Helicopter pilot gets a unique view on Afghanistan -- in more ways than one
Posted By MORGAN IAN ADAMS
Posted 3 months ago
For four months, Derek Knight had a unique bird's-eye view of one of the world's hotspots.
The graduate of Collingwood Collegiate was in Afghanistan as part of the Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan from last December until this April, piloting troops and VIPS across the southern part of the country.
Knight is presently a member of 403 Squadron based in Gagetown, his latest posting after 12 years in the military. He joined the forces in 1997 right out of high school, undertaking his basic training at St. Jean, Quebec. That fall, he enrolled at Royal Military College.
After stops in Comox, B. C. and Moose Jaw, he headed to Portage-la- Prairie for his helicopter training, earning his wings in April 2004.
"I always loved the idea of hovering and having complete control of your aircraft," Knight said in an email interview from his home in New Brunswick. "Flying a helicopter is a lot of fun because we fly extremely low, we can accomplish a lot of different tasks, and the job of the helicopter on the modern battlefield is crucial for the troops on the ground.
"It is a very rewarding job, and one where you can see the results of our work a little more than you can in the fixed-wing world."
In Afghanistan, Knight piloted the CH-146 Griffon, a Canadian-built multi-use utility helicopter that is used in a variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissance, and search and rescue.
In this case, the Griffons escorted the heavy-lifting CH-147 Chinooks, as well as ferrying troops and VIPs across the southern portion of the country around Kandahar where the Canadians are based.
Knight's squadron was also called on to escort other coalition aircraft, and he found himself in several regions of the country, including Helmand, Zabul, Urozgan and Farah provinces.
Knight also did a lot of night-time counter-IED (improvised explosive device) flights.
"My favourite job to do was counter- IED work because I felt like I was helping the troops on the ground the most by trying to deter the insurgents from planting IEDs and causing further harm to our troops on the ground," he said.
He's mum on specifics, though, acknowledging the danger that Canadian Forces personnel and civilians, and other coalition forces face while serving in Afghanistan.
He noted while Canadian media do their best to relay what's happening, it's difficult to get the whole picture to Canadians so they fully understand the military's role in that country.
"It is a very complex situation over there," he said." Every day I was there, I saw, or heard about, a lot of the horrible things that are occurring, and saw what our military is doing to help out the people of Afghanistan. Most of these things that occur, the Canadian public does not want to hear about every day, so it doesn't get published.
"I wish that the public could hear more about all the good that we are doing over there and all the progress we are doing over there," he said. "It is my most sincere hope that every Canadian would realize that the people who have sacrificed their lives in this war have done it believing in what they were doing and given their lives doing the best they can to help out a less-privileged country than the one we are lucky enough to live in.
"Not every Canadian agrees with what is happening there, but the people who are there truly believe they are helping the people of Afghanistan, and from what I saw we are helping out enormously."
