Witnessing True Corruption

Heroes Remember

Witnessing True Corruption

Transcript

So first deployment the worst aspects was coming back with extreme experiences felt but the shame of feeling that I didn’t do enough and going back to the battalion and going back into the grand hallways and the shiny boots and seeing all my heroes and like I didn’t do as much as them and I’m hurt. And I’m hurt that I did shit and I’m hurt that I didn’t do enough so that kind of drove me crazy naturally so that was one and that was like the poison as I was saying and the loneliness because we didn’t go as a section, we didn’t go as a platoon and we didn't go as a company, we went as individual attached. So that was a weird feeling coming back. And I had the great honour of being guardian angel, security for four amazing women, American women who started up the female afghan national army or police security force. They trained all the women. They were in Afghanistan for ten years, these four women and at the end of my two weeks with these women driving them and going to what I like to, I didn’t even realize but it was sketchy. There’s a lone security guy walking through entire compounds and every male just staring at you and I’m guarding the four women who are already second class citizens of the country and I can say that because it’s true, I’m not… So I felt super hypervigilant, had to super protect and like we’re walking through sketch areas but they, these four women were so calm, cool, that was their jam man, they did that for ten years. They didn’t even need me. But I asked them at the end, “What’s going to happen to all these amazing initiatives you started?” Because everybody is pulling out. They said,”It’s going to be disbanded as soon as we leave. They don’t take them seriously only reason they take us seriously is because of us because we are American women.” So it was really neat. That corruption hurt me again and that was another for my morale PTSD was seeing the true corruption and seeing the hard one is, seeing women holding their children on the streets as we drive by. Seeing the extreme poverty. I saw this little girl, cute little girl with curly hair, see an MRE on the side of the road, tear it open and suck the peanut butter back. You know what I mean? So as a father that hurt my sole and that wasn’t even, that wasn’t even combat. That was seeing their day to day and that really hit me. So that was the worst is reality.

Description

With mixed emotions upon return home from deployment, Arthur shares his personal opinion on how he felt about his own accomplishments.

Arthur Larimee

Mr. Arthur Larimee was born January 23, 1986 in Edmonton, Alberta. Growing up in Alberta and being involved in sports, Arthur always understood the importance of camaraderie and with this, was drawn to the idea of joining the military. With the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Arthur trained as door gunner. He was a weapons technician and deployed twice to Afghanistan. After his second deployment Arthur left the military and together with his spouse Brittany, a fellow PPCLI, fulfilled his aspirations of opening a gym with the desire to have a place for countless service men and women to come together for support both mentally and physically, maintaining that bond of friendship experienced during service time. He and his wife have opened a clothing line and are proud entrepreneurs of the Iron King Gym Ltd in Kingston, Ontario.

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