Its part of the job; Corner Brook man heading to Afghanistan

CORNER BROOK - A native Corner Brooker is about to serve his country in Afghanistan.

Justin Hughes, 28, has been preparing for this day since he signed up with the Second Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment 12 years ago. When the call for soldiers came in to Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, he was the only one to volunteer for the overseas mission.

"It's part of the job," Hughes told The Western Star on Friday at his childhood home in Corner Brook. "It's what we do and I wanted to do it."

The Regina High School graduate is a close friend of another local soldier, Jamie MacWhirter, who served in Afghanistan last year. They were in the reserves together and were trained as mobile support equipment operators together.

Hughes has been training for this mission in Edmonton since April and MacWhirter has taken him into his home for the duration. He credits his friend with getting him through the training and helping him prepare for the mission.

With a month of mission-specific training left, he's anxious to go overseas - providing a glimpse into just how this soldier feels about serving his country.

"I know it's for a good cause, but we pretty much have the most dangerous job because of the threat of IEDs (improvised explosive devices)," he said. "They hit the convoys, and we are the ones who run all the convoys. They don't bother attacking the ones with the tanks and all the labs because they know they won't have a chance against them, but we are not that heavily armed and they know it."

Hughes is confident in his training and the new arsenal of vehicles he will be driving. The Canadian Forces will be introducing new vehicles in Afghanistan when this crew goes in. He said they are the most heavily armored vehicles in the world right now, with five tonnes of armor just on the cabs alone.

Right now though, he's enjoying some down time during the holidays. His two weeks in Corner Brook are almost over and he will be staying in Greenwood for two more weeks, before heading back to Edmonton.

He said Christmas was good for him and his family, but too short. He and his girlfriend, Jenny Freeman, spent the holidays with his parents, Adlore and Agnes, and his nearly four-year-old daughter Alayna.

"I am proud he has chosen to serve his country," his mom said, fighting back tears as she began to speak.

"We always taught them (he and his older brother Darryl) to do what they could to help other people and to be good to others, but this is not quite what I had in mind.

"I have to say, I would be happier if he wasn't going, but it's his chosen career ... I guess if he could do good over there, for some people, and come back safe - that is our greatest concern. For me and Adlore, and Jenny too, it is going to be very hard, but what I think most about is Alayna. If anything were to happen to him, at such a young age, she would not know her dad. That would be very sad."

Freeman, whose father is a military man, shares similar sentiments but recognizes the importance of him doing his job and that the mission is getting a good soldier.

"I will miss him dearly," she said, as tears ran down her face. "But, I know it's something that he has to do. He will be fine, I know that.

"... It is part of the job. I do think the experience over there will help him not only grow in his career, but also as a father and as a man. He will learn to appreciate things differently and have a different view of the world and the military. It will be a good experience for him, it helps shape people.

"He is very good at what he does too. He has a strong work ethic, puts his time in and extra time, and he is kind."

Hughes recognizes the support he has at home and its importance as he does his part to make a difference in the world.

"It's just about helping as many people as I can," he said. "I know what we want the final outcome to be, but it probably won't happen any time soon. We will probably be in Afghanistan for the next 20-30, maybe 40 years, and that is not going to change."