DESERT LIONS: Video

DESERT LIONS

Desert Lions delivers a gritty, candid view of Canadian army mentors working to professionalize the Afghan National Army during the summer of 2010.

For more information on the Canadian Army and other videos visit: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca

Four soldiers leave for once-in-a-lifetime trek:

Corporal Lucas Mullens, Corporal Dallas White, Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs and Corporal Mark Fuchko share a laugh before leaving Edmonton on Saturday, August 6.


As the start of an expedition to climb Africa's tallest mountain draws near, a group of Edmonton-based soldiers left on the several thousand kilometre flight to the continent.

The four soldiers have already climbed their own mountains to recovery from debilitating injuries sustained outside the wire.

"It's [going] to be painful for sure," Corporal Lucas Mullens said. "But I think I can do it, no problem."

You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but he's come a long way since an improvised explosive device went off beneath the tank Mullens and his team was in while on patrol in Afghanistan in 2009.

"It detonated and buckled the floor; [it] crushed both my legs and my spine," Mullens said.

Nearly a dozen procedures and months of rigorous therapy later, he took his first steps after the explosion.

"It took eleven operations to put me back together," Mullens said. "I didn't walk for three months."

The other three soldiers joining in the climb have their own stories of beating the odds – Corporal Mark Fuchko encountered an I.E.D. while on duty in Afghanistan in March of 2008, sustaining injuries so serious he lost both of his legs.

Corporal Dallas White was nearby when one of his friends accidentally triggered a hidden explosive while the team was on patrol southwest of Kandahar in May of 2010.

The blast injured many of the soldiers in Corporal White's team, and killed his friend.

Corporal White lost muscle in his left leg, and his left arm was damaged.

It wasn't clear if Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs would walk on his own again after a roof he was standing on in Afghanistan in 2009 gave way, severely breaking his pelvis.

"They weren't sure if I was [going to] walk, [or] how I was [going to] walk again," Warrant Officer Beggs said.

It took several hours of surgery just to repair the break.

"I really smashed mine up, so I had two twelve hour operations [to fix it]."

The group credits the Canadian Forces for helping them prepare for the journey.

"The army has a great mentality of helping those that need help, and also pushing yourself to achieve goals," Corporal Mullens said.

They will be joined by more than thirty other climbers, with the common goal of raising more than $500,000 for the Royal Alexandra Hospital's Orthopedic Surgery Centre.

The group has been training for several months, including climbing and hiking in Jasper.

The four soldiers departed from the Edmonton Area Saturday night, and the team will complete the climb from August 10th to 18th, before returning to the capital region.

More information can be found on the Kilimanjaro Climb 2001 website.

(the Canadian Veterans Advocacy)

Sask. profs slam scholarship for fallen soldiers' children

A group of professors in Saskatchewan are criticizing a scholarship that's being offered to the children of fallen Canadian soldiers, calling it a "glorification of Canadian imperialism in Afghanistan."

Sixteen University of Regina professors have drafted an open letter to school president Vianne Timmons, stating their concerns.

"It's about associating heroism with the military intervention of Afghanistan," said Jeffrey Webber, a political-science professor at the school. "We think it's aligning a public university -- without any consultation with its students or staff, or the broader community -- with support for this war."

The program, called Project Hero, provides financial aid for children of Canadian Forces personnel who die while serving in an active mission

(for more on the story click here)

By Josh Campbell, Regina Leader-Post; Canwest News Service

Mississauga names park for fallen soldier Marc Diab

The City of Mississauga has renamed a local park in honour of Trooper Marc Diab,

who died in a roadside bomb explosion north of Kandahar a year ago.

Posted @ the Nation Post: March 10, 2010, 4:41 PM by Rob Roberts

By Megan O’Toole, National Post

Kandahar Airfield without Canadiana

Beyond its troops and tanks, Canada casts a long shadow at Kandahar Airfield, the hub of the coalition's Afghan mission.
There's the Canadian gym, popular among the nearly 20,000 soldiers from other countries. So too is the on-base Tim Hortons, owned and operated by the Canadian Forces. The base's prominent Canadian-built hockey pad is home to a house league, which is dominated, naturally, by Canadian teams.
KAF is heavy on its Can-con, all of it built since Kandahar became the focus of Canada's Afghan mission in 2006. But with Canadian combat troops set to withdraw next summer, coalition countries face a cold reality: KAF without Canada. (read more =>)

WE MAY NOT WIN AT THE OLYMPICS BUT WE TOOK GOLD IN AFGHANISTAN

Canadians beat Americans in Afghan ball hockey game!!

GO TEAM, GO!!!

A TEACHER'S LESSON

A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . And colleges



Back in September, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

'Ms.. Cothren, where're our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'

They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'

'No,' she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.'

She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.'

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) War Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall... By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned..

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'



By the way, this is a true story. Martha Cothren is a teacher is the USA but this story transends boarders, so, we thought it appropriate.



Consider passing this along, so others won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by War Veterans.



LEST WE FORGET - Wear a Poppy to show your respect on Remembrance (Vetrans) Day



For more on this story go to - http://www.snopes.com/glurge/nodesks.asp

Students remember teacher killed in Afghanistan

Students at St. Cecilia Junior High School posted notes in memory of George Miok,the teacher and Canadian reservist who was killed in Afghanistan last month.

(for more click image)

AN UNFORTUNATE CHRISTMAS

Lt. Andrew Richard Nuttall

was killed in action in Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Cpl. Michael Starker: Update & Guest Book

This is an excellent article about Sgt.

Michael Starker from one of his close friends.

What he did plus how he felt on that fateful day.

For those who knew him or are just interested in leaving condolences for Mike's family and friends you can leave then at the online guest book at the Calgary Herald.

Afghan mission is changing, new Canadian commander says

The next commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan arrived in Kandahar on Wednesday, saying he believes the mission will take on a different flavour during his nine-month tour.

Brig.-Gen. Dennis Thompson is replacing current commander Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche. The official handover will take place soon, although a date hasn't been specified.

Thompson said evolving conditions in the war-torn region mean there will be a greater emphasis on the civilian side of development and reconstruction.

Still, he said, there will still be a military aspect and he doesn't expect the army will be adopting a defensive posture just because the focus is shifting.

"I think there will be a change in emphasis, but I'm not prepared to say how much that will be [because] there are other players here," Thompson said, referring to the Taliban.

Canada's Conservative government is in the process of refocusing the mission and setting down objectives to be achieved before Canada's military mission ends in 2011.

Thompson will be laying the groundwork for refocusing the mission, and for a civilian administration at the provincial reconstruction base, which Canada operates in the city of Kandahar.

the Canadian Press - Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Just call this town Big Red

Bridgewater wants to host giant rally to support troops

David Mitchell, a Bridgewater town councillor, is hoping to be immersed in a sea of red shirts on May 23 when his town hosts a Red Rally in support of Canadian Forces members.

BRIDGEWATER — David Mitchell is hoping that his town will be the talk of the country on May 23, when people don their red shirts to host what could be the biggest Red Rally that Canada has ever seen.

"My goal is for this to be the top news story coast to coast that day," the town councillor said Saturday of the event in support of Canadian Forces members serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"It would be really nice to broadcast some good news here by showing how much support the troops have for what they are doing, instead of just broadcasting funerals."
The inspiration for the event, which Jeff Hutcheson of CTV News will host at the South Shore Exhibition Grounds, came last May, when Mr. Mitchell and Mayor Carroll Publicover heard Rick Hillier speak at a conference.

Mr. Mitchell said they were both so moved by what the outgoing chief of defence staff said that they decided to invite him to Bridgewater.
"It elevated this event so much to have him come because his message is something you don’t forget, and I’m so glad to be able to share that," he said. "We want this to be the biggest rally in support of the troops, but we are also hoping that it will be different from the others that have been held, too."

Mr. Mitchell said planning is underway but they already have 1,000 people confirmed for the parade, which will include a colour party of 120. The local Royal Canadian Legion is involved as well.

Members decided this weekend they would break tradition for that one day and step aside to allow uniformed soldiers to lead them in the parade.
Prime Minister Steven Harper is not able to attend, due to a prior commitment, but Mr. Mitchell said Defence Minister Peter MacKay will be there, along with MPs from across the country.
The organizing committee has also received numerous letters of support, including one from Wayne Gretzky and another from Prince Harry’s office.

By RENEE STEVENS

The Chronicle Herald, NS

Tue. Apr 29 - 5:38 AM

Soldier, It's Time to Talk

With the looming resignation of the media-aware Gen. Rick Hillier, one wonders if his successor will stand up to politicians with his verve. Not since the Second World War have so many journalists been attached toour military in the field. Embedded in Kandahar, media types eagerlyrelay contradictory assessments to the oft-confused Canadian public. (Inmy view, the most reliable is former Sun writer Matthew Fisher, now withthe National Post).

Media over-coverage has become something of a problem. The support our military gets today is remarkable. The government would like to harness the unexpected popularity of soldiers, but at the sametime cut any risk for embarrassment.

So it micro-manages -- fatal, when done to the military. Prime Minister Stephen Harper realizes that public support for soldiers doesn't necessarily mean approval of the war in Afghanistan. Increasingly, the PMO sticks its bureaucratic nose into how the army should deal with the media. Anything the least controversial seems to have to be okayed before being released.

Journalists with the army have to sign a bunch of documents vowing they'll conform to regulations and not break security rules that may endanger operations.

Fair enough. This is pretty standard. But in the quest for effective public relations, DND (and the PMO)doesn't seem to realize that the most effective public relations instruments are the regiments, and soldiers themselves.

By trying to screen the positive from the negative, and publicizing the heroic while curtailing the embarrassing, all that's achieved is mistrust and suspicion among the media.

Not all embedded journalists are equally trust worthy or competent. Just as rank and file soldiers are quick to size up officers and NCOs, so they size up reporters. Phonies and blowhards are hard to disguise. In accrediting journalists, DND Public Affairs errs if it treats all requests equally. Pick and choose, based on an individual's or media outlet's past record. For example, if it were me, I'd give a jaundicedhello to any CBC-TV applicant -- judging from the CBC's long and sorry record of covering Canadian troops on foreign missions.

Coverage of Canada's role in Afghanistan has been extensive -- and of so-so quality. Compared to coverage of casualties incurred during UNpeacekeeping, coverage of casualties in Afghanistan has been massive. We hear lots about the 82 Canadians killed, but little about casualties inflicted on the enemy. There's weak first-hand reporting of our tanks, in action for the first time since Korea. Afghanistan is littered with hulks of Soviet tanks, which were vulnerable -- do our tanks farebetter? Why?

We don't get much news on reconstruction work -- especially anything involving CIDA, which the Manley report indicated was inadequate tolousy. This view is echoed by soldiers with appropriate expletives deleted.

In one of his reports, Fisher notes our secret commandos, JTF-2, are never publicized -- except once, when U.S. Gen. Dan McNeil praised them for "some mighty fine work against insurgent bombers last year."

JFT-2 BLACKOUT

The general was puzzled at the media blackout of JTF-2. Me too. Butthat's a condition of being embedded. Having a secret army within the army is neither democratic nor traditional in our military. But the government gets away with it.

We don't know what JTF-2 is up to, and we should, since it (like oursnipers) seems especially effective -- at least according to our allies, if not to our journalists on the ground.

Harper has committed Canada to stay in Afghanistan until 2011. If the story is worth telling, let it be told in all its versions. Government should trust its soldiers, the same way Canadians trust our soldiers more than they trust our politicians.

PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun

DATE: 2008.04.21

SOURCE: BY PETER WORTHINGTON

Canadian Military Suicied Rate Doubled in a Year

Canada's military suicide rate doubled in a year, documents show

Last Updated: Saturday, April 19, 2008 5:54 PM ET

CommentsRecommend CBC News



BY AMBER HILDEBRANDT — The suicide rate among Canada's soldiers doubled from 2006 to 2007, rising to a rate triple that of the general population, according to data obtained through access to information requests.
Last year, the number of suicides among regular and reserve members of the Canadian Forces rose to 36, the highest in more than a decade, military police records obtained by Maj. Michel Sartori show.


Sartori, a Laval University doctoral student, has been gathering information about military suicides for years. It's the subject of his thesis and a topic close to his heart, since five of his colleagues killed themselves after a tour of duty in Yugoslavia in 1994.


He believes the rise is linked to the intensification of Canada's mission in Afghanistan when soldiers moved into the volatile southern region in 2006.


Sartori has been gathering information about military suicides since 1994. Based on the military police reports, he found that the average suicide rate among Canadian Forces military members, both regular and reserve, between 1994 and 2007 was 16 per year.


Year Suicides Regular force & reserves Rate per 100,000 2003 14 86,937 16.1 2004 17 90,772 18.7 2005 17 91,285 18.6 2006 20 96,318 20.7 2007 36 87,000 41.4



But the number of suicides among members of the military rose to 20 in 2006 and then jumped even higher to 36 in 2007, or a rate of 41.4 suicides per 100,000 soldiers. That's double the rate in the previous year.


Sartori says he was alarmed when he received the latest numbers. "It was a shock, total shock," said Sartori. "I almost fell out my chair." Starting in 2006, Sartori also noticed an abrupt change in the terms the military reports used to describe suicide in documents. The 36 suicides in 2007 were listed as sudden deaths, with 12 clearly marked suicide and 21 cases listed as "investigated." National Defence officials did not dispute that the document is a suicide list, but did not respond to requests from CBC to explain the new categories.


The 2007 numbers put the military suicide rate at triple that of the general Canadian public. Over the past two decades Canada's overall rate has ranged from 11.6 to 14 suicides per 100,000, though recent numbers are not available.


Dr. Greg Passey, a former military psychiatrist and head of a post-traumatic stress disorder clinic in Vancouver, says the spike in military suicides is "disturbing" but not surprising. He says he believes it's related to what he calls the "increased tempo" of the Afghanistan mission, which began in 2002.


"We're now a number of years into that mission and the frontline, the combat soldiers, and even the support staff are having to do multiple tours," he said.


The psychological stress of those missions is cumulative, he said, and Sartori's discovery may be the wake-up call the military needs to deal with the issue.


Veterans Affairs says that the number of vets experiencing some kind of operational stress injury, such as PTSD, has tripled in the past five years, and they expect it to continue rising with



Canada's mission in Afghanistan likely to last until 2011.
Roughly 2,500 Canadian soldiers are serving in and around Afghanistan's Kandahar region, where they are battling Taliban insurgents.


With files from Amanda Pfeffer http://origin.www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/04/18/suicide-rates.html

CANADIAN CONVOY IN AFGHANISTAN

Canadian convoy travels through 'Ambush Alley'

Updated Sat. Oct. 28 2006 11:32 PM ET
Paul Workman, South Asia Bureau Chief, CTV News

AFGHANISTAN -- The ramp comes up and we're locked inside a Canadian Forces "Bison," an armored vehicle that's uncomfortable, dark and as the day moves forward, increasingly warm. Sweatingly warm. There is one tiny window out the back but you really can't see anything. You're wearing a helmet and a heavy flak jacket, and in spite of it all, the ride makes you feel sleepy.

Perhaps it's the tension. You're in a Canadian military convoy moving down the highway toward Kandahar City and there's more than a chance of being hit by a roadside bomb, or a suicide attack. It could be a yellow and white Corolla taxi, it could be a truck packed with explosives, or it could be a motorcycle with a bomb hidden under the driver's clothes. The soldiers in the convoy have seen it all, or at least been warned to expect it all.

Sgt. Guindo says 'We don't go outside saying we're going to get hit today, but we know it's a very good possibility.'

Sergeant Abdoul Guindo is commander of the convoy and he's in the lead vehicle, a heavily armored beetle of a thing called an RG31. He's sitting up high, there's a gunner directly behind, and at least it has windows. Very thick, bullet proof windows. The soldiers with him are constantly scanning the road for strange behavior, certain kinds of vehicles they've been told to watch for. Certain kinds of vehicles with only a driver and no passengers, often the mark of a suicide "martyr." The convoy hogs the middle of the highway, forcing cars on to the shoulder. Nothing is allowed to pass. Often they fire warning shots at vehicles that come too fast or too close.

"We don't go outside saying we're going to get hit today," says Sgt Guindo, "but we know it's a very good possibility."

They travel the same roads, go to the same places,

and it's often impossible to avoid the danger and congestion of downtown Kandahar.

And he knows better than most. There have been "incidents" involving 15 of the convoys he's commanded, with nobody killed and only two soldiers wounded. Yes, 15. "We have our own little things that we look for, but the enemy is not by any means stupid. They're technically a chameleon, so he's constantly changing."

Some days are more tense than others, when there have been specific warnings, but the truth is, every time these supply trucks and armored vehicles leave the safety of their compounds, they become a target for the Taliban. They travel the same roads, go to the same places, and it's often impossible to avoid the danger and congestion of downtown Kandahar, or the stretch of road father west known as "Ambush Alley." Convoy duty is usually the mundane part of military life. Not in southern Afghanistan.

"I don't know if I'd call it nerve-wracking. It's just something that has to be done," says Guindo. "We fully expect it's not 'if' but 'when' it's going to happen, but you put that in the back of your mind, keep it there in a safe place and do your job."

Master Corporal John Russell says 'Every time I leave the main base camp, I get the butterflies. Every time.'

The commander of our Bison is Master Corporal John Russell. He stands in the hatch during the entire journey, exposed from the chest up. That's his job. His head is always scanning the street, there's a machine gun mounted to his left, and he telephones his family every time he comes home safely from a convoy. It's a gut-wrenching experience that leaves him mentally exhausted. And then he does it again.

"Every time I leave the main base camp," he says, "I get the butterflies. Every time."
About half an hour out of the camp we enter the outskirts of Kandahar. That's when the tension really begins to mount and the likelihood of an attack becomes much greater. The streets are crowded, and the convoy is forced to slow down and tighten its formation so that a suicide bomber has little chance of breaking in. But of course they do. John Russell has been on four convoys that were hit.

"My heart rate goes about triple the speed with all the adrenalin rush," he says. "The first thing that comes to mind, 'was it my vehicle?' because you don't really know, and then 'is everybody alright?' That's what you want to know, and after that, everything falls into place."

Patrol Base Wilson, safe behind its concrete blast walls, razor-wire fence and gun towers.

We make it through Kandahar, then spread out and driver faster, down "Ambush Alley," finally turning in at Patrol Base Wilson, safe behind its concrete blast walls, razor-wire fence and gun towers. The soldiers believe the Eid-al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan has perhaps offered them a break from the constant threat of attack. But they know it will start again.
"An uneventful day," says Sergeant Guindo, "is a good day."

He's a reserve soldier, and in real life studies economics at the University of Ottawa. In fact, all of the soldiers in his unit come from the reserves. For the next hour or two, they lounge in the shade, grab a bite of rations, waiting to load up for the return journey.

For the next hour or two, soldiers lounge in the shade, grab a bite of rations, and wait to load up for the return journey.

"Kandahar is very, very, very congested," says Guindo. "You have to be vigilant at all times." He has friends in the Battle Group, soldiers on the front-line, who wouldn't touch the job he's doing. They call his convoys "invitations" for suicide bombers.

"We're not on the front lines," he says, "but we do go to very, very hectic places." That's surely an understatement. "Some of the loads, all of the loads we deliver are vital. It has to be done."
So, back they go through "Ambush Alley," over the bridge that's been a favorite spot for roadside bombs and then once again, into the chaos of downtown Kandahar. Past the place where Canadian diplomat Glynn Berry was killed in a suicide attack.

They drive back over the bridge that's been a favorite spot for roadside bombs.

Past more craters and ruts in the pavement that mark other fatal ambushes. "This is creepy," says Guindo to his driver. They roar through the city, constantly honking the horn, forcing traffic out of their way, followed by thousands of turning Afghan heads. And finally, up ahead are the city's famous double arches and once you're past them, it usually means safety.

The convoy passes through. It's been an uneventful day, as Sgt Guindo says. And that's good.

THOUGHTS FROM A SOLDIER TO JACK LAYTON

Ole Jack Layton ~ Thoughts From A Soldier

Dear Jack Layton,

You sit there in your quiet home, no fear is in your heart,

You sleep soundly certain that it won't be blown apart.

Your children they can go to school and play out in the park,

They've never seen a bomb explode, heard air raids in the dark.

They've never seen dead bodies piled up on the street,

Your wife, she won't be beaten, treated like a piece of meat.

You are free to form opinions, read any news print you can see,

You enjoy your rights and privileges in this country wide and free.

The reason you can live like that is because I fight your wars,

I fight and push the enemy back, I keep them off our shores.

I am here and you are there pretending you know best.

Well Ole Jack now listen close while I get this off my chest.

You have the right to criticize, you have the right to complain

You don't have the right to drag me down in a stupid political game.

The thing about your rights Ole Jack, the part you can't comprehend

Is you work in the very system, the democracy I defend.

I stand on fences around the world protecting those that need it,

It is not for you to determine Jack whether or not it's worth it.

Ask the people in Afghanistan if they want me to stay,

Women and children depend on me - you say just walk away.

I don't need your changing policy, trying hard to not lose face,

What I need is you behind me, helping protect this place.

You know its hard to do this when I think I'm all alone.

I hear stories of young punks pissing on memorial stones.

I read the papers over here and they tell me what is said.

Canadians are losing faith I can't get it through my head.

You say that it is hopeless, it really brings me down
Don't tell my mother we're losing, don't spread that rumour around.

I'm doing good, were winning here but no-one will believe
Because we are way over here where no one there can see.

Women here can work you see, children starting school.
We built a working government, we've broken Taliban rule.

We are so close to winning this, it's not too far away
History will show that we were in the right to stay.

When that brilliant day arrives, victory you'll claim is ours
You'll forget you said to run away - forget you are a coward.

On that day just thank me for my courage and my trouble,
Find another place that needs help, and send me on the double.

written by Josh Forbes Calgary Alberta

SUICIDE (COWARD BOMBER) KILLS 2 MORE IN AFGHANISTAN

Two Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Monday when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of military vehicles on the outskirts of Kandahar city, NATO officials said.

The Department of National Defence has not officially released the soldiers' names, but one of the men has been identified in reports as Sgt. Major Bob Girouard, 46, originally from Bathurst, N.B. The other soldier has not been named, but both were based in Petawawa, Ont.
Girouard, married with three children, had joined the militia in Bathurst when he was 17 and then moved on to the army.

He spent 29 years in the infantry and was stationed in Germany, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and also served with NATO in various European countries.

He was based in Petawawa and had just been home for four weeks where he and his family had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas when he was home.

He returned to Afghanistan on Nov. 22 for what was to be his last posting overseas. He was scheduled to leave Afghanistan on Feb. 28.

Last Updated: Monday, November 27, 2006 11:47 AM ET
CBC News

2 CANADIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGANI AMBUSH

Two Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Saturday after militants ambushed them with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire.

Two soldiers were also wounded Saturday afternoon in the battle in Kandahar province, Canadian military officials said. The soldiers are in stable condition and their injuries are not considered life-threatening.

'The Taliban don't like roads because roads mean progress,' said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser. 'Whatever they destroy, we will rebuild.'(CBC)The soldiers were working on a road that would offer safer passage from the volatile Panjwaii district to Kandahar when they were attacked. The road, Highway 1, is often referred to by Canadian soldiers as "Ambush Alley."

"The operational report we're getting is that it was a single rocket-propelled grenade that hit one of our strongpoints," said Col. Fred Lewis, the deputy commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

The soldiers' identities and hometowns were not released.


'Whatever they destroy, we will rebuild'

The deaths of the soldiers brings the number of Canadian military fatalities in Afghanistan to 42.
The attack occurred in the same area around the road where several Canadian soldiers have been killed in recent weeks. Taliban militants have been stepping up attacks in the country's south, particularly in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

"The Taliban don't like roads because roads mean progress," said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian and NATO commander in southern Afghanistan, in a news conference at Kandahar airbase Saturday after the attack.

"That progress will be challenged every day by that organization called the Taliban, who wants to take it down. Whatever they destroy, we will rebuild."

Canada has more than 2,000 troops in the Kandahar area who are working with NATO to fight Taliban forces.

The latest deaths came on the same day as more than 300 mourners gathered in Newfoundland at a funeral for Sgt. Craig Gillam.

Gillam and another Canadian soldier, Cpl. Robert Mitchell, were killed on Oct. 3 in a similar attack just west of Kandahar City.

Last Updated: Saturday, October 14, 2006 9:41 PM ET
CBC News

BODIES OF CANADIAN SOLDIERS COME HOME

The bodies of two Canadian soldiers killed in a firefight in Afghanistan returned to CFB Trenton on Friday evening, the second repatriation ceremony at the base this week.

The flag-draped coffins of Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam and Cpl. Robert Thomas James Mitchell were carried by soldiers to the hearses.

The body of Cpl. Robert Mitchell arrives at CFB Trenton.

Gillam and Mitchell were killed Tuesday after insurgents attacked while they provided security to a construction project in the Panjwaii area, where Taliban fighters had been cleared from just weeks earlier. Five other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The pair belonged to the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont. Both had just recently arrived in Afghanistan.

Gillam, 40, was a native of South Branch, N.L.

Family members of Sgt. Craig Paul Gillam approach the casket after arriving at CFB Trenton.

Although he had been with the military for two decades, he was on his first tour of duty. It was also his first time working away from his wife Maureen and two teenage children.
Gillam's commander, Maj. Andrew Lussie, told reporters Thursday that Gillam was able to return fire, and by doing so, probably prevented more deaths.

Mitchell, 32, is survived by his wife Leanne Hess and their three young children, aged five, three and two.

He grew up in Owen Sound, Ont., and had his first military posting with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton before returning to Ontario.

Military officials led by Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier attended the ceremony.
Their deaths came just hours before Pte. Josh Klukie, killed last Friday in Afghanistan, was returned to CFB Trenton.

Since 2002, 39 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.

Last Updated: Friday, October 6, 2006 11:15 PM ET
CBC News

HILLIER TO LOOK AT POLICY OF CUTTING SOLDIERS' DANDGER PAY

The head of Canada's military said Friday he's going to do something about the current practice of taking away the danger pay of wounded soldiers.

Gen. Rick Hillier said he heard about the problem last week, and has some "big-brained people" working on the issue.

Gen. Rick Hillier promises to look after wounded soldiers, who are now losing their danger pay. (Les Perreaux/Canadian Press)The effects of the policy are being felt keenly now that Canada has soldiers getting wounded on a regular basis in Afghanistan.

"We're going to look after them," Hillier told reporters during a press conference at Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Hillier said the military won't change the rules as they stand on danger pay, but said there will be no financial penalty suffered by Canadian soldiers pulled out after being wounded.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor also said his top staff will look into the matter.

"I've asked the senior military staff and department staff to look at how we treat wounded soldiers from a compensation point of view and they're moving quickly to look at that challenge," O'Connor said Friday

Injured soldier told in Germany

Trooper Jeffrey Hunter got the news his danger pay was being stopped shortly after he arrived at a military hospital in Germany, where he's on painkillers for a shattered leg.

Hunter, 23, was seriously wounded on Tuesday in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan that killed two other Canadian soldiers. He faces months of rehabilitation.

Under current military rules, if soldiers are injured and moved from Afghanistan, they lose their tax-free danger pay of $2,100 a month.

Military officials told the Toronto Star that the Department of Defence has the option of extending a soldier's danger pay for an extra 25 days. The military usually exercises that option to extend the benefit.

Hunter's father, Bill Hunter of Aurora, Ont., is angry and upset.

"They said they'd pay up to 25 days after leaving Afghanistan. Is the prime minister telling me I can sit my son down in 25 days and say, 'Listen, son, you're no longer in danger.' I don't think so."

It is not known when Hunter will return to Canada for further treatment.

Last Updated: Friday, October 6, 2006 12:01 PM ET
CBC News