Flavelle is well equipped to write a smooth narrative and provide explanations where necessary (especially of the alphabet soup of acronyms that usually pervades army-speak). His voice is engaging, sprinkled with witty asides. Examples: on the Press to Talk switch: "the army has such clever names for things like that." On the Infantry guys ribbing him for being a nerd: they would say that "Kirk was a better captain than Picard (which he obviously was not)". The humour does taper off toward the end of the patrol, but it is hard to be amusing when one witnesses a death by improvised explosive device (IED). Flavelle is also honest about himself, reflecting on his personality and what has changed about him over the course of the tour, and taking stock of the conflicted feelings he experiences upon coming home.

I greatly enjoyed this book and learned a lot about how it feels to be a soldier on the ground, on the front lines. The only thing that kept it from being perfect for me was the occasional discussion of women in a rather objectified sense. It's one thing for a group of all male soldiers who are deprived of women to start having the usual jock talk, and keep it to themselves, but quite another to actually be catcalling and leering at the first civilian females they encounter when returning home.

All that aside, this is a very good book that deserves to be read by anyone seeking a firsthand perspective on the war in Afghanistan or the modern-day life in the Canadian Forces.

[Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far, the most realistic (modern) war book I've ever read.
When I hear about Afghanistan (and after reading Luttrell and Kyle's stories), I see pretty much lots of action and contact with enemy and badass moments.

What a massive slap in the face after finishing Flavelle's book. If I could resume his experience in a few words, it'll be: bored, hot, sweat, night patrol, IED (mines), marihuana fields and more and more.
He barely had a contact with talibans and I understood how different this war was.

But most of all, I enjoyed this book because how incredible Flavelle's writing is. He got zero help and wrote everything deeply, with an impressive vocabulary for a war book written by a fellow soldier.

The book I exactly needed it now.

[Pierre LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm only half-way through this book, but like my last one, it is highly engrossing. A very well written snapshot of Ryan Flavelle's experience in Afghanistan.

[Brian Carrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read by a young soldier signaller attached to the PPCLI in Afghanistan on a 7 day patrol. If you get a chance pick up this book

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of the books that I have read about modern war take place from the American perspective and so this was immensely interesting as it angles from the Canadian side of the fight. To note, is that I was not looking to this for comparative purposes, only that I wanted to see things from the Canadian perspective. Further to this all, Flavelle is a signaller (and from what I gathered of his explanations of this role and the tasks it encompasses, he is the radio nerd of the company). While Flavelle writes of the daily operations of a particular 7-Day portion of his tour, he is careful to point out that his role is not one of the infantry soldiers and it's with the honesty and diplomacy that he differentiates the two, that I gained so much more than simple respect for him. Flavelle writes an account of war in which he ends up in the middle of a physical fight yet he spends so much of his time explaining to the reader how his role of signaller never intended to find himself in the middle of flying bullets and the need to return fire, and how war and fighting was not for him. While I read this from my comfortable chair in my peaceful country, I can easily absorb his words but i cannot imagine how hard it was for him to put those feelings to paper, the same feelings that could have been mistaken for cowardice by his fellow soldiers - and Flavelle is but as brave as they come and as brave as was needed to get himself and his fellow fighters through that patrol.
Because I live the comfortable life that I am so grateful for, I need writers like Flavelle to show me the world beyond my home country's borders and to remind me why I have the rights that I do. He does this with flawless honesty and without asking for thanks.

[Tony Toews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very well written. Lots and lots of commentary about infantry and army life interspersed with details about his patrol. If you want to have a good understanding of a modern Canadian infantry this would be an awesome book.

[David Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucid, articulate, and thoughtful writing with a distinctively Canadian perspective on the nature of military culture. I was grateful for the insights this book had to offer.

[Brentman99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Canadian Afghanistan Army veteran, I can appreciate Ryan Flavelle's book. While I was 99.9% KAF-bound during my 9 month tour, a lot of the same questions, same boredom, same sense of purpose came up in my tour. I found the book easy to read, hard to put down and very interesting.

While we had different experiences (his tour was far more terrifying than mine) there are common themes. It is the people you serve with that make your days good or bad. It is your family and loved ones that supports you while you are away overseas. It is your own inner strength and spirit that keep you going on the bad days.

One thing I do recall is the ramp ceremonies. So much goes through your mind that it is hard to describe. I knew some of the soldiers who died, one fairly well, and it leaves a hole in your heart. I was not overseas at the same time my friend was killed by an IED, so I can imagine that what I felt so far away would have been amplified even more had I seen the flash and felt the concussion of the IED. It takes real courage to get back out there after something like that.

One thing that would be interesting to read is a 2-5 years later snapshot. As I was in the Regular Force, one thing became clear prior to going to Afghanistan in 2009 and then coming back: the military, particularly the Army, divided into two camps - those who had deployed to Afghanistan and those who did not. That could be a book all in its own.

Overall, I thought the book was a great read and would give someone who hasn't been in the military or deployed overseas a good snapshot of life in Army. I was in for just over 30 years and my good days, even those where I was exhausted, hungry and uncertain, far out numbered the bad days. This book reminded me of that. A great read.

[Kyle GC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides some excellent insight to the mind of a young Canadian Reservist who volunteered to accompany PPCLI on their rotation to Afghanistan.
Members of the Regular and Reserve Forces will certainly enjoy the teasing that the author experiences.
You do not need to have served in the Canadian Armed Forces to enjoy this book- in fact, I would encourage people not familiar with the Forces to think about checking this book out.

[Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It isn’t very often that I put down a book and feel like I am making all of the right decisions in life. More often than not books make me feel like I am not doing the right thing. This book, however, completely reassured me that the past 5 years and next 11+ will be spent doing something I know I truly believe in. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me Ryan and reminding me to take the time to truly listen to and learn from those who joined before me.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, thoughtful memoir of what it is like to be 'boots on the ground' as a Signaler in the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Flavelle is a gifted writer, and shares his uncertainty, his doubt, his struggles with fear and exhaustion, without any political rhetoric or justifications - just how it is. An eye-opening look at modern warfare, and the camaraderie and commitment of the 'new army'.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great account of a mans journey in war. Not in the sense of Hollywood Combat, but in the raw, exposed and vulnerable way. Flavelle does not hold back on his feelings or actions. A TRUE account of a Canadian in war discovering himself.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A raw and honest account of a patrol in Afghanistan. If you want to know what it is like for a normal guy to be in a combat situation, this is the book.

[Andy Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for anyone remotely interested in Canada's Mission in Afghanistan.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A raw and honest account of the realities faced by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. I was captivated by the story, it is definitely well written.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent book. 4/5
A tale I haven't read before about a reservist's view in the theater of war.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flavelle's book is not one that might normally draw my eye, but I grabbed it off the bookshelf of an (armed forces) old flame, and the rewards were great. His writing isn't simple - far from it - but is clear and concise enough to befit the graveness of the scenarios he presents to us readers. A description of a seven-day slog of a treacherous foot patrol through Afghanistan, he brings us into the vaunted fold of the Canadian armed forces - but not so much so to completely pull the veil away from our faces, as even Flavelle - an engineer - feels sometimes on the outside of his cabal of colleagues. The fighting (and violence), when it comes, is bright and quick and stuns us, and the emotional ramifications of the patrol, while not always explicitly outlined, are there, simmering under the surface.

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed something in me, as all good books do. I felt real fear. Real hatred. Real emotions. Flavelle is completely unapologetic about the things he's said, done, and felt. That's the way a book on this topic needs to be written. It's gritty and messy, and makes no effort to sanitize the war or those who served in it.

[Bookwench69 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing, highly readable account of one canadian soldiers little slice of Afghanistan.

[Michael Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, and a must-read for any Canadian signaller.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible insight to life as a Canadian soldier.

[William Vandervelden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. Not only a sig-op to read but any member of the CF should. It gives in site to the sig-ops role,

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privledge of meeting the author and his passion and Sympathy For the life of a soldier is truly inspiring.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learnt a great deal. It's honest. It's very readable and, at least so far, the best book I've about the Canadian army in Afghanistan.

[Dominic Richens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a soldier kind of sucks. They have my un-ending gratitude.

[Thalarctos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be read by every Canadian. We are very lucky to have our soldiers out there defending us.

[Jonathan Cardinal · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. The author clearly have a lot of talent to put on paper his taught and feelings. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks about joining the Canadian Forces.