It's one thing to watch the developments in Ukraine and have altruistic feelings — the urge to help is understandable..It's quite another to see these images and decide to go and help — leaving the comfy confines of Canada and all the freedom it has to offer, behind..That was the case for Chad McFarland, a rancher from Southern Manitoba, employed with a branch of the federal government in law enforcement.. Chad McFarlandChad McFarland ."It seems like a lot of people, especially in Canada, they have no concept or understanding why I would want to go," he explained from his phone at his hobby farm.."I was watching the start of the war and, in my particular occupation we do a lot of global analysis and dealing with all kinds of things in the global political structure.".He could see what was happening — Russian troops massing on the Ukraine border.."I made my own analysis of, this is going to pop off soon, because you can't leave that many soldiers there doing nothing for too long, especially during winter," he said.."You either have to pull 'em back to bases or you have to go in, and the way that it was looking, it was like, this is gonna go. So prior to the war, I started learning Russian.". Chad McFarlandChad McFarland ."It actually helped me out later on, because being able to just read Cyrillic a little bit is helpful when you're in a country where you don't speak the language.".But it was the sight of something on TV, that really made him decide to go.."After the war started, a couple of days after, I watching the videos like everyone else did on the news and seeing kids filling Molotov cocktails.."And one of 'em looked a lot like my 12-year-old daughter, and it just crushed me. Seeing the video of a kid standing there on a bridge, alone, standing guard."."I just felt like I couldn't stand by. I mean, lots of people around the country here talk about freedom and talk about fighting for freedom."."And this was an actual fight for freedom, despite the propaganda from the Russian sides or anything else like that. I know a lot of Ukrainians here. I mean, Manitoba you probably know has something like a 14% Ukrainian population.".After getting the green light from his employer ... "they're like, well, you know you have obligations to Canada, and you have obligations to your security clearances, but so long as you're not doing something that's fighting against Canadian interests and you're taking the time off to do it.".From there, it reads "like a Tom Clancy novel" says McFarland. "If I wrote a book, nobody would believe it."."I just found myself in situation after situation where it led further and further down the rabbit hole. Back when the war started Zelensky put forward for creating an international Legion, and I put in for that. I put in for direct fighting.".But that isn't quite where he would end up..Not sure exactly of what he would be doing when he landed in Ukraine (he never did get an email confirmation) and figuring it would be a good idea to purchase his full military kit here, he spent $10,000 getting everything he thought he would need to fight the Russians."."I had to collect all the military gear here, because I figured that over there it would be hard to find. And truthfully, it very much was.". Chad McFarlandChad McFarland .He and a small group of Canadian friends (including a corrections officer from B.C.) who had joined him would hit the ground in Warsaw, where they purchased a small Mercedes-Benz sprinter van that would serve as a faithful ride the entire time he was in Ukraine..There, they made several runs to Lviv, bringing in humanitarian aid from Poland, and also ferrying refugees back into Poland where they would be safe..Strangely enough, he said that throughout this time, where he met many NGOs, he saw no evidence of the Red Cross efforts in Ukraine.."I never did see them, like the big organizations that draw billions of dollars (in donations) a year ... never saw them."."And I went to refugee centers all over ... we delivered everything from hand sanitizer to, you know, magazine pouches and first aid kits for the military," he said..McFarland would also be involved in the terrible events at Bucha, which saw many civilians raped and murdered by the invading Russian troops..It was before the story broke in the media, and a call went out for adult diapers, which puzzled everyone, including the border guards they encountered.."Why adult diapers? Was there a senior's home or something like that affected or, you know, we were trying to figure it out, why adult diapers and not kids. Then a couple of days later we found out ... it was because of all the rapes that occurred and all the all the trauma and everything else. They needed adult diapers for the women."."I spoke with some of the survivors there and I mean, these kids were just, you could see how messed up they were," said McFarland, trying to describe the unfathomable trauma..They would eventually be drawn to Odessa, which was badly in need of medical supplies. It is there he would meet up with Dr. Alison Thompson of Third Wave volunteers, a group providing crucial medical and humanitarian aid throughout Ukraine.."Alison was with a bunch of different foreign soldiers who were working for the territorial defense forces down there, helping with training and getting ready for frontline operations," he said.."So when I met those guys, they were like, Hey, what do you do? I was like, well, I'm in Canadian law enforcement. Okay, well, do you have any weapons training? I was like, well yeah.."I mean, I have rifle and pistol training in my past, and some room clearing and all that, just the basics. But I'm not a SWAT officer."."Great, you wanna come with us tomorrow? We could use a hand," they said.."And I thought, well, I brought all this kit with me, I might as well try and put it to use. So sure. And that led into working for them over the next two and a half months, with 126th brigade.."I was the token Canadian," he joked, adding most were special forces types.."I was involved in training probably 200 or so new riflemen ... civilians, farmers and fishermen.".While McFarland wanted to head to the front, his superiors dissuaded him.."They would have let me go to the front, if I had wanted to. But everyone, the colonel and other western forces that were there, were like, 'Chad, you can choose wherever you wanna go, but we really need you in training, because you are a good trainer.'"."And so, it all came down to, you can train 60, you can be part of training 60 rifle men in a three week training course. And that's 60 more rifles on the front or ... just your rifle on the front.".The answer was obvious, McFarland would continue training, until his four months in the country had expired.."I wanted to bring the fight to the Russians, but at the end of the day, it was just more important that I'd be involved with the training side of things.."And it was also the logistics side of things, because the thing that I brought that was different from the soldiers was because I'm in law enforcement. I'm more used to dealing with all kinds of different people and liaising with different people.".The Ukrainian colonel, who befriended him, also didn't want him to go.."He was a big fan of Canada ... he even wore a Canadian airborne shirt given to him by some JTF2 operators over there," he said..As for Ukraine itself, the country he discovered was much different from what many might perceive.."Some people think it's a Third World country, you know, and it's not, it is definitely not a Third World country."."Being there in Ukraine and seeing the Ukrainians, they are a free and modern people. They believe in democracy, they believe in freedom."."If the war wasn't on, from what I know now, I would go on vacation there. It's a place that I would seriously give some thought to moving to permanently, because the quality of life there in many ways, is better than in Canada.."The medical system there is flat out better than the Canadian medical system," he said..McFarland went on to describe a situation where one of his brigade injured his knee in a fall during training. Fearing the worst, his fellow troopers were going to take up a collection to help him get medical care..But after all was said and done, the total cost of treatment and an MRI which was scheduled immediately at a private clinic, proved to be a shocker.."Prescriptions, everything within 24 hours, everything was done. It cost a $100 and not more than $150. Incredible.".The first generation Canadian son of a German father who immigrated to Canada at five years old, just after the war, and a Filipino mother, McFarland admits to having struggled with some survivors guilt, after having returned to Canada.."They are in the thick of it. I still talk with a lot of them on an almost daily basis.."And there's a lot of ... I feel a lot of guilt for not being there in the fight with them. And they've told me, 'Don't give up your life in Canada. You've got a good life. You've got your kid to take care of. We've got it here.' ".Still, he has given a lot of thought to selling off everything, and going back.."I guess I've just always had that guardian personality. That's why I'm in law enforcement, working for the better interests of the Canadian public.."I want to protect the public from the bad guy. And there are some pretty bad people out there.".For those wishing to donate to provide much needed body armor for expat troops fighting in Ukraine, please check out Chad's GoFundMe, entitled: The Canada "EH" Team (Emergent Help) Ukraine.
