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War Enters Mop-Up Phase for Two Canadian Soldiers

Aired July 11, 2002 - 14:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: After months in Afghanistan, coalition troops continue to pursue potential enemies. But for two Canadian soldiers, the war has entered the mop-up phase. Their story now from CNN's Alfonso Van Marsh in Kandahar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Kandahar air base, every soldier has a job in the war on terror. But for Canadian Army corporals Jason Cull and Rodney Macleod, some jobs are less glamorous than others.

CORP. JASON SCULLY CULL, CANADIAN ARMY: Hey, Rick! Say hi. You're on CNN.

(LAUGHTER)

VAN MARSH: The two soldiers' military occupational speciality is servicing the base's 250 portable latrines used by more than 5,000 coalition troops.

CULL: That should be good enough for a resume.

VAN MARSH: Jason and Rodney, who go by the names Scully and Bear, say they've cleaned more than 29,000 port-a-potties in the last five months.

CULL: So far, I'd say we've dumped -- let me see. How many days have we been here, Bear? About 160 days, 165?

CORP. RODNEY BEAR MACLEOD, CANADIAN ARMY: Yes, roughly around that.

CULL: So, you multiply that by, say, 10,000 liters of crap. So that's about a million liters of crap so far since we've been here. That's a lot of crap.

VAN MARSH: When you signed up, did you ever think that this would be the kind of responsibility, or task, that you get?

MACLEOD: Never. I never, ever thought I'd ever be sucking port- a-potties.

VAN MARSH: Early mornings, Scully and Bear take a suction hose machine, a shot of disinfectant, and a splash of water to the plastic blue rockets.

MACLEOD: The roads are pretty bumpy.

VAN MARSH: ... a sign from pilots landing a C-17 transport plane. Most everyone on base stays out of the way of the sewage sucker, called Piglet. In the base's cramped and dusty troop tent city, cleaner latrines means privacy, and less risk of disease.

MACLEOD: Considering in the past, I got here and we were burning human waste. It stunk really bad.

VAN MARSH: Bear and Scully list their honey-pot locations, and aren't amused when soldiers treat the johnnies, well, like trash cans.

CULL: Ah, we've sucked everything: mag lights, knives, magazines, newspapers, underwear, T-shirts, hats -- you name it. We've seen it all.

VAN MARSH (on camera): So, after nature calls, duty calls Bear and Scully. With so much waste to dispose of, one has to wonder, where do they put it all? Well, this little oasis behind me, it's not exactly natural.

(voice-over): Some people may turn their noses, but Bear and Scully say they're just two soldiers in an international army of one.

CULL: It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

VAN MARSH: Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Kandahar air base, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: I'm scared to make a comment after that.

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