No....leave that to the Hortons guys.
Posted on 05/05/2006 2:51:55 AM PDT by Squawk 8888
Preparing to serve double-doubles in Kandahar: Prospective Tim Hortons servers train for Afghanistan
They have to know the difference between a Dutchie and a Maple Dip -- and they should also know how to strap on a gas mask in 15 seconds flat.
The Canadians who will man the pending Tim Hortons operation in Kandahar airfield are being trained at the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston this week after responding to employment ads by the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA).
Yesterday, 68 civilians donned gas masks, rubber boots and special suits in order to learn about how to keep safe during a nuclear or biological weapons attack.
"We don't sugar-coat anything," said Gord Wells from the CFPSA, which organizes civilian deployment in Afghanistan. "We face possible rocket attacks on the airfield and stuff like that."
Only 40 of the civilians undergoing the two-week training session in Kingston will be selected for a tour in Afghanistan. But not all will be serving Timbits at the CFPSA-operated Tim Hortons trailer, scheduled to open at the end of May. Some candidates will work as travel co-ordinators or fitness instructors at the airbase.
Those vying to be sent to Afghanistan come from across the country, Mr. Wells said. They range in age from 20- to 55-years-old, and work as anything from travel agents to cashiers in their "regular" lives. About 10% of the candidates have prior military experience.
"They're very outgoing, friendly-type of people. They can put up with a lot of things," he said. "The people who go over there aren't very uptight -- they can't be."
It is just as important to prepare civilians to live and work in a "fishbowl" as it is to teach them about possible rocket attacks, he said. Civilian support staff live in tents alongside Canadian soldiers and cannot leave the fenced-in airbase, which lies on the outskirts of Kandahar. Temperatures can soar upward to 40C and the environment is dusty and bleak.
Along with gas-mask training, the civilians have gone through sessions about mine awareness and stress relief. There are already 27 Canadians working in Kandahar, where the typical salary for a cashier is approximately $30,000 per year, in addition to a monthly $1,500 risk allowance.
Twenty-five-year-old Shelly Moore, from Ottawa, will board a Hercules transport plane at the end of May if she is selected for the six-month deployment.
Her day job is as a fitness instructor at the Canadian Forces Support Unit in Ottawa, but she said doing similar work in Afghanistan will give her a better understanding of soldiers' lives.
"This is a great way to find out about their lifestyle, their needs and their wants as a military member," said Ms. Moore, whose parents were formerly part of the military and who are supportive of her decision to go to Afghanistan.
Ms. Moore said it would be "foolish" not to think about safety concerns in Afghanistan, but said the Canadian military is among the best-trained in the world.
"They've made it quite clear here that we are going to be a security priority for them," she said.
"My biggest concern is the pressures of the job and being able to stand up under long working hours."
Double-double ping
No....leave that to the Hortons guys.
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