I’m an imposter! I’ll start off with an apology for having the gear on completely wrong, I’m sure. And, I’ll apologize for what might appear to be an impersonation of a soldier.
What this photo actually is, is me attempting to find out if I could actually carry even the lightest gear that a soldier routinely carries.
Well, I found out. I sure can’t!
I’ve read about the weight of military gear, but it never sunk in until today. I was fortunate enough to visit Lancaster Park – the military base in Edmonton – with a soldier giving me a guided tour.
When I left, I literally had almost everything but the pants and shirt Pat was wearing, although I did get other pants and shirts in the collection I took with me. He actually changed his boots and cap so I could take the ones he was wearing.
This warmed my heart to the very core. The reason he shared his gear for a couple of days was to allow us to photograph and paint some of the items for Project Heroes.
The first item he handed me was a helmet. For all intents and purposes it looked like a hard hat, but with camouflage on it. Well I’ve picked up many hard hats before so I had a mental expectation of the weight. Wrong. I almost dropped the helmet. The next thing I picked up was his ‘flack jacket.’ I’m guessing it weighed about 20+ pounds – like a large bag of potatoes. I can’t even begin to guess the weight of the backpack, but I was assured that it was “light” compared to when the soldiers actually have it packed for use.
As I dressed in the heavy gear to take this photo (and I didn’t even wear the helmet), it struck me hard that our soldiers have to endure so much in their duties, and the weight of their gear is only scratching the surface of the amount of sacrifice they make for all Canadians.
I’m compassionate, and my heart breaks for every fallen soldier, but brave I am not. I would never be able to stand in a soldier’s shoes, so I’m incredibly thankful that they do what they do. I guess I technically did stand in his boots, but I couldn’t even stand up straight! I estimated that I was carrying more than half my weight. No, don’t ask and I won’t tell.
Cindy, Shairl and I are all very thankful for the support that we are getting for Project Heroes, and thanks so much to Pat for the military gear that I am able to borrow temporarily.
- Susan
4 Comments
Nice! Just wanted to respond. I thoroughly loved your post. Keep up the great work.
Wow this really takes me back, sending this to my mates now.
I have been reading this blog for sometime now, but it has taken me a while to say hello. I wanna say thanks i really take pleasure in your posts
*I’d have to check with you here. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!