Dental surgeon trades in scrubs to mentor troops in Afghan desert
Capt. Luong Phuc Nguyen (centre) surprised many including his parents with his decision to leave his job as a dental surgeon in Quebec to serve a 9-month combat tour in Afghanistan as an infantryman mentoring Afghan troops outside the wire.
Photo Credit: MCpl Angela Abbey, Postmedia News
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- What possesses a Canadian dental surgeon to trade in his scrubs and scalpels for nine months in the Kandahari desert mentoring Afghan troops in counter-insurgency tactics?
"Most people find it hard to relate to," Capt. Luong Phuc Nguyen of 4 Royal 22nd Regiment admitted with a laugh. "I am losing a lot of money and not furthering my career."
That goes double for the 37-year old dentist's father, who is a pediatrician and his mother, who is a pharmacist.
"My parents are from Vietnam," he said. "My grandfather fought the French and the Communists. They stayed there until a few days before the fall of Saigon. When I was almost two years old, I was on the cover of Newsweek.
"So my parents understand my patriotism. But they have had a hard time understanding why someone with my career would want to interrupt it. The prospect of combat is scary for them."
With 130,000 western troops here, including more than 3,000 Canadians, being a military dentist or dental surgeon in Afghanistan were obviously options. But as a qualified infantry officer, Nguyen made it plain that he wanted to be out at a Forward Operating Base with combat troops, not in a staff job at Task Force Kandahar Headquarters as he was for all but a couple of weeks of his first Afghan tour in 2007-2008.
"I do not want to be a dentist here. That's categorical," he said. "I want to mentor Afghans. I want to work with the people."
Now attached to Canada's Operational Mentor Liaison Team, Nguyen normally is employed as a dental surgeon for "Clinique Dentaire," which has offices in Valleyfield, Que., and Cornwall and Alfred, Ont. To avoid being asked to do dental work, he does not tell the Afghans he mentors of his second profession.
A weekend warrior, Nguyen became an infantryman in the Van Doo reserves after graduating from dental school in 1999 as "a hobby, to do something challenging with my body. To train in the summer and work in dentistry the rest of the year."
Jobs with Canada's OMLT, which are mostly in Panjwaii District, are highly prized because they feature close inter-action with Afghans and the chance to sometimes go into combat with them.
"Mentoring here is all about people," said Nguyen, who is second in command of one small infantry unit. "It's about the relationships you build. The people I work with are young and tend to be smart. The majority want to learn. Some catch on quicker than others. The big thing is doctrine and common sense. They can grasp concepts very quickly."
The Afghans that Nguyen has partnered with were "good soldiers" who already have three years of experience fighting the Taliban in Uruzgan and Marja, Helmand. However, patience was required at times because many Afghan troops lack much formal education.
"A Canadian spends 12 years in school learning how to learn and Afghans don't have that," he said. "A lot of them don't have mathematics down because they don't learn algebra and trigonometry."
The Afghan sergeants and officers that Nguyen mentors live only a short distance away on what is a joint base. Even when mentoring is not planned, he goes out of his way to try to see his Afghan colleagues.
Asked about several instances when Afghan troops have turned on their NATO mentors and attacked them, he replied: "Is there danger? There are crazy people anywhere.
"There has to be trust. I just go myself with an interpreter. There are no barriers and no guards.
"If you want to judge them by Canadian standards, no, they are not there yet. But they are effective. They can get the job done."
However, Nguyen cautioned against the desire of some Afghan troops to be equipped more like the Canadians and Americans.
"They want to be like us and that is a good thing," he said. "But they don't need big vehicles that require a lot of money to keep them going. They need equipment that is suitable to their needs.
"Look at the issue of wells. A well with an electric pump is way more efficient than a hand pump, but the hand pump won't break down and does not require electricity, so it is way more sustainable."
Like almost every Canadian now serving the current combat mission in Kandahar, "I like the role Canada has now," Nguyen said.
Still, the captain was strongly supportive of the new training mission within academies that Canada is about to embark on in northern Afghanistan as combat operations end in a few weeks down south. Nevertheless, the dental surgeon/infantryman doubted he would be back for another Afghan tour.
"I promised my wife before my first tour that it would be my last," he said. "I don't want to break that promise a second time by going on a third tour."
"Most people find it hard to relate to," Capt. Luong Phuc Nguyen of 4 Royal 22nd Regiment admitted with a laugh. "I am losing a lot of money and not furthering my career."
That goes double for the 37-year old dentist's father, who is a pediatrician and his mother, who is a pharmacist.
"My parents are from Vietnam," he said. "My grandfather fought the French and the Communists. They stayed there until a few days before the fall of Saigon. When I was almost two years old, I was on the cover of Newsweek.
"So my parents understand my patriotism. But they have had a hard time understanding why someone with my career would want to interrupt it. The prospect of combat is scary for them."
With 130,000 western troops here, including more than 3,000 Canadians, being a military dentist or dental surgeon in Afghanistan were obviously options. But as a qualified infantry officer, Nguyen made it plain that he wanted to be out at a Forward Operating Base with combat troops, not in a staff job at Task Force Kandahar Headquarters as he was for all but a couple of weeks of his first Afghan tour in 2007-2008.
"I do not want to be a dentist here. That's categorical," he said. "I want to mentor Afghans. I want to work with the people."
Now attached to Canada's Operational Mentor Liaison Team, Nguyen normally is employed as a dental surgeon for "Clinique Dentaire," which has offices in Valleyfield, Que., and Cornwall and Alfred, Ont. To avoid being asked to do dental work, he does not tell the Afghans he mentors of his second profession.
A weekend warrior, Nguyen became an infantryman in the Van Doo reserves after graduating from dental school in 1999 as "a hobby, to do something challenging with my body. To train in the summer and work in dentistry the rest of the year."
Jobs with Canada's OMLT, which are mostly in Panjwaii District, are highly prized because they feature close inter-action with Afghans and the chance to sometimes go into combat with them.
"Mentoring here is all about people," said Nguyen, who is second in command of one small infantry unit. "It's about the relationships you build. The people I work with are young and tend to be smart. The majority want to learn. Some catch on quicker than others. The big thing is doctrine and common sense. They can grasp concepts very quickly."
The Afghans that Nguyen has partnered with were "good soldiers" who already have three years of experience fighting the Taliban in Uruzgan and Marja, Helmand. However, patience was required at times because many Afghan troops lack much formal education.
"A Canadian spends 12 years in school learning how to learn and Afghans don't have that," he said. "A lot of them don't have mathematics down because they don't learn algebra and trigonometry."
The Afghan sergeants and officers that Nguyen mentors live only a short distance away on what is a joint base. Even when mentoring is not planned, he goes out of his way to try to see his Afghan colleagues.
Asked about several instances when Afghan troops have turned on their NATO mentors and attacked them, he replied: "Is there danger? There are crazy people anywhere.
"There has to be trust. I just go myself with an interpreter. There are no barriers and no guards.
"If you want to judge them by Canadian standards, no, they are not there yet. But they are effective. They can get the job done."
However, Nguyen cautioned against the desire of some Afghan troops to be equipped more like the Canadians and Americans.
"They want to be like us and that is a good thing," he said. "But they don't need big vehicles that require a lot of money to keep them going. They need equipment that is suitable to their needs.
"Look at the issue of wells. A well with an electric pump is way more efficient than a hand pump, but the hand pump won't break down and does not require electricity, so it is way more sustainable."
Like almost every Canadian now serving the current combat mission in Kandahar, "I like the role Canada has now," Nguyen said.
Still, the captain was strongly supportive of the new training mission within academies that Canada is about to embark on in northern Afghanistan as combat operations end in a few weeks down south. Nevertheless, the dental surgeon/infantryman doubted he would be back for another Afghan tour.
"I promised my wife before my first tour that it would be my last," he said. "I don't want to break that promise a second time by going on a third tour."
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