"We were there to do a job," he says of his year-long tour in Egypt, where he worked at a troop supply depot with the United Nations. "I don't think it's fair to say we reflected on it a lot."
This was no regular mission. O'Brien was serving with UNEF I, the first-ever UN peacekeeping force. The year was 1964 and he was part of a 10-nation contingent tasked with acting as a buffer between Israeli and Egyptian forces after the deadly Suez Crisis.
O'Brien did his job dutifully, concentrating only on the task at hand. It wasn't until he returned home that the now-retired colonel began to consider the implications of his time on that first peacekeeping force.
"In retrospect, it was wonderful to be there," he explains from his home in Ottawa. "It was a magnificent attempt on behalf of the world body to do something important. It was an honourable thing to do."
Peacekeeping has come a long way since, with thousands of troops donning the blue helmet of the UN in the name of peace. Their missions have had highs and lows, from Cyprus to Rwanda, with no shortage of supporters and critics.
But more than 50 years after the start of that first mission, and as this Thursday's International Day of UN Peacekeepers approaches, the United Nations remains among the best options we have to ensure that diplomacy triumphs over war.
Despite debates in political circles on its effectiveness and relevance, on the ground the UN is still the most respected, objective and legitimate mediator in the world.
"It's got a lot of credibility," says fellow retired colonel Don Ethell, a veteran of 14 peacekeeping tours.
Today, more than 100,000 personnel, soldiers and civilians are serving with the UN in troubled regions – a sevenfold increase from 1999 – a clear sign the world body is as important as ever.
But since those early peacekeeping days, a shift in responsibility has left vital troop contributions largely at the feet of developing nations that can scant afford the extra load. Developed countries are less willing to lose troops on foreign land, leaving nations like Pakistan and Nigeria to supply the bulk of UN troops.
While developed countries have been expected to help by providing funding and supplies, that, too, has fallen short. The UN peacekeeping budget of $7 billion is a mere 0.5 per cent of global military spending – not nearly enough for the immense responsibilities soldiers like O'Brien and Ethell are expected to bear.
"If the political will was there, the money would come," Ethell says.
The UN may not be perfect, but it has proven time and again its value as the world's premier agent of peace. If it's going to live up to these expectations, individual nations will need to step up.
A standing rapid reaction force, long advocated by former secretary general Kofi Annan, may be the best solution. Not only would it eliminate the need to piece together a last-minute contingent in an emergency, it would no doubt attract bright and ambitious soldiers well-trained for peacekeeping.
Canada could even play a lead role. Once a leading contributor of troops, we now supply the UN with fewer soldiers than Fiji and Togo. We may have our hands full in Afghanistan but could lend political and economic support to a more stable pool of UN peacekeepers.
Not only would doing so help the millions of war-ravaged civilians who rely on peacekeepers to survive, it would re-energize an important Canadian tradition – one that began more than half a century ago in the dusty Egyptian desert.
Craig and Marc Kielburger are children's rights activists and co-founded Free The Children, which is active in the developing world. Online: Craig and Marc Kielburger discuss global issues every Monday in the World & Comment section. Take part in the discussion online at thestar.com/globalvoices.
