The only hint that something is different is the haircut. Martin Anderson makes his way to the other side of the mahogany desk in his 19th-floor office at RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in London, Ont., looking every bit the successful investment advisor. There is the pinstriped suit, the blue shirt, an expensive but conservative tie, the broad smile and the hearty handshake. And the brush cut.
Off in the corner of the office on the floor, tucked away beside two leather briefcases, is a stack of green, black and brown army fatigues with a tiny Canadian flag peeking out of the pile. And on the corner of the desk, next to the telephone and the calculator, is a picture of a soldier in Afghanistan with children at an orphanage.
Anderson, 40, is no ordinary investment advisor. He is a veteran of the 4th Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, a reservist in the Canadian military and a veteran of a tour of duty in the sand-driven heat of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, where he was stationed from February to August 2005.
“We had an exercise rappelling down a building today,” he says, explaining the boots and army fatigues. Anderson and some of his fellow reservists dropped off the side of a federal building in London, sliding 40 metres to the ground in a matter of moments as part of a recruiting drive by the military and the RCMP to educate the public about part-time jobs in the reserves. Not your ordinary lunchtime “meeting” for most advisors. But then there is little that’s ordinary about Anderson and his quest to make a difference in the world.
“I was spending all my time doing something related to my work,” he says, explaining why, after graduating with a degree in English from the University of Western Ontario and spending a few years in the investment business, he branched out onto a different path.
“You go to a party and everyone asks you about the markets … no matter where you go, it is about work,” says Anderson. “And I wanted to do something completely different. I was looking for a way to give back to the community.”
The “something different” started with a chance encounter at a shopping mall, when Anderson and a buddy were shopping for a gift for his friend’s girlfriend. As his friend went into one last store, Anderson, who was tired of shopping, noticed a booth in the mall promoting the Canadian military.
Anderson’s grandfather had been a captain in the British army and served a tour of duty in Burma. As a child, Anderson was fascinated by his grandfather’s stories. After talking to the officer at the booth for 10 minutes, Anderson was hooked.
For the next three years (1995 to 1997), Anderson spent his annual three-week vacation in training. He was still serving clients, but the pull to a different kind of life — a life in the military — was growing stronger with each of the summer training sessions. And then there were the incidents of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Here was a terrorist attack in the heart of the financial sector of New York City,” Anderson says. “These were people doing the kind of work I do, and I was trained and ready and wanted to make a difference.”
The Perfect Opportunity
Anderson decided to sell his book of business to another advisor and become a member of the full-time reserves. Finally, he received a posting to Afghanistan. “I had a perfect opportunity to put into practice the things I’d been trained to do.” he says. “So I did it.”
Married without children, Anderson set off for Kabul as the second in command of a civilian-military co-operation (known as CIMIC) detachment of Task Force Kabul. Its mission was to meet local leaders and help them rebuild a community that had been devastated by civil war.
“In the case of Afghanistan, you are looking at a country that has been engaged in conflict of one kind or another for almost 30 years,” Anderson says. “The deeper the wounds, the longer it takes to rebuild a society. Frequently, the most serious damage is of a mental or psychological nature, and overcoming emotions generated during the conflict can take years, perhaps even generations.”
@page_break@Anderson and his fellow Canadians focused on what the army calls its “3-D strategy” — diplomacy, defence and development.
Anderson and the CIMIC team provided humanitarian aid and supplies to the people of Afghanistan; they gave toys to local children and they provided clothing.
“We had decided to give much of the clothing that had been collected in Canada away,” explains Anderson. “We dropped off around 30 or 40 bags, and allowed [local leaders] to distribute it. It is important for the people to see this aid as coming from their own government.”
The Canadian Forces team also built new schools, gave support to local orphanages, repaired roads, rebuilt bridges and constructed new wells. In total, 38 infrastructure programs were completed during the seven-month tour of duty. With the completion of each project, Anderson says, the team would leave a Canadian flag and a sign that read: “Friendship grows into Brotherhood.”
“It was great to be a part of something bigger,” says Anderson, who adds that he never feared for his life even though he was in a war-torn country. “We made a difference in the lives of the people. And that is the best thing I have ever done in my life.”
Anderson spent six months with the military when he came back to Canada last year, and returned to DS in March as a service desk advisor, a salaried position that involves helping brokers manage their smaller accounts. “I realized helping people with their money was important and something I was good at,” he says.
He remains a part-time reservist and hopes to return to Afghanistan for another tour of duty, although he recognizes that it is a much different country today. He also hopes that more Canadians learn about the work our military is doing in danger zones all around the world.
“An experience like this changes you,” he says. “You realize what is really important — friends, family and the little things that life has to offer.” IE