KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A well-earned gift awaits Lt.-Col. Bruno Plourde when he returns from Afghanistan - command of the Royal Highland Regiment, also known as the Black Watch.
Plourde's ascension to top rank of the Montreal reserve unit this October will be a first in Canada - no other francophone soldier has served as commander of a highland regiment.
"I'm happy, but I don't think it's the be-all and end-all," Plourde said in a recent interview just outside Kandahar, playing down the significance of the precedent his promotion was sending.
"It's part of my job ... To command your unit in your military career is the highest responsibility you could have."
The regiment, based in downtown Montreal, was founded in 1862 as the 5th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada.
Black Watch volunteers have fought in the Boer War, both World Wars and the Korean War. They have also served in United Nations peacekeeping efforts, NATO missions and humanitarian interventions.
The regiment's colonel-in-chief is Prince Charles.
Plourde will lead some 250 soldiers when he replaces Lt.-Col. Thomas MacKay.
"Commanding a reserve infantry battalion is working with the community, is working with the soldiers ... so they live their civilian life and manage their availability," he said.
"And that goes as far as preparing them for deployment here, in Afghanistan."
Married with three children, the well-travelled Plourde has served in missions in Bosnia and the Congo over the course of a 30-year military career that has allowed him to avoid the one place he never wanted to be: stuck behind a desk.
"I was always in the middle of nowhere."
Plourde now serves as a liaison officer with Regional Command South, the component of the International Security Assistance Force that includes Kandahar province, and is second in command with the U.S. team mentoring Afghan police and security forces.
He speaks passionately about his work and his interactions with Afghan National Police officers.
"It's like a little community here, a village," said Plourde, noting that soldiers from several nations work together.
"Here, there are no Dutch, British, Canadians or Americans. Everyone helps each other. That's the mission. We're a small group. If we didn't work together, it would be hell."
