Sadness in Petawawa, Ont. as Taliban seize Afghanistan

PETAWAWA, ONT. -

There has been a strong reaction in Petawawa, Ont. to the events unfolding in Afghanistan.

During Canada's mission there, 40 of the 158 lives lost were personnel deployed from the Canadian forces base in the eastern Ontario town.

Nearly everyone you come across in the town of Petawawa will have a connection to the local garrison, like Dale Batten, a 40-year CAF veteran who had tours in Afghanistan.

“It’s unfortunate, but not unexpected,” he said, of the chaos in the country. “We’re no longer there to prop up the government and the Afghan army.”

Active members, veterans, family and friends have all been affected by the humanitarian crisis.

“I think it’s kind of sad that all the work we’ve done to try and stabilize it has gone right backwards,” said Petawawa resident Ron Van Alstine.

“I could get emotional about it now,” added resident Steve Virgo. “I was angry. I don’t think that—well, I don’t agree with war, period.”

Many are happy that western forces are pulling out of the region, but they're also critical of how it's being done.

“I think it’s been poorly executed. I think under the current administration they gave up Bagram Air Base, which could have flown all those non-combatants out of Afghanistan,” Batten said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on the campaign trail this week that Canada is working closely with the U.S. to help get people to safety.

“We’re working with our allies on what Canada, as part of the international community, can do to stabilize the situation, protect civilians, and put an end to the violence,” he said.

Throughout Canada's mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014, 158 Canadians died. A quarter of those were directly deployed from CFB Petawawa, but the losses are felt locally no matter where the personnel were from.

“You meet these people on the golf course or shopping or whatever, but it’s kind of like your family. Petawawa is sort of family-like; the military is pretty strong here,” Van Alstine said.