PROUD TO BE A SOLDIER!!! From the daughter of a Soldier..

Last week I was in Trenton, Ontario. attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heardseveral people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turnedaround and witnessed one of the greatest act's of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Canadian who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi," the little girl then she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining the situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon."

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, their were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an Canadian.

Red Friday's

- Just keeping you "in the loop" so you'll know what's going on in case this takes off.

AFGAN MISSION NOT DETERRING RECRUITMENT

The dangers of Canada's mission in Afghanistan have not discouraged people from signing up for the Canadian Forces, the military says.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Forces told CBC News it looks like the military will meet its recruitment target of adding more than 12,000 people by next spring.
General Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, has made recruiting a top priority. Recruiters are trying to shed the stodgy image of the Canadian Forces as they try to sign up more people, especially visible minorities and women.
Recent polls suggest public support for the mission has been waning. But despite media stories about Canadian casualties - in August alone, seven soldiers were killed - the military says recruitment has been boosted by all the news coverage of the Afghanistan mission.
Ben Marr, 24, said those stories haven't deterred him from signing up.
"Probably the biggest fear I'd have is being maimed. I mean, nobody likes to come back with no legs or missing arm. But I think it's worth it. Fighting for something that's worthwhile is worth it to me," he said in an interview at a Toronto recruitment centre.
David Marskell, a 22-year-old university student from Toronto, said he's been mulling a career in the military for a few years. Now he is serious about joining.
'I thought I could help out'
"No offence to the military, but in the late '90s, the budget and that was sort of in a sad state.
"And the fact that the government is upping the budget a little bit and they're getting some new equipment is appealing to me."
Born in Afghanistan, Tahmasib Homam, who came to Canada five years ago, said he wants to go back home wearing a uniform and a Maple Leaf.
"Right now, I see that the Canadian army is doing a lot over there and it's something very important and people need that. So I thought I could help out."
Major John St. Dennis, who is in charge of recruitment in the Toronto area, said the Canadian Forces are able to offer a career unlike any other.
"It's a little out of the ordinary, it's not part of their normal run of the day routine and they're looking for the challenge that we offer - the physical challenge, the mental challenge and the opportunities."

29/08/2006 11:46:24 AM MSN TODAY

QW - G. Orwell

"War is peace."

- George Orwell's 1984

CANADIAN SOLDIER - BRAUN - KILLED; 3 wounded by suicide attack in Afghanistan

Sorry about this one being late....

Cpl. David Braun was killed in suicide attack in Kandahar

Cpl. David Braun was killed in suicide attack in Kandahar. (CP handout photo - DND)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are preparing for a potential backlash after shooting dead a 10-year-old Afghan boy and injuring a teenager Tuesday.

The shooting took place after a Canadian soldier was killed and three others injured in a suicide attack in Kandahar City. Cpl. David Braun, based at CFB Shilo, Man., died when a Canadian resupply convoy was struck by a vehicle packed with explosives. The names of the three injured soldiers, who were listed in good condition, were not released.

One civilian - a young girl - was also killed by the blast, along with the attacker.

Approximately two hours after the attack, two Afghan youths were fired on by a Canadian soldier when their motorcycle breached a security perimeter around the bombing site.

A single bullet passed through the 17-year-old driver, striking and killing his 10-year-old passenger, Canadian military officials said.

The teenaged driver ran from the scene but later returned to the Canadians for medical help and was airlifted to the military hospital at Kandahar Air Field.

The Canadian who fired the shot may have believed the motorcycle was carrying a secondary explosive device, said Col. Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"Clearly, the soldier thought they were (a threat)," Lewis said.

"The soldier went through the standard escalation of the rules of engagement, giving verbal and visual warnings."

Military officials could not confirm whether a warning shot had been fired.

The dead soldier was the eighth Canadian to be killed in southern Afghanistan this month and the 27th to die since Canada deployed ground forces to the country in early 2002.

It took nearly 15 hours from the time of the suicide attack for military officials to confirm publicly a Canadian had died.

Part of the reason for the delay was the 12 hours it took to locate and notify Braun's next of kin, said a Canadian Forces spokesman.

As well, the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa insists on being informed in advance whenever a Canadian soldier is killed in action. The military spokesman couldn't say whether going through PMO channels had further delayed the announcement.

A Canadian LAV-3 light armoured vehicle burned for hours after the massive explosion.
Another, lesser-armoured G-Wagon utility vehicle was also destroyed.

Afghan police said the suicide attacker plowed his car into the Canadian convoy.

The initial explosion, described by witnesses as enormous, could be heard across Kandahar.
Thick plumes of black smoke billowed from the wrecked vehicles.

Every few seconds after the initial attack, there were more explosions, from bullets, grenades and other armaments that were cooking off in the intense heat.

Fire from the attack also damaged small shops in area.

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.

The shooting of the Afghan teenager and boy riding the motorcycle is being investigated by the military's National Investigation Service.

The incident is sure to be used by the Taliban as propaganda to persuade more young Afghans, angry at foreign soldiers being on their soil, to join their cause.

"I suspect they'll try," said Lewis, who added he's concerned about a potential backlash from the community for the fatal shooting incident.

"I would be concerned about it and I think we need to pass the right message to the Afghan people," he said.

"The message is that we're here to help them and we certainly would never want to hurt them."
Afghan journalists also report being fired upon by the Canadians when they tried to capture video and pictures of the bombing site.

Lewis couldn't confirm it but said it was possible shots were also fired at the journalists.
The suicide attack took place just outside Camp Nathan Smith, the base that's home to Canada's provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar.

Most of Canada's 2,200 troops on the mission to Afghanistan are based at Kandahar Air Field, a much larger military base on the outskirts of the city.

An earlier attack late Monday on a treacherous highway in southern Afghanistan left two Canadian soldiers injured, one seriously.

"The incident of last night was an ambush," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, the outgoing commander of Canada's battle group in Kandahar.

The patrol was struck at around 9:30 p.m. local time while driving on Kandahar's infamous Highway One, in an area known by Canadian soldiers as ambush alley.

"There have been dozens of ambushes on that highway in the past two or three months," said Hope.

"There were dozens last year as well."

The two Canadians were hurt when their patrol came under small-arms fire about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar.

One of the injured, Cpl. Jesse Melnyck based at CFB Petawawa in Eastern Ontario, was listed in stable, non-critical condition in Kandahar before being flown to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany for further treatment.

The other soldier was in hospital at Kandahar Air Field, and was in good condition. His name was not released.

The patrol was on its way back to Kandahar Airfield from the Zhari District centre, very near where Canadian and Afghan government soldiers fought intense battles with Taliban forces over the weekend in the volatile Panjawaii District, west of Kandahar.

Afghan government officials said 72 Taliban were killed in a massive ground, air and artillery assault.

NATO called the battles, which began late Saturday and ended in the early morning hours Sunday, a "big blow" to the Taliban, eliminating up to 10 per cent of their estimated numbers in southern Afghanistan.

Another potential ambush was averted in Helmand province, west of Kandahar.
British troops watched as the insurgents moved into position and got set to launch an assault in the province's Now Zad district, NATO said.

"Alert ISAF troops from the British paras identified the insurgents manoeuvring into an attack position and initiated an overwhelming response using high explosive ammunition," the alliance said in a statement.

There were no NATO or civilian casualties.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force has been expanding its reach into Helmand recently, where soldiers have inflicted "significant defeats" against insurgent forces in the province, said a NATO statement.

Hope predicted further ambushes along Kandahar's Highway One are inevitable but said Canadian soldiers are well equipped to take the hits.

"In most of the ambushes, we actually do very well," said Hope.

"We're in armoured vehicles and we have 25-millimetre cannons and machine-guns. We're actually able to turn in and fire at an enemy who we can see at night but who can't see us."
As well, Taliban insurgents would take more casualties than NATO forces in the area, based on past experience, he added.

"We've inflicted, conservatively, 50 casualties on these enemy ambush groups since April."
Most of Canada's soldiers currently in Afghanistan are newly arrived in Kandahar within the last few weeks, mainly from CFB Petawawa in eastern Ontario as well as CFB Shilo.
They have replaced an almost equal number who are in the process of returning to Canada, mainly out of CFB Edmonton.

00:38:23 EDT Aug 23, 2006
Canadian Press: TERRY PEDWELL

QW - Maj F. Burns On War

"There'll always be another war."

- Maj Frank Burns from M.A.S.H.

"WE HAVE TO CLOSE RANKS," NATO says as Canada mourns fallen soldier

The Canadian military identified Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom as the soldier who was killed in a suicide bombing in southern Afghanistan on Friday.

Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom was killed Friday

in a suicide attack about 100 kilometres south of Kandahar.

Eykelenboom, who was with the 1st Field Ambulance based in Edmonton, was travelling in a NATO convoy when a pickup truck packed with explosives detonated.

The attack happened as Eykelenboom travelled in an armoured G-Wagon light utility vehicle as part of a resupply convoy heading north from the district of Spin Boldak to Kandahar Air Field, said Col. Tom Putt, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan.

"We deeply regret the loss of a fine and dedicated soldier who died serving his country," he said.

"Our sympathy goes out to his family in this time of grief."

Spin Boldak is approximately 100 kilometres southeast of Kandahar near the border with Pakistan. The attack occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. Kandahar time.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack.

'Nothing changes'

Putt was resolute when addressing reporters about the attack and the soldier's death.
"Nothing changes," Putt said. "We have to close ranks and get on with this and figure a way around this.

"We have to acknowledge the fact that the Taliban have largely been reduced to suicide bombings and IED [improvised explosive device] attacks because they cannot defeat the coalition with direct action, which is what they claimed they were going to do."

Eykelenboom was the sixth Canadian killed in attacks in Afghanistan in the past nine days. Another soldier also died this past week in an accidental shooting.

Twenty-six Canadian soldiers have been killed since Canada began its mission in Afghanistan in April 2002.

Last Updated Sat, 12 Aug 2006 15:17:05 EDT
CBC News

QW - the Truth About Bravery

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid."

- Col. David H. Hackworth

MEDIC DOWN

The latest loss by cowardly attacks in the War on Terrorism

Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom

My condolences to his family and friends.

A COMRADE LOST

My condolences go out to Jeff's family and close friends. I served with him back in 2000 in Kosovo. He was a good man and he will be sadly missed.

Pro Patria

CANADIAN KILLED BY FELLOW SOLDIER IN AFGANISTAN SHOOTING ACCIDENT

A Canadian was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow soldier in Afghanistan, military officials said Wednesday.

Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh's death in Afghanistan on Wednesday is under investigation.

Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh, who was with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from CFB Shilo in Manitoba, was shot and killed in what appears to have been an accidental discharge of a rifle.

Military sources confirm the gunshot that killed Walsh came from a fellow Canadian soldier.
Walsh, who had arrived in Afghanistan six days earlier, had been involved in routine operations, just 20 kilometres west of Kandahar, when the accident occurred.

"Enemy action has been ruled out," according to a Defence Department news release.
Military officials would not say if Walsh was inside a vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Soldiers involved in the incident later came under Taliban mortar fire at a forward operating base in the area, although military officials say the two incidents are unrelated.

Death toll reaches 25 soldiers Walsh is the sixth Canadian soldier to die in the past week and the 25th soldier killed in the mission in Afghanistan. His death is under investigation by the military's National Investigation Service.

In another incident, six Canadian soldiers were injured when their armoured vehicle slammed into a truck.

Two of the soldiers suffered more serious non-life-threatening injuries, while four others were treated and released from hospital.

On Saturday, a Canadian soldier was killed and three others injured in a traffic accident in southern Afghanistan.

Last Thursday, four Canadian soldiers were killed and 10 injured in attacks near Kandahar in one of the deadliest days for Canada so far in the military campaign in Afghanistan.

CBC: Last Updated Wed, 09 Aug 2006

CANADIAN LOSSES

CLICK BELOW FOR

THE LOSSES TO DATE

CASUALTIES DON'T DETER RECRUITS

OTTAWA -- Despite the recent spate of high-profile troop deaths in Afghanistan, the Canadian Forces say their recruiting numbers are up.

Five Canadian soldiers died last week and 13 were injured in four separate incidents, making it the country's deadliest week since military operations began in 2002. That brings the total of Canadians killed in action there to 24, with 16 losing their lives in the past six months.

Yet according to those seeking new recruits, the spike doesn't appear to be having a negative effect on sign-ups.

Maj. Andy Coxhead, public affairs officer for the Canadian Forces' recruiting group, says 17,000 people have submitted applications over the last six months. That includes 9,000 between April and June, a quarter that started with the deaths of four Canadians in a major road-side bomb incident.

"We generally receive about 25,000 applications a year, so that's pretty darn good actually," Coxhead says. "Recruiting is going well right now."

Asked whether the most recent casualties -- or others that are likely to come -- are expected to slow interest, Coxhead says it's hard to predict.

"We won't know until the end of those quarters, but so far interest in the Canadian Forces has remained quite high," he says, adding recruiters report there is a steady feeling of patriotism.
"They say that people are saying they want to serve their country," Coxhead says. "You know, we can extrapolate what that means 100 different ways, but I guess what's clear is it appears operations overseas are not negatively affecting recruiting."

Canada currently has about 2,300 troops in Afghanistan, and has committed to stay until 2009.
Maj. Daniel Veillette, the commanding officer at a recruiting centre in downtown Ottawa, suggests the current operations in Afghanistan may actually be having a positive effect on numbers.

More people have felt the need to serve when Canada has engaged in combat in the past, he says, and that may be happening in this case as well.

"It could be," he says. "We don't have proof of that, but my numbers are as good or better than last year. We have people at the door."

He adds his office is three weeks behind in processing applications.

A sustained recruiting drive will be needed to maintain the Conservatives' pledge to boost the full-time forces by 13,000, bringing the total for all forces (including reservists) to about 75,000.
Defence Minister Gordon has acknowledged recruiting to that level will likely remain a challenge in the coming years.

The government currently has a new advertising campaign in the works in an effort to boost numbers further.


PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
DATE: 2006.08.08
BYLINE: James Gordon

EVERY LOST SOLDIER [IS] A TRAGEDY

Before he left to join Task Force Afghanistan last year, a senior officer told me he expected 50 deaths on the mission.

He said it with no callousness, no hubris or machismo. It was just a fact.
It wasn't a cold, mechanical fact, though. He knew the men and women, all of them. And he cared for them very much, each and every one. There was no level of acceptable losses in his mind. Every death, every wounding would be a tragedy.

He knew that, too.

Anything and everything he could do to ensure all our troops came home, he would do.
He will be pleased -- in a professional sense -- when he and the rest of Edmonton's Princess Pats come home over the next few weeks that only 15, instead of 50, were killed in Afghanistan. But he will feel no joy. (A Canadian diplomat also died in an attack in January).

Only 15.

Only: What a cruel word.

None of the 15 soldiers killed on the recent mission are "only" a statistic to the parents and spouses they leave behind. None are only an operational estimate to the children who will never again know their strong and comforting embrace, the weekends camping, the spontaneous moments wrestling on grass in the backyard, the reassuring voice at bedtime.

None of the 15 -- including the four killed Thursday -- will be only a footnote in the mission report to the brothers and sisters who will grieve their absence.

About a dozen years ago I interviewed a woman whose brother had died with the Canadian army in Korea. She still set a place in his honour at each family Christmas and Easter meal -- and he had died 40 years before.

Such is the hole the deaths of each of the 15 fallen will leave in hundreds of lives across the country.

The girlfriends and boyfriends who will wonder what might have been. The lifelong friends who will feel a hollowness that will sneak up on them at unexpected times, for years to come.

Maybe, eventually, they will learn to go months or even years between empty feelings. Then at a barbecue or ballgame they will be reminded of their deceased friend by an activity they once enjoyed together.

Or maybe a profile in a crowd will look like their lost comrade, or just the scent in the air will trigger the memory of a shared laugh, and all the emotions will come flooding back.

No more beers after pickup hockey on Friday nights. No more tinkering with an old sports car that is taking up too much space in the garage. No more passionate debates about who was the best rock band of the 1980s.

Each of the 15 deaths suffered on this mission is a tragedy on a human scale.

My friend the senior officer knows that, and that is why when he comes home soon, it will be with a sense of professional pride, but a heavy heart.

His feelings will be common among the returning members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

They will, and justifiably so, be proud of what they accomplished.

Thanks to their willingness to put their lives on the line, Afghanistan is on its way to becoming a more stable country.

Ordinary Afghans will soon be secure enough to begin rebuilding their nation, which -- thanks to nearly 30 years of civil war, Soviet occupation, terrorist training and extremist government -- has a long way still to go to "normal."

And thanks to the sacrifices of the Princess Pats, Canada is a safer nation. Their willingness to fight terrorists and their supporters on far-off, dangerous and inhospitable battlefields means we are less likely to have to confront those terrorists here.

But it has all come at a heavy cost.

You can read the feelings that will be common among the returning Pats in the words of Angela Reid, the mother of Corporal Christopher Reid of Truro, N.S., one of the soldiers killed Thursday.

From the prim garden of her Truro home, Reid said, "We are shocked, saddened and we are lonely already. We are truly thankful to have had a son such as Christopher. He will be in our hearts forever."

She and her husband then reiterated their support for Canada's Afghan mission.

Edmonton's returning soldiers, too, will be mostly supportive of our mission.

But like the Reids, they will be shocked and saddened and lonely already for the comrades who will not return.

They will be glad to be home. They will marvel at how much their kids have grown while they have been away.

They will remember how much they love the way their spouse's mouth curls up at one end when she (or he) smiles.

They will sleep in their own beds, watch their own TVs and be reminded what a luxury it is to drive the streets without having to watch for roadside bombs or crouching terrorists with grenade launchers.

They will go to the convenience store at 2:00 a.m. just because they can.

But they will enjoy all these small thrills quietly, with reservation, because they know for 15 other families, it will never again be the way it was.


PUBLICATION: The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
DATE: 2006.08.08
COLUMN: Lorne Gunter
BYLINE: Lorne Gunter

NO SOLDIERS HURT IN ATTACK ON BASE

The base where Canadian soldiers are stationed in southern Afghanistan was hit by a rocket attack last night, for the second time in as many days.

There were no injuries or damage, a NATO spokesman reported. The rocket struck around 11 p.m.

On Sunday, three rockets struck the base about half an hour apart, shortly after a Taliban spokesman threatened to escalate suicide attacks against foreign troops in Afghanistan. No injuries or significant damage were reported.

Thirty-seven rockets have been fired at the Kandahar Air Field since nearly 2,200 Canadian soldiers moved into the base in February.


PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.08.08
SOURCE: CANADIAN PRESS

"HIS SACRIFICE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN"; Master Corporal Arndt died bringing vital medical supplies to his comrades

DAWN WALTON AND TIM ALBONE With a report from Canadian Press CALGARY AND KANDAHAR Master Corporal Raymond Arndt's feet almost kept him out of the military. But the Alberta man, whose one foot was three sizes smaller than the other, kicked up a fuss to become a reservist with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

"He loved the army. He loved the regiment. It was a big part of what he was," MCpl. Lance McFadzen recalled yesterday as he talked about his friend, who died on Saturday in a road accident in Afghanistan.

MCpl. Arndt, 32, was riding in a G-wagon about 35 kilometres south of Kandahar as part of a convoy moving supplies to a Canadian base at Spin Boldak on the border with Pakistan when it slammed head-on into a civilian truck loaded with cattle.

The accident happened on a treacherous stretch of highway.

"The exact circumstances of the accident are not known at this time, although enemy action has been ruled out," Colonel Tom Putt, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan, told reporters at Kandahar Air Field. "The soldier who lost his life was bringing critical medical supplies to his comrades. His sacrifice will not be forgotten." Three others were injured in the incident, including Cpl. Jared Gagnon and Cpl. Ashley VanLeuween, who arrived yesterday at the military medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany.

In an e-mail home to the regiment, Cpl. Greg O'Neill wrote that Cpl. Gagnon has a "very serious head injury and might not make it," while Cpl. VanLeuween suffered broken ribs, ankle and leg.
The accident happened only hours after the flag-draped coffins of four Canadian soldiers killed in a fierce firefight with Taliban rebels near Pashmul on Thursday were loaded onto to a transport plane for the final journey home.

Since April, 2002, 24 Canadian soldiers -- and one diplomat -- have been killed in Afghanistan.
MCpl. Arndt was 11 days shy of returning from his six-month deployment.

He married his wife, Darcia, last year. The couple, who met at a regimental dinner a few years ago, was looking forward to their life together in Edmonton, where they planned to have children.

"He was very devoted to his wife. He wanted to be a father. He was looking forward to starting a family," MCpl. McFadzen said.

His family issued a statement over the weekend and asked for privacy as they grieve.
"He was a loving husband, son, brother, uncle and friend," the statement said. "Ray had a love for life, for his family, and had a wonderful sense of humour. Ray was proud of who he was and of the work he was doing in Afghanistan." In 1999, MCpl. Arndt, who grew up in Edson, Alta., joined Alberta's oldest infantry regiment, dubbed The Loyal Eddies. The regiment has sent members to both world wars and recent missions to Africa, Bosnia and Cyprus, and operates by the motto "Fears No Foe." The death of MCpl. Arndt is the regiment's first in Afghanistan.
MCpl. Arndt was to be deployed to Bosnia in 2002, but his feet got the better of him. The military's supply outfit had trouble accomodating a soldier who needed two different-sized boots.

During training at CFB Wainwright, one boot fit and the other was three sizes too big. As MCpl. McFadzen recounted, soldiers doing 10-kilometre marches each day at 5 o'clock find their feet are their stock-in-trade, and MCpl. Arndt's small foot had been chewed to bits by the ill-fitting boot, causing him to be ordered off the Bosnia tour.

"That's why he really wanted to go on this one," said MCpl. McFadzen, referring to the Afghanistan mission. "He was very, very serious about his own professional development, over and above his belief in the righteousness of what he was doing and the people he was helping overseas." Major Michael Prendergast, the regiment's acting commanding officer, remembered MCpl. Arndt as a dedicated soldier, a strong leader and someone blessed with a great sense of humour.

"Going on exercises or just down around the armoury, it was kind of hard to miss him. He stood out. He always had this big grin on his face, you can't miss that," he recalled.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper also expressed his condolences.

"Canadians are united in pride and gratitude behind this young man who represented our nation, and our values, with courage and honour. He is mourned by his countrymen on this sad day," he said in a statement.

Mr. Harper extended his best wishes to the three other soldiers who were injured in the accident, as did Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who said MCpl. Arndt's death would not be in vain.

"MCpl. Arndt's legacy will be carried on by the people of Afghanistan whose lives he has touched, by his Canadian Forces family and by all who knew him," Mr. O'Connor said. "In spite of the complex risks faced in Afghanistan, our Canadian Forces members have the support of our great nation to succeed and will fulfill their mission."


PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.08.07
BYLINE: DAWN WALTON AND TIM ALBONE

CANADA'S SHOCK TROOPS: They're not shadowy JTF2 but Canada's special forces set for action

"Okay, let's rock and roll."

The sergeant's command rallies the group of about 50 men who have just finished checking their weapons and equipment and are now donning helmets and goggles.

After days of blistering heat at a training location in the southern Interior of British Columbia, the soldiers from the Canadian Special Operations Regiment are ready to go.

"The hit will go as planned," says one soldier, referring to the raid on the bomb-making factory where other troops playing the role of terrorists are waiting.

The men all have several days' growth of facial hair and more than a few have bags under their eyes, an indication of the frenzied level of training they have been put through.

Soon the whine of the helicopter engines cranking up to full power can be heard and the air is filled with the smell of aviation fuel. The men move quickly single-file to the awaiting Griffon helicopters.

At the explosives factory their commanding officer, Lt.-Col. Jamie Hammond, will be waiting to watch the operation unfold.

The 44-year-old Victoria, B.C. native has been given the task of forming a new special forces regiment almost from scratch. The call went out for volunteers last December. And by Sept. 1 the unit, based in Petawawa, Ont., will be ready for initial operations.

"There are huge challenges every day, but I tell everyone to stop and look back where we came from," Hammond said in an interview after the training exercise. "You can see how much progress we've made over a short period of time."

Like other nations, Canada has taken the decision to boost the size of its special forces. Before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the Canadian military had the Ottawa-based Joint Task Force 2, a 300-member unit, as its main force to deal with terrorists. Since then, JTF2 has been expanded and the military has created Canadian Special Operations Forces Command to oversee several units. By the end of the decade military officers estimate the command will be responsible for about 2,300 personnel.

Special forces are seen by many in the military as providing a highly skilled and flexible way to respond to the threat posed by terrorists and insurgents. They are viewed as being different from regular troops since they concentrate on high-value targets and missions, whether that involves destroying enemy headquarters, rescuing hostages or capturing war crimes suspects.
NATO has defined special operations as military activities conducted by specially trained and equipped troops using techniques not standard to regular forces on missions involving a "degree of physical and political risk not associated with conventional operations."

Hammond says his regiment, which has about 270 personnel but will increase over the next several years to 750, will not only support JTF2 but have capabilities of its own.

"I see us as complementing, but not replacing, anything that JTF2 does," he says. "If we have overlap between what we do and what JTF2 does, then that will allow them to focus on the harder stuff, more specific or precise work they've got to do."

The focus, said Hammond, will be on creating special operations soldiers, not more infantry.
In addition, the regiment will be the "public" face of Canada's growing special operations force. The top unit will still be JTF2 which operates under almost total secrecy.

The regiment will be more open, although officers are still working out the level of secrecy that is needed; a select group of reporters was allowed access to the unit on the condition that soldiers interviewed were identified only by their first names and photographs did not clearly show the faces of individual troops.

Hammond says the regiment will eventually be made up of three "direct action" companies and a special forces company. The direct action units will specialize in intelligence-gathering and raids on enemy targets, while the special forces company will be structured along the lines of the U.S. Green Berets.
The direct action companies would have a range of skills, including sniping, free-fall parachuting and the ability to call in air strikes. Hammond says the regiment would also like to develop capabilities to defeat improvised explosive devices - the homemade bombs that have become so common in Afghanistan.

The regiment will also be able to operate with U.S., British, Australian and New Zealand special forces.

It will use 12-person teams, each focusing on a specific region of the world. Hammond would like to have those soldiers versed in specific languages, such as Arabic, as well as different cultures.
"I think it's absolutely required in today's day and age," he explained.

"It's not necessary for special missions, but it could be used to support conventional operations. Having guys who understand the culture and the language is important."

Recruits with such skills could be found in Canada's large ethnic communities, he suggested.
"Major Will," the officer commanding 1 Direct Action Company, says the selection course for the regiment's recruits started earlier in the year with 178 candidates. That is now down to about 130 soldiers who are expected to form the company.

Over the last several months some people were injured, others dropped out after realizing the unit was not for them. "The 130 left are the ones willing to take that step into the unknown," says the 33-year-old officer, originally from Kingston, Ont.

The payoff, he says, will be the type of job that soldiers usually crave; a mix of high-level training as well as a multitude of operations. "When I joined the army 18 years ago this is what I wanted to do," he explained. "It will be high tempo for this crew. The guys here are dedicated."
Major Will noted that when it is in full operation, the direct action company will have a robust capability, able to operate on its own or with other units. Although the focus now is on preparing for direct action and special reconnaissance, the unit will eventually take on other roles.

Will expects that once the regiment is up and running, others in the military will be eager to join. "I think in a year or two, a lot of people are going to kick themselves for not coming out early," he says. "I think we'll get a flood of people."

Also at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and supporting the regiment will be the 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron.

Equipped with 17 Griffon helicopters, the squadron is learning a different set of skills needed to support special forces. The Kamloops area provides what is known as "high and hot" territory, semi-arid and mountainous terrain, somewhat akin to Afghanistan where the squadron and the regiment can eventually be expected to operate.

The squadron is cutting back on practising utility roles - such as carrying equipment on a sling beneath the helicopter - and focusing on more precise flying, getting special forces in and out of risky areas, and operating at night.

The aircrews are also honing basic soldiering skills, such as handling firearms, in case they are shot down over enemy territory and have to defend themselves.

Not everyone is convinced the Canadian Forces will be able to sustain the expansion in special operations. The Senate's committee on security and national defence is worried whether the 64,000-member military can provide enough skilled personnel and the funding for both JTF2 and the other units that fall under Canadian Special Operations Forces Command.

"We have concerns as to whether their structure and resources allotted will adequately support the very demanding roles that this extraordinary force will be expected to play," the committee noted in its report released in June.

It recommended that other units in the Canadian Forces provide soldiers to "jump start" the Canadian Special Operations Regiment. In addition, it also called on the navy to contribute specially-trained sailors so the unit can handle maritime roles.

At the same time, expanding the size of the Canadian Forces is needed, both to deal with the future missions of the military as well to provide the needed candidates for special forces, says committee chairperson Senator Colin Kenny.

SSS

Back at the training area outside Kamloops, the special forces troops are being helicoptered in to surround the compound where improvised explosive devices are being made. Inside, regular force soldiers are playing the roles of insurgents.

One Griffon helicopter lands a group of soldiers on a rooftop while other choppers touch down in a nearby field. Men rush toward the compound and there are bursts of gunfire and yelling. The insurgents are quickly overpowered and one prisoner is taken. "Badger coming out," yells one of the soldiers, a reference to the "terrorist" now in custody.

Another 30 minutes passes as the compound is searched for documents and other material that could provide intelligence on insurgent activities.

In the distance the Griffon helicopters wend their way back down the mountain valley, coming in so low they are barely visible until they land in a nearby field to pick up the troops. One of the training safety instructors watching the choppers remarks, "That's beautiful flying."

For some soldiers the special operations regiment will cap the final years of their career in the military. Glenn, a 42-year-old who is sergeant major for the direct action company, figures he has about six years left in the forces and is hoping to spend most of that time with the regiment.
"It's great to be part of something new," he explains. "If the regiment goes on to do great things then I know I was there at the beginning."

The Newfoundlander, who served in Afghanistan, acknowledges special operations is a young person's career, but says he spends about 12 hours a week in the gym to keep up his fitness level. As a sergeant major he notes he has to lead by example.

"The high-tempo of this unit appeals to me," Glenn explained. "As a soldier you always want to be the guy on the front line. This unit will certainly be that."

Ottawa Citizen

Canada's special forces in training, aim to be ready for action soon
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - Canada's new special forces regiment will be ready for action in several weeks as its first company of troops wind down their gruelling training schedule.

The special forces regiment will have its official "stand-up" ceremony at CFB Petawawa on Aug. 13.

At this point the regiment has about 270 members, including headquarters and supply staff, as well as a training cadre. It is expected to expand to 750 over the course of the next three to five years.

The regiment can be used for a variety of roles, including training foreign soldiers, special reconnaissance operations or direct action missions, military parlance for attacking enemy targets or individuals.

Since the regiment is at high readiness, it could also be called on to help Canadians trapped overseas reach safety, similar to the mission during the crisis in Lebanon.


PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.08.06
BYLINE: DAVID PUGLIESE

QW - the Ambassador

"A man-of-war is the best ambassador."

- Oliver Cromwell