SPINNING ANTHONY BONECA

Re: A Soldier's Duty, Editorial, July 12.

I am appalled at the media coverage of the death of Canadian Corporal Anthony Boneca, a 21-year-old reservist killed in a firefight west of Kandahar this month. Many reporters have taken the opportunity to suggest that Cpl. Boneca had somehow been duped into fighting for his country.

I have read Cpl. Boneca's e-mails. What comes through in his messages is someone who is trying to paint a picture in the reader's mind of what life is like as a soldier in Afghanistan. At no time does he state that he did not want to fight, or that he felt "misled," or that he disagreed with the Afghan mission. Those were words put in his mouth by others after his death, and then irresponsibly promoted by the media.

As a soldier's wife, and a former soldier myself, I can tell you that it would have been impossible for Cpl. Boneca to have been "misled."

Here is how the deployment process works for reservists: First, a message is received at unit level, from higher up. This message states that there is a rotation available, and that anyone interested may sign up. Then, there is a selection process involving those who indicate an interest. Then, the selected individuals are sent for mission-specific training with the regular force unit they will be deployed with. This training usually takes place in Petawawa, Ont. or Wainwright, Alta., or a combination of both.

At any time prior to deployment, a soldier may be RTU'd (returned to unit) if they underperform in training, or for medical or compassionate reasons, or if they have changed their minds about the deployment and wish to return home (and, believe me, there are many reservists waiting in line, hoping someone goes home, so they can take their place).

I am quite angry about the fact that most media are focusing on Cpl. Boneca's "reserve" status. Cpl Boneca is the 3rd reservist to die in Afghanistan. Yet the media didn't play up this angle with the other deaths. Remember, too, that about 40% of the soldiers who served in Bosnia in the '90s were reservists.

Among those who would make a martyr out of Cpl. Boneca, there is a fairytale view that our Afghanistan deployment is a departure from a pacifist stance that Canada has maintained since the Korean War. This is nonsense. Our "peacekeeping missions" in the Balkans were not nearly as peaceful as many in Canada believe. In addition to the "Battle of the Medak Pocket," which is celebrated only in military circles, Canadian soldiers often had to secure the peace at the end of the gun.

Whether in the first Gulf War, Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans or Afghanistan, our soldiers have deployed in full knowledge that they were entering a war zone. A soldier's life is sometimes difficult. Like Cpl. Boneca, sometimes they complain -- just like anyone complains about their job. But in the end they beat the odds and "soldier on." Lest We Forget.

Ann McDonald, Ont.


PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Ann McDonald