Reminiscences From a War Zone

Below is the extract from the experiences of your war diarists’. Details have been changed for anonymity. With the release of ‘Number 788 Number 788 | Military History Book | Helion & Company’, and the start of our new podcast – Underground Strategy | Podcast on Spotify, we have started to revisit and think back to our experiences in service. Traveling back in time, the mind plays tricks on you, and for that reason keeping a diary helps to keep track.

I decided to keep a diary today. It’s difficult to understand people sometimes, and God knows that we can only begin to forgive once we understand the causes behind someone’s actions. All I know is that if it hadn’t been for our local expert—a community liaison and explosive ordnance specialist—we would have been finished. As I write this, I want to acknowledge that I don’t fully understand what qualifies as a diary, so maybe this isn’t a diary entry but rather a note. I just need something to help me remember in the future.

It was a strange day and it felt like it could have been any day for the past 50 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that had been plagued by violence and rebellion since the 1960s – at least in the modern sense. The Congo Crisis of the 1960s saw the UN deploy forces taking an offensive role, and the dynamic Swedish Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld was revolutionising peace missions, much to the frustration of the global powers. What we encountered left us all unsettled. 

About a week ago, I was asked to plan a mission with a combat engineer explosive ordinance team to remove unexploded munitions from around a bridge. The assigned team was skilled and worked closely with the UN Mine Action Section. The tasks were fairly straightforward and considered low-risk, at least by military standards. 

Two days ago, however, we experienced a problem. One of our vehicles was pelted with stones – by who – the very people from the area where the mission was being conducted. The actual people who were directly affected by explosive remnants of war. To make matters worse, a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the vehicle behind mine in the convoy. Shots were fired—some from our vehicle, others from who knows where. One of our men was hospitalized, and others sustained minor injuries. 

We were all baffled—why were we being attacked? We were removing unexploded ordnance, protecting the local people, especially the children, who often mistook weapons for toys. A grenade, for instance, could easily be confused with a ball. But still, why the hostility?

I remember sitting down with the Operations Officer to review everything: orders, briefings, equipment, liaison with various sections, meetings with local leaders, reconnaissance, and planning. But we knew better than to assume that any plan survives the first shot. There’s always the unknown—the X factor—and something clearly had changed since the start.

A mix of anger and confusion was present. “Ungrateful,” “Idiots,” “What the hell?”—those were just a few of the comments I can recall from the team. We knew something had gone wrong, but we had no idea what it was. So, I turned to a local colleague who worked with the Mine Action Service and asked if he could help facilitate a conversation with a community leader in the area. Our colleague—windswept, cool and uber competent, the kind of man who looked like he was prepared for any situation—he quickly took action. He called in the local leaders. This time, we wouldn’t be caught off guard, and we brought along a force protection unit. I held on to my standard 9mm side arm, but kept it concealed. The show offish leg strap holsters of staff officers at HQ was more for the look in my view, and in the field, I had to appear non-threatening, at  least at the meeting. I knew that the assault pioneers, and paras were on standby if any issue arose, they would use extreme force. I just hoped we wouldn’t need to fight – it was a diplomatic mission. The men wanted payback for our injured men. But the orders were clear: all-round defense, tight rules of engagement—only fire in self-defence.

When we met the village chief, our local expert greeted him with a warm embrace. It was friendly, even amicable. After introductions, I asked, “What happened with the attack on our people?” The local expert translated.

“One of your people hit two children and drove away,” the chief replied.

The Operations Officer took over from there, but my mind was already racing. “No wonder,” I thought.

They identified the uniform of the drivers and they were from X state, a country who only provided military observers. The picture started to form more clearly in my mind. It wasn’t our unit who had been involved in the accident. The military observers were most likely passing through at the time of the hit and run. Instead of stopping and helping they ran away – terrible. 

To the local population we were all the same, and they wanted their vengeance. To be fair I couldn’t blame them, but now our men also wanted some retribution. 

Fortunately, the two children were in stable condition, so the situation wasn’t as dire as it could have been. 

The translator, and also local mine action colleague explained that it hadn’t been our team, but another military vehicle that had hit the children. Still, the damage was done.

Your War Diarists,

Tony & Max

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Authors

  • Antonio Garcia, is a civil servant, who additionally holds non-resident positions as a research fellow at Stellenbosch University, visiting lecturer at Durham University, and tutor at the Open University. As a combat engineer in the SANDF, Antonio has served in missions in the Sudan, the DRC, and South Africa and its borders. He has published widely on military history and strategy.

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  • Max Lauker served in the Swedish Armed Forces, 2002-2018. Primarily serving in Special Purpose Units belonging to the Norrland Dragoon Regiment, Arvidsjaur. Later serving in Stockholm and Karlsborg with units included under the special operations and intelligence umbrella. Several deployments over the years include Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and the former Eastern Block leading numerous covert operations. Now working in the private security sector with Intelligence as his main discipline.

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