DISRESPECTFUL

Re: You just can't quit once you're in, and Reservist hated life in Afghanistan, July 11.

I accept Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's statements that our soldiers are well trained and not misled about the hazards of Canada's dangerous mission in Afghanistan. But I hesitate to agree with our defence minister's use of the word "fantastic"regarding morale both in Afghanistan and here.

And I do believe that Mr. O'Connor should have been more respectful to the family of the late Cpl. Anthony Boneca regarding this young soldier's emotional state and the "real feelings" he expressed regarding the actual mission in his personal e-mails and phone calls to his family and friends back home.

In his media interview, Mr. O'Connor should have shown some sympathy instead of brushing off and rejecting this young soldier's comments. Our soldiers are still individuals -- not robots, not cloned perfect soldiers. Training in Canada and "living the training" in Afghanistan are two different stories. At the end of Cpl. Boneca's six-month mission, danger and intense combat escalated day by day, the combat forays "outside the wire" lengthened, and carrying combat gear for long periods of time in extreme heat and with limited sleep and rationed meals posed endless physical daily challenges. All these factors, and even fear, most likely played important roles in contributing to the emotional, mental and physical well-being of Cpl. Boneca.

Mr. O'Connor needs to walk a mile in a Canadian soldier's military boots in Afghanistan to fully understand and appreciate Cpl. Boneca and the actual reality of today's mission. Perhaps then Mr. O'Connor might not be so dismissive when a soldier expresses some real feelings and fears, as did Cpl. Boneca. As the mother of a soldier heading to Afghanistan in the upcoming August rotation, I extend my deepest sympathy to Cpl. Boneca's military unit and to his grieving family, his girlfriend and friends.

Donna Lynch,

Almonte


PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Donna Lynch