A Sidney man is blogging about what it’s like to fight against the Islamic State in Syria as part of the Kurdish resistance.
Brandon Glossop, 26, details experiences with faulty ammunition, men who have fits of “war sickness,” and camaraderie among Kurdish fighters and foreigners who join them, in his blog, The Young Man and the Pillar.
Glossop was on the front line only 10 days after volunteering with the Kurdish People’s Protection Movement, commonly known as YPG, in February, the blog says.
“He chose to join the ranks of YPG after the death of Nathan Cirillo during the Parliament Hill attacks,” said a friend in an email. The friend, who administers Glossop’s blog and Facebook page, asked to remain anonymous, saying, “This is Brandon’s story.” He said he met Glossop when they were students at school in Sidney.
The Times Colonist could not verify his account, but Mike Glossop, Brandon’s father, said the friend speaks on behalf of the family.
Glossop’s blog, online at brandonglossop.blogspot.ca, consists of a single post published Monday.
In it, Glossop described waiting alongside 100 Kurdish fighters to advance on Telumis, where “blossoming mushroom clouds” were preceded by the heavy thud of coalition air strikes.
When he arrives in a small village, he and seven other westerners are divided between two platoons.
“A few hours from then, over half of one of those platoons would be killed or injured in the battle for Telumis. I happened to be placed in the other platoon.”
In some cases, Glossop contrasts the experience with his time with the Canadian Forces. Glossop was a member of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and served in Afghanistan, his parents said.
“In my six years in the Canadian Forces, I never once had a misfire with primer struck, but in two months here, Dan and I have had 6 between us. This is always frustrating considering the intended destination of these insubordinate rounds,” he wrote.
“It is proportionally satisfying when it works the other way, however, and an artillery shell lands beside your compound with an anti-climactic thud.”
In two months, he said, he has seen three men suffer violent fits. He describes one episode: “He screeched and growled and he went in and out of semi consciousness … when his eyes focused on the nearest face, he would lunge at it like some desperate, cornered animal. At times he started chanting, and he kept snarling, ‘I’ll kill you,’ over and over in Kurdish.”
Locals told him the men suffered “the war sickness.”
“Dan and I have both witnessed symptoms of PTSD in fellow veterans, but never in such violent, isolated fits,” Glossop wrote.
Glossop is believed to be the second Canadian Forces veteran to join the Kurdish resistance. Dillon Hillier, whose father is Ontario MPP Randy Hillier, returned from northern Iraq in January, telling media that U.S. military advisers pressured the Kurdish generals to stop allowing foreign volunteers to participate in the conflict.
Glossop’s friend said Glossop believes he is fulfilling a bigger purpose by fighting and feels he is wanted and needed in Syria — something he didn’t experience while fighting in Afghanistan.
The friend said he is unaware of other Canadians volunteering with Kurdish troops, but knows of others who plan to join. “Many are interested, but to make the final leap is expensive and dangerous,” he said.
Defence Minister Jason Kenney has said Canadians wishing to fight ISIS should join the Canadian Forces, rather than volunteering with foreign forces.
Brandon’s parents, Valerie and Mike Glossop, said in a statement they’re proud of their son: “As parents it is difficult to describe our emotions, but we support and honour Brandon’s intense desire to uphold our Canadian values and freedom.”
