THUNDER BAY - Cpl. Anthony Boneca, the 21-year-old reservist killed in Afghanistan, was remembered yesterday as an outgoing, loyal soldier and a "true Canadian hero" by two members of his regiment as he was buried with full military honours in his home town.
"He believed in what he was fighting for and he never gave up fighting for a country he loved until the very end," said Cpl. John O'Connor, a fellow member of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment. "That is someone who can truly be called a hero."
One thousand people packed St. Patrick's Cathedral in downtown Thunder Bay and hundreds more gathered outside to pay their respects to the popular former high school quarterback.
"You would have to meet him to truly understand his style of enthusiasm," said Master Cpl. Craig Loverin. "The guy was truly hyper, over-excited at times and extremely opinionated, but he would always carry out a command without hesitation."
Cpl. Boneca's 19-year-old girlfriend, Megan DeCorte, told the congregation the two had made marriage plans while they were on a three-week trip to Italy and Greece in May. That vacation, which fell in the middle of Cpl. Boneca's second tour of duty in Afghanistan, was the last time they saw each other. He was killed in a gunfight with Taliban insurgents July 9, three weeks before he was due to return home.
"We spent a lot of time planning out our future together -- going back to school, marriage, children and travel," Ms. DeCorte said, crying. "Tony, my sweet, sweet Tony, I hope you know how much I love you and how proud I was to be a part of your life. ... I love you and I can't wait until the day we're together again."
Antonio and Shirley Boneca, who, according to friends, are overwhelmed with grief over losing their only son, sat stoically through much of the service.
At the burial, however, Mr. Boneca, a retired bricklayer, wept uncontrollably as he gave his son one final salute. Mrs. Boneca held on to her husband with both arms and rested her head on his shoulder. They were presented with the Canadian flag that draped their son's coffin, as well as his service medals from his two tours overseas, the formal regimental belt and headdress.
The soldier then received a 21-gun salute.
Mrs. Boneca was presented with a Memorial Cross, also known as the Silver Cross, on Sunday night. The award is given to all mothers and widows of fallen Canadian servicemen.
"Their lives will never be the same," family friend Miles Stijepic said Sunday. "They feel their heart is going to explode."
Mr. and Mrs. Boneca took the unusual step of allowing media to the graveside ceremony, a tacit acknowledgment that many in Canada shared their grief, military spokeswoman Lieut. Amber Bineau said.
The family, however, requested the media not seek comment.
In the wake of Cpl. Boneca's death, some close to him expressed the soldier's fears and doubts about his latest tour in Afghanistan, where the reservist was placed alongside regular forces in frontline combat positions. The friends, notably Ms. DeCorte's father, Larry, and Cpl. Boneca's uncle, William Babe, questioned his training and claimed he was disillusioned with the army.
But Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, the highest-ranking military official to attend yesterday's funeral, disagreed, saying the statements were made at a very stressful time.
"Cpl. Boneca was as prepared as anyone for the challenges that faced him in theatre. And for five months he faced them bravely," he told reporters after the service. "I've talked to the deputy commanding officer of his unit in Afghanistan. He was one of their strong soldiers. He was a guy that they relied on to do everything. He was smart, he was capable. He had been doing this kind of work for five months and it was a tragic accident that he was killed now."
Cpl. Boneca was the ninth Canadian soldier to be killed since troops shifted their attention to the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in February. He is the 17th Canadian military casualty since combat troops first entered that country in 2002.
Master Cpl. Loverin, who served with Cpl. Boneca during his first tour in the region in 2004, also challenged the belief his friend as disillusioned. "He was so proud to serve his country," he said. "He couldn't wait to go back (to Afghanistan)."
"We will never forget the sacrifice that Tony made," said Cpl. O'Connor.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.18
BYLINE: Lee Greenberg
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
THE AFGHAN MISSION With A RIFLE & WRENCH, these troops make it work
Christie Blatchford KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN Master Corporal Todd Bennett and Corporal Paul Firth laid down covering fire after an Improvised Explosive Device blew up a vehicle in a convoy.
Sergeant Paul Jones was instrumental in the evacuation after a March 3 suicide attack on a convoy in which Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, the charismatic commanding officer of the entire Canadian battle group here, was travelling.
Their colleagues have been directly involved in no fewer than 12 attacks of various kinds, including IEDs, ambushes and suicide bombers in cars.
Still others have fired warning shots, acted as stretcher-bearers and performed first aid for wounded comrades.
They're all Canadian soldiers and trained as such, but the really compelling thing about the men who did these things is that officially, they aren't even counted as combat troops.
Rather, they are the 300 drivers, mechanics and maintainers and convoy escorts of what's known as the National Support Element -- the logistics arm of the Canadian Forces -- here in Afghanistan.
If it is probably true that they didn't sign up for combat, combat is what many of them nonetheless have found in this dangerous, volatile country.
As Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad, the NSE commander, says, "Anyone who goes out there [beyond the wire surrounding the big base at Kandahar Air Field] is in it, because the enemy is where he chooses to be." This is a modern battlefield, he says, akin "to water droplets on a walnut table, with the droplets the safe haven." Using the phrase that has become the unofficial catch-all slogan of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan -- "not since the Korean War," a reference to the fact this is the country's first overt war effort in more than half a century -- he says that not since then has Canada produced a combat logistics team.
For the maintainers, job No. 1 is to fix things on the 800 vehicles, thousands of guns and weapons, high-tech geegaws such as night-vision sights, scopes, radios and cell and satellite phones used by the Canadian battle group -- and fix them fast, usually on the fly in the field, and sometimes working at night by the "red lights" that can't be seen by the enemy.
"These guys can fix anything," says their boss, Lt.-Col. Conrad.
"And they're ferociously proud -- what they hate the most is leaving something on the battleground. They'd rip up their underwear to fix that LAV," the Light Armoured Vehicle that has performed so heroically in Afghanistan.
The commander of the maintenance platoon, Captain Chris Wood, gleefully recalls the fellow who, faced with a broken fan belt out in the field and no replacement at hand, took a knife and shaved a wider belt down to fit. "He made it work," he said. Another maintainer used a seat strap -- because nothing else was available -- to get the air lines on a vehicle working again, which in turn unlocked the brakes and allowed the vehicle to power up and keep moving.
Axles and differentials on the LAVs, considered the miracle machines of this conflict; shredded tires on the platforms that carry the spanking new big guns of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery; transmission cases in the workhorse Bisons; whole transmissions and engines in the formidable new Nyalas: The maintainers fix them all.
Although one or two are always attached to any company that is on the march to do what's called forward repair and recovery, much of the maintainers' work is done back at base, in the dustiest and least attractive corner of the sprawling airfield.
There, in six double-vehicle open-ended tents, all exposed to the 50-to-60-degree temperatures, and in an assortment of small specialty workshops, the maintainers work minimum 10-hour shifts, often well into the night.
The conditions make the work physically exhausting and sweaty, but take as big a toll on machines as they do on men.
Already logging 2.25 million kilometres in-country -- that figure will almost reach 3.2 million by the time the current troops pull out by the end of the next month with their replacements taking over -- vehicles "go through axles and differentials like popcorn," Lt.-Col. Conrad says. "And the heat and that fine emery dust are punishing." The fleet of the eight-wheeled LAVs alone has eaten up 500 tires already.
Yet, astonishingly, the maintainers have managed to hold steady a 10 per cent VOR, or Vehicle On Repair, rate -- the very standard they meet back home in Canada.
For the drivers of the big fuel rigs and 16-tonne trucks of the 56-member transport platoon -- fully 80 per cent of whom have been involved in one kind of contact with the Taliban, many multiple times -- the first priority is to keep the fighting troops in remote areas supplied with everything from bullets to bottled water and food.
Of them, Lt.-Col. Conrad says with a grin, "They're tough little buggers." Afghanistan "is set up to deny logistics," he says. "Road is a very flattering term for what we have here." For the force protection platoon -- it is composed almost exclusively of reservists, many of them students at the University of Alberta and drawn from two proud Alberta regiments, the Calgary Highlanders and the Loyal Edmonton Regiment -- Task One is to escort and keep safe the convoys that travel to some of the hottest spots in southern Afghanistan, from Forward Operating Base Martello in the north, west past the violent Panjwai area and south to Spin Boldak.
The platoon's commander, Lieutenant Rob Gliddon of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, is himself a 24-year-old reservist and mechanical engineering student at the U of A -- his credentials giving a clue to a unit whose average age is 20-something.
"U of A students," Lt.-Col. Conrad says wonderingly. "They make me proud every day: Gritty, determined, bright." Despite acting as escorts for almost 100 convoys travelling some of the most dangerous roads in southern Afghanistan -- many of which the Canadians have named after Canadian towns and cities, with others, named by the Americans who were here first, after various beers -- Lt. Gliddon says none of the platoon has been hit.
He credits that to a smidgeon of luck, but mostly to the "aggressive and vigilant" posture his men adopt. "They're ready to employ the rules of engagement," he says. "They're not hesitant." Push come to shove, as it so often does in Kandahar province, the members of NSE are soldiers first, technicians second, and they have proven that in spades here, such that infantrymen and combat engineers quietly sing their praises.
As trucker Corporal Justin Kellehar says, "Before this tour, we had a lot of problems with the combat arms. Since this tour, their view for my trade in particular has changed. We're no less safe than they are, and they show us how welcome we are." The ancient motto of soldier maintainers is Arte et Marte , Latin for "by skill and by fighting": This tour, they and their colleagues have earned both ends of that tag.
PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.07.18
BYLINE: CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD
Sergeant Paul Jones was instrumental in the evacuation after a March 3 suicide attack on a convoy in which Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, the charismatic commanding officer of the entire Canadian battle group here, was travelling.
Their colleagues have been directly involved in no fewer than 12 attacks of various kinds, including IEDs, ambushes and suicide bombers in cars.
Still others have fired warning shots, acted as stretcher-bearers and performed first aid for wounded comrades.
They're all Canadian soldiers and trained as such, but the really compelling thing about the men who did these things is that officially, they aren't even counted as combat troops.
Rather, they are the 300 drivers, mechanics and maintainers and convoy escorts of what's known as the National Support Element -- the logistics arm of the Canadian Forces -- here in Afghanistan.
If it is probably true that they didn't sign up for combat, combat is what many of them nonetheless have found in this dangerous, volatile country.
As Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad, the NSE commander, says, "Anyone who goes out there [beyond the wire surrounding the big base at Kandahar Air Field] is in it, because the enemy is where he chooses to be." This is a modern battlefield, he says, akin "to water droplets on a walnut table, with the droplets the safe haven." Using the phrase that has become the unofficial catch-all slogan of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan -- "not since the Korean War," a reference to the fact this is the country's first overt war effort in more than half a century -- he says that not since then has Canada produced a combat logistics team.
For the maintainers, job No. 1 is to fix things on the 800 vehicles, thousands of guns and weapons, high-tech geegaws such as night-vision sights, scopes, radios and cell and satellite phones used by the Canadian battle group -- and fix them fast, usually on the fly in the field, and sometimes working at night by the "red lights" that can't be seen by the enemy.
"These guys can fix anything," says their boss, Lt.-Col. Conrad.
"And they're ferociously proud -- what they hate the most is leaving something on the battleground. They'd rip up their underwear to fix that LAV," the Light Armoured Vehicle that has performed so heroically in Afghanistan.
The commander of the maintenance platoon, Captain Chris Wood, gleefully recalls the fellow who, faced with a broken fan belt out in the field and no replacement at hand, took a knife and shaved a wider belt down to fit. "He made it work," he said. Another maintainer used a seat strap -- because nothing else was available -- to get the air lines on a vehicle working again, which in turn unlocked the brakes and allowed the vehicle to power up and keep moving.
Axles and differentials on the LAVs, considered the miracle machines of this conflict; shredded tires on the platforms that carry the spanking new big guns of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery; transmission cases in the workhorse Bisons; whole transmissions and engines in the formidable new Nyalas: The maintainers fix them all.
Although one or two are always attached to any company that is on the march to do what's called forward repair and recovery, much of the maintainers' work is done back at base, in the dustiest and least attractive corner of the sprawling airfield.
There, in six double-vehicle open-ended tents, all exposed to the 50-to-60-degree temperatures, and in an assortment of small specialty workshops, the maintainers work minimum 10-hour shifts, often well into the night.
The conditions make the work physically exhausting and sweaty, but take as big a toll on machines as they do on men.
Already logging 2.25 million kilometres in-country -- that figure will almost reach 3.2 million by the time the current troops pull out by the end of the next month with their replacements taking over -- vehicles "go through axles and differentials like popcorn," Lt.-Col. Conrad says. "And the heat and that fine emery dust are punishing." The fleet of the eight-wheeled LAVs alone has eaten up 500 tires already.
Yet, astonishingly, the maintainers have managed to hold steady a 10 per cent VOR, or Vehicle On Repair, rate -- the very standard they meet back home in Canada.
For the drivers of the big fuel rigs and 16-tonne trucks of the 56-member transport platoon -- fully 80 per cent of whom have been involved in one kind of contact with the Taliban, many multiple times -- the first priority is to keep the fighting troops in remote areas supplied with everything from bullets to bottled water and food.
Of them, Lt.-Col. Conrad says with a grin, "They're tough little buggers." Afghanistan "is set up to deny logistics," he says. "Road is a very flattering term for what we have here." For the force protection platoon -- it is composed almost exclusively of reservists, many of them students at the University of Alberta and drawn from two proud Alberta regiments, the Calgary Highlanders and the Loyal Edmonton Regiment -- Task One is to escort and keep safe the convoys that travel to some of the hottest spots in southern Afghanistan, from Forward Operating Base Martello in the north, west past the violent Panjwai area and south to Spin Boldak.
The platoon's commander, Lieutenant Rob Gliddon of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, is himself a 24-year-old reservist and mechanical engineering student at the U of A -- his credentials giving a clue to a unit whose average age is 20-something.
"U of A students," Lt.-Col. Conrad says wonderingly. "They make me proud every day: Gritty, determined, bright." Despite acting as escorts for almost 100 convoys travelling some of the most dangerous roads in southern Afghanistan -- many of which the Canadians have named after Canadian towns and cities, with others, named by the Americans who were here first, after various beers -- Lt. Gliddon says none of the platoon has been hit.
He credits that to a smidgeon of luck, but mostly to the "aggressive and vigilant" posture his men adopt. "They're ready to employ the rules of engagement," he says. "They're not hesitant." Push come to shove, as it so often does in Kandahar province, the members of NSE are soldiers first, technicians second, and they have proven that in spades here, such that infantrymen and combat engineers quietly sing their praises.
As trucker Corporal Justin Kellehar says, "Before this tour, we had a lot of problems with the combat arms. Since this tour, their view for my trade in particular has changed. We're no less safe than they are, and they show us how welcome we are." The ancient motto of soldier maintainers is Arte et Marte , Latin for "by skill and by fighting": This tour, they and their colleagues have earned both ends of that tag.
PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.07.18
BYLINE: CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD
Monday, July 17, 2006
Ref: SOLDIER'S DEATH DIVIDES HOME TOWN: Many echo reserve corporal's doubts about Afghan mission
THUNDER BAY - In the northern Ontario town where 21-year-old reservist Cpl. Tony Boneca will be buried later today, questions linger about the military mission for which he gave his life.
"The Canadian military since Korea has not had offensive action and I don't think the military is prepared for this," said Dennis Dacey, Cpl. Boneca's next-door neighbour in the middle class Thunder Bay neighbourhood where he was raised. "I think they're overstretched. And I think the reason Tony was in the front lines is because they didn't have people (in the regular service) to do it."
"The feeling is the boys shouldn't be over there anyway," said Lou Stepanic, a retired train conductor who lives in the same neighbourhood. "We support the military, but we don't support the action they're in now. There's nothing disloyal about that."
Since his death in a gunfight with Taliban insurgents eight days ago, people close to Cpl. Boneca have publicly expressed many of his misgivings about Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Friends say he hated his work there and doubted the military's preparedness.
Cpl. Boneca's father, Antonio, a retired bricklayer, issued a statement Tuesday contradicting those accounts, saying his son was a proud, well-trained soldier who was dedicated to a mission for which he had volunteered.
One of Cpl. Boneca's best friends, Cpl. John O'Connor, echoed that thought yesterday.
"He was probably one of our best soldiers," said Cpl. O'Connor, 24. "He was always excited, even for the crummy jobs. He was good for morale, because we do a lot of those jobs and we get bitter often, the older guys."
The two infantry reservists, members of Thunder Bay's Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, or "the Supes" as they are known, had travelled to the region in 2004 in what was Cpl. Boneca's first tour of duty. That tour consisted mostly of guard duty.
The circumstances were much different on Cpl. Boneca's second tour, which was due to end just three weeks after he was killed.
Cpl. O'Connor said the two men spoke as recently as three weeks ago.
"Things were getting pretty intense," he said. "They were working a lot ... and he was losing weight."
However, the young soldier said his friend's eagerness to return home, a fact many close to Cpl. Boneca have repeated publicly, is a natural feeling for soldiers nearing the end of their tour. "Everybody wants to get home," he said.
He also said Cpl. Boneca had lately given up dreams of joining the regular service. "He had money saved up, he was going to buy a house. He had a good plan. He liked it here (in Thunder Bay)."
Reservists, as opposed to soldiers in the regular force, must volunteer for individual missions.
At the full military funeral set to take place today at 11 a.m., Cpl. O'Connor will carry a formal white regimental belt that will then be presented to Cpl. Boneca's father.
Through a military spokes-man, Anthony Boneca and his wife, Shirley, asked the media to respect their family's privacy.
"They feel their heart is going to explode," said family friend Miles Stijepic. "Their lives will never be the same."
Outside the funeral home where Cpl. Boneca's body lay, a lone piper ushered in a steady stream of family and friends. Since last Wednesday's solemn repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton, at least two members of Cpl. Boneca's unit have remained with the body at all times, officials said. Inside the funeral home, visitors wept as images of the man friends called "T-Bone" flashed onto a large-screen television. On a table surrounding the television were objects symbolizing some of the former high school quarterback's favourite pastimes: a fishing rod, a golf club, a guitar, a teddy bear, and, of course, a football. The young man's 19-year-old girlfriend, Megan, whom he reportedly intended to marry, wept quietly in a corner.
"He was a joy, more than any kid I can think of," said Mr. Dacey, the neighbour. "I'm becoming a bit of a grumpy old man, but Tony was so outgoing he would always come up to me and talk to me, or offer to help if I was shovelling the snow or something like that."
Cpl. Boneca is the 13th soldier to die in Afghanistan since February, when Canada switched its attention from the relatively benign Kabul to the violent Taliban heartland in and around Kandahar City, and the 17th since the country's first battle group was sent there in February 2002.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Lee Greenberg
"The Canadian military since Korea has not had offensive action and I don't think the military is prepared for this," said Dennis Dacey, Cpl. Boneca's next-door neighbour in the middle class Thunder Bay neighbourhood where he was raised. "I think they're overstretched. And I think the reason Tony was in the front lines is because they didn't have people (in the regular service) to do it."
"The feeling is the boys shouldn't be over there anyway," said Lou Stepanic, a retired train conductor who lives in the same neighbourhood. "We support the military, but we don't support the action they're in now. There's nothing disloyal about that."
Since his death in a gunfight with Taliban insurgents eight days ago, people close to Cpl. Boneca have publicly expressed many of his misgivings about Canada's mission in Afghanistan. Friends say he hated his work there and doubted the military's preparedness.
Cpl. Boneca's father, Antonio, a retired bricklayer, issued a statement Tuesday contradicting those accounts, saying his son was a proud, well-trained soldier who was dedicated to a mission for which he had volunteered.
One of Cpl. Boneca's best friends, Cpl. John O'Connor, echoed that thought yesterday.
"He was probably one of our best soldiers," said Cpl. O'Connor, 24. "He was always excited, even for the crummy jobs. He was good for morale, because we do a lot of those jobs and we get bitter often, the older guys."
The two infantry reservists, members of Thunder Bay's Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, or "the Supes" as they are known, had travelled to the region in 2004 in what was Cpl. Boneca's first tour of duty. That tour consisted mostly of guard duty.
The circumstances were much different on Cpl. Boneca's second tour, which was due to end just three weeks after he was killed.
Cpl. O'Connor said the two men spoke as recently as three weeks ago.
"Things were getting pretty intense," he said. "They were working a lot ... and he was losing weight."
However, the young soldier said his friend's eagerness to return home, a fact many close to Cpl. Boneca have repeated publicly, is a natural feeling for soldiers nearing the end of their tour. "Everybody wants to get home," he said.
He also said Cpl. Boneca had lately given up dreams of joining the regular service. "He had money saved up, he was going to buy a house. He had a good plan. He liked it here (in Thunder Bay)."
Reservists, as opposed to soldiers in the regular force, must volunteer for individual missions.
At the full military funeral set to take place today at 11 a.m., Cpl. O'Connor will carry a formal white regimental belt that will then be presented to Cpl. Boneca's father.
Through a military spokes-man, Anthony Boneca and his wife, Shirley, asked the media to respect their family's privacy.
"They feel their heart is going to explode," said family friend Miles Stijepic. "Their lives will never be the same."
Outside the funeral home where Cpl. Boneca's body lay, a lone piper ushered in a steady stream of family and friends. Since last Wednesday's solemn repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton, at least two members of Cpl. Boneca's unit have remained with the body at all times, officials said. Inside the funeral home, visitors wept as images of the man friends called "T-Bone" flashed onto a large-screen television. On a table surrounding the television were objects symbolizing some of the former high school quarterback's favourite pastimes: a fishing rod, a golf club, a guitar, a teddy bear, and, of course, a football. The young man's 19-year-old girlfriend, Megan, whom he reportedly intended to marry, wept quietly in a corner.
"He was a joy, more than any kid I can think of," said Mr. Dacey, the neighbour. "I'm becoming a bit of a grumpy old man, but Tony was so outgoing he would always come up to me and talk to me, or offer to help if I was shovelling the snow or something like that."
Cpl. Boneca is the 13th soldier to die in Afghanistan since February, when Canada switched its attention from the relatively benign Kabul to the violent Taliban heartland in and around Kandahar City, and the 17th since the country's first battle group was sent there in February 2002.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Lee Greenberg
FUNERAL SERVICES TO BE HELD: CPL BONECA
Hundreds of mourners gathered Monday at a full military funeral in Thunder Bay, Ont., for Cpl. Anthony Boneca.
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was the 17th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan since Canada's first battle group was sent to the country in February 2002. CP PHOTO/CFC Boneca was killed July 9 in firefight with Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. He was just weeks away from completing his second tour of duty.
Members of Boneca's Lake Superior Scottish Regiment attended in full Highland dress at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which has a capacity of 1,100.
Master Cpl. Craig Lovelin, a member of the regiment set to deliver a eulogy at the service, told CBC News Monday he wanted to correct the impression left by some media reports that Boneca had been disillusioned with the military.
"There's been some misconception of who exactly Cpl. Boneca really is," said Lovelin. "We might have missed on the important fact that he was soldier and he paid the ultimate price for his country."
After the church service, the casket containing Boneca's body will be taken to the city's Mountainview Cemetery for a private ceremony, which will include a 21-gun salute.
Shirley Boneca, the soldier's mother, will receive the Silver Cross, a medal given to family members of Canadian soldiers killed in action.
The family will also be presented their son's balmoral, his service medals and the Canadian flag that accompanied his casket from overseas.
The day after Boneca was killed, more than 1,000 coalition soldiers honoured him at a service at the Kandahar airfield.
A repatriation ceremony was then held last Wednesday when he arrived at CFB Trenton with Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier attending.
His body arrived at the airport in Thunder Bay shortly before noon Friday and lay in state over the weekend.
Last Updated Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:23:04 EDT
CBC News
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was the 17th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan since Canada's first battle group was sent to the country in February 2002. CP PHOTO/CFC Boneca was killed July 9 in firefight with Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. He was just weeks away from completing his second tour of duty.
Members of Boneca's Lake Superior Scottish Regiment attended in full Highland dress at St. Patrick's Cathedral, which has a capacity of 1,100.
Master Cpl. Craig Lovelin, a member of the regiment set to deliver a eulogy at the service, told CBC News Monday he wanted to correct the impression left by some media reports that Boneca had been disillusioned with the military.
"There's been some misconception of who exactly Cpl. Boneca really is," said Lovelin. "We might have missed on the important fact that he was soldier and he paid the ultimate price for his country."
After the church service, the casket containing Boneca's body will be taken to the city's Mountainview Cemetery for a private ceremony, which will include a 21-gun salute.
Shirley Boneca, the soldier's mother, will receive the Silver Cross, a medal given to family members of Canadian soldiers killed in action.
The family will also be presented their son's balmoral, his service medals and the Canadian flag that accompanied his casket from overseas.
The day after Boneca was killed, more than 1,000 coalition soldiers honoured him at a service at the Kandahar airfield.
A repatriation ceremony was then held last Wednesday when he arrived at CFB Trenton with Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier attending.
His body arrived at the airport in Thunder Bay shortly before noon Friday and lay in state over the weekend.
Last Updated Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:23:04 EDT
CBC News
PART-TIME SOLDIERS FILL DEMANDING ROLE
Need thorough explanation
Letter, July 14.
When responding to a question about the deployment of reservists to places such as Afghanistan, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who is a retired brigadier-general, stated that all military personnel deployed to such areas must be prepared to accept the same level of risk.
As politicians so often do, O'Connor avoided answering the real question, which dealt with the practice of sending part-time soldiers to global hot spots such as Afghanistan.
Using reservists to support our regular forces is a long-standing tradition, but these reservists were usually from the support trades, such as signallers, vehicle mechanics, cooks, etc.
The deploying of reservists with front-line troops is a relatively new concept that came about because our three regular infantry regiments did not and still do not have the manpower to sustain missions such as Afghanistan.
The role of a soldier is to find the enemy and kill them if necessary - carrying out that mission, as we are now witnessing in Afghanistan, means casualties will be sustained.
I'm quite sure that the reservists that are chosen to augment our regular forces are better trained than they were during the 1960 and 1970s, but they're still part-time soldiers, sailors and airmen/airwomen.
My rant isn't meant to belittle the contribution these young men and women, but rather to question the wisdom of those that say there is no difference between a full- and part-time soldier.
The only reason reservists are deployed in such large numbers to help our regular forces is because successive governments of all political stripes has, over the last 30 years, strangled them financially to such a degree that it has been impossible to maintain and equip a military capable of undertaking missions such as Afghanistan.
I find it rather strange that our defence minister was a senior officer during this period of neglect and now has the job of overseeing the rebuilding of our military.
If memory serves me correctly most of our senior officers of that day remained mute while this was happening, except for one or two naval officers who saw their careers come to a halt because they voiced opposition to what was happening to our military.
If and when our defence minister publicly comments on this matter in the future I ask that he consider this fundamental question - If you or a loved one is diagnosed with a serious heart problem, whom would you rather have perform the surgery, the heart specialist that practices his profession year round or the part-time specialist who only does the odd procedure of this nature to supplement his income?
I suspect O'Connor would opt for the full-time surgeon.
Malcolm Brown,
Porter's Lake, N.S.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.17
Letter, July 14.
When responding to a question about the deployment of reservists to places such as Afghanistan, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who is a retired brigadier-general, stated that all military personnel deployed to such areas must be prepared to accept the same level of risk.
As politicians so often do, O'Connor avoided answering the real question, which dealt with the practice of sending part-time soldiers to global hot spots such as Afghanistan.
Using reservists to support our regular forces is a long-standing tradition, but these reservists were usually from the support trades, such as signallers, vehicle mechanics, cooks, etc.
The deploying of reservists with front-line troops is a relatively new concept that came about because our three regular infantry regiments did not and still do not have the manpower to sustain missions such as Afghanistan.
The role of a soldier is to find the enemy and kill them if necessary - carrying out that mission, as we are now witnessing in Afghanistan, means casualties will be sustained.
I'm quite sure that the reservists that are chosen to augment our regular forces are better trained than they were during the 1960 and 1970s, but they're still part-time soldiers, sailors and airmen/airwomen.
My rant isn't meant to belittle the contribution these young men and women, but rather to question the wisdom of those that say there is no difference between a full- and part-time soldier.
The only reason reservists are deployed in such large numbers to help our regular forces is because successive governments of all political stripes has, over the last 30 years, strangled them financially to such a degree that it has been impossible to maintain and equip a military capable of undertaking missions such as Afghanistan.
I find it rather strange that our defence minister was a senior officer during this period of neglect and now has the job of overseeing the rebuilding of our military.
If memory serves me correctly most of our senior officers of that day remained mute while this was happening, except for one or two naval officers who saw their careers come to a halt because they voiced opposition to what was happening to our military.
If and when our defence minister publicly comments on this matter in the future I ask that he consider this fundamental question - If you or a loved one is diagnosed with a serious heart problem, whom would you rather have perform the surgery, the heart specialist that practices his profession year round or the part-time specialist who only does the odd procedure of this nature to supplement his income?
I suspect O'Connor would opt for the full-time surgeon.
Malcolm Brown,
Porter's Lake, N.S.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.17
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
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
TALIBAN KILLED IN CANADIAN ASSAULT
Facing ambushes and small pockets of resistance, Canadian soldiers continued fighting yesterday as a major coalition offensive continued in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.
Nearly 5,000 coalition forces, including about 600 Canadians, were involved in the operation west of Kandahar, along with soldiers from the Afghan National Army and Afghan police.
In two separate battles late Saturday afternoon, the coalition troops suffered no casualties, but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, wounded more than 20 others and captured more than a dozen insurgents, according to Helmand's provincial police chief.
A Canadian reconnaissance platoon and another infantry squad were reportedly ambushed, although none of the soldiers were hurt as they fired back during short, fierce battles.
Canadian coalition officials were unable to confirm the number of dead or whether Canadians were involved in the attacks that also led to the arrests of 14 Taliban.
PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun
DATE: 2006.07.17
SOURCE: BY CP
Nearly 5,000 coalition forces, including about 600 Canadians, were involved in the operation west of Kandahar, along with soldiers from the Afghan National Army and Afghan police.
In two separate battles late Saturday afternoon, the coalition troops suffered no casualties, but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, wounded more than 20 others and captured more than a dozen insurgents, according to Helmand's provincial police chief.
A Canadian reconnaissance platoon and another infantry squad were reportedly ambushed, although none of the soldiers were hurt as they fired back during short, fierce battles.
Canadian coalition officials were unable to confirm the number of dead or whether Canadians were involved in the attacks that also led to the arrests of 14 Taliban.
PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun
DATE: 2006.07.17
SOURCE: BY CP
ISRAELI-CANADIAN SOLDIER BURIED AFTER TANK DEATH: 300-kg land mine kills entire crew chasing Hezbollah
JERUSALEM - A 20-year-old Canadian serving in the Israeli army who died last Wednesday when his tank blew up in southern Lebanon was buried Sunday in the town of Modin.
Staff Sgt. Yaniv Bar-on, who lived in Israel but spent his summers in Montreal as a youth, was killed when the tank he was driving hit an explosive device as he chased Hezbollah fighters who had just kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.
Bar-on died while trying to help the tank's other three crew members. The other soldiers also died from the explosion, which was caused by a 300 kilogram mine.
"He was a warm, kind-hearted kid, like a great teddy bear you wanted to hug," his uncle, Harry Cohen, said late Sunday after the funeral.
The ceremony was attended by more than 1,000 mourners in Modin, which lies between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
"To lose him is a loss for everyone."
Bar-on, who was promoted posthumously to the rank of staff sergeant, had intended to become an air traffic controller when he left the Israeli Defence Forces and was considering doing those studies in Canada, his uncle said. Service in Israel's military is compulsory.
"He spent every summer in Montreal where he went to summer camps," said his 42-year-old uncle. "He loved watching from the sixth floor balcony of his grandmother's apartment as planes landed all day at Dorval Airport.
"Where he was buried is where airplanes sometimes turn when coming into land at Ben Gurion Airport, so we were saying today that he will be able to watch airplanes for ever."
The funeral had been "so beautiful, it is a shame it had to be because Yaniv had died," Cohen said.
Bar-on's mother Carleen, emigrated from Montreal to Israel where she met her husband, Asher, who was from South Africa. Harry Cohen, who is Carleen's brother, lives in New York where he works in public relations for a law firm. He is returning to Montreal next year.
"Hezbollah had crossed the line by kidnapping" Israeli soldiers inside Israel, Cohen said.
'LOVABLE'
"But "even in these circumstances, if Hezbollah had known Yaniv they would have loved him, too."
His voice choked with emotion, Yaniv's uncle added:
"It's so easy to hate but hate can be so destructive. The harder route -- whether it is your son, husband or nephew -- is to not hate. If we all knew each other better there would be less hate. We have to work at this."
Cohen said Bar-on and his tank mates "had done everything by the book, trying to mount a rescue operation.
"They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said"
In addition to his parents, Bar-on is survived by his siblings, Eitan, 23, and Hadas, 18.
PUBLICATION: The Windsor Star
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Matthew Fisher
Staff Sgt. Yaniv Bar-on, who lived in Israel but spent his summers in Montreal as a youth, was killed when the tank he was driving hit an explosive device as he chased Hezbollah fighters who had just kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.
Bar-on died while trying to help the tank's other three crew members. The other soldiers also died from the explosion, which was caused by a 300 kilogram mine.
"He was a warm, kind-hearted kid, like a great teddy bear you wanted to hug," his uncle, Harry Cohen, said late Sunday after the funeral.
The ceremony was attended by more than 1,000 mourners in Modin, which lies between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
"To lose him is a loss for everyone."
Bar-on, who was promoted posthumously to the rank of staff sergeant, had intended to become an air traffic controller when he left the Israeli Defence Forces and was considering doing those studies in Canada, his uncle said. Service in Israel's military is compulsory.
"He spent every summer in Montreal where he went to summer camps," said his 42-year-old uncle. "He loved watching from the sixth floor balcony of his grandmother's apartment as planes landed all day at Dorval Airport.
"Where he was buried is where airplanes sometimes turn when coming into land at Ben Gurion Airport, so we were saying today that he will be able to watch airplanes for ever."
The funeral had been "so beautiful, it is a shame it had to be because Yaniv had died," Cohen said.
Bar-on's mother Carleen, emigrated from Montreal to Israel where she met her husband, Asher, who was from South Africa. Harry Cohen, who is Carleen's brother, lives in New York where he works in public relations for a law firm. He is returning to Montreal next year.
"Hezbollah had crossed the line by kidnapping" Israeli soldiers inside Israel, Cohen said.
'LOVABLE'
"But "even in these circumstances, if Hezbollah had known Yaniv they would have loved him, too."
His voice choked with emotion, Yaniv's uncle added:
"It's so easy to hate but hate can be so destructive. The harder route -- whether it is your son, husband or nephew -- is to not hate. If we all knew each other better there would be less hate. We have to work at this."
Cohen said Bar-on and his tank mates "had done everything by the book, trying to mount a rescue operation.
"They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said"
In addition to his parents, Bar-on is survived by his siblings, Eitan, 23, and Hadas, 18.
PUBLICATION: The Windsor Star
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Matthew Fisher
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
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
RESERVISTS' BASIC PURPOSE IS COMBAT
Re: Reservists should not serve in combat zones, July 12.
As a long-time regular soldier and reservist, I take exception to the comments of letter-writer Jean Paquette, who feels that Canada should stop sending reservists into combat.
If we are not training our infantry reservists for combat, what is the purpose of their existence?
Mr. Paquette served with 426 Heavy Transport Squadron, a unit with an enviable record for its Korean War service. He mentions that many of his passengers had little more than one year of service.
In the Korean War, the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment went to Korea with many members who had only a few months' service, and most of the young soldiers were fresh from civilian life. Nevertheless, the unit's stand at Kapyong was rewarded by the only U.S. Presidential Unit Citation ever awarded to a Canadian battalion. The British 29th Brigade, including the famed Gloucestershire Regiment, the Royal Ulster Rifles and the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, was primarily made up of reservists. My own unit's infantry sections were made up of more than 50-per-cent National Servicemen -- draftees, not even reservists. I was proud to serve with them.
During the Second World War only one of the 10 Canadian army's Victoria Crosses was awarded to a regular soldier -- the others were won by reservists.
I'm sorry, Mr. Paquette, but our reservists -- bless them -- have a role that transcends mounting guard on Parliament Hill (check the medals on some of the scarlet tunics!) and shovelling snow in Toronto streets.
Les Peate,
Ottawa
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Les Peate
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
As a long-time regular soldier and reservist, I take exception to the comments of letter-writer Jean Paquette, who feels that Canada should stop sending reservists into combat.
If we are not training our infantry reservists for combat, what is the purpose of their existence?
Mr. Paquette served with 426 Heavy Transport Squadron, a unit with an enviable record for its Korean War service. He mentions that many of his passengers had little more than one year of service.
In the Korean War, the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regiment went to Korea with many members who had only a few months' service, and most of the young soldiers were fresh from civilian life. Nevertheless, the unit's stand at Kapyong was rewarded by the only U.S. Presidential Unit Citation ever awarded to a Canadian battalion. The British 29th Brigade, including the famed Gloucestershire Regiment, the Royal Ulster Rifles and the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, was primarily made up of reservists. My own unit's infantry sections were made up of more than 50-per-cent National Servicemen -- draftees, not even reservists. I was proud to serve with them.
During the Second World War only one of the 10 Canadian army's Victoria Crosses was awarded to a regular soldier -- the others were won by reservists.
I'm sorry, Mr. Paquette, but our reservists -- bless them -- have a role that transcends mounting guard on Parliament Hill (check the medals on some of the scarlet tunics!) and shovelling snow in Toronto streets.
Les Peate,
Ottawa
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.17
BYLINE: Les Peate
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
WORLD IN BRIEF: Canadian Forces advance in Afghan security push
Kandahar, Afghanistan Facing ambushes and small pockets of resistance, Canadian soldiers continued fighting yesterday as a major coalition offensive continued to create a "security pocket" for elders and military and Afghan government officials to meet to talk about reconstruction efforts.
In two battles Saturday, coalition troops suffered no casualties but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, said the chief of police in Helmand province.
PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.07.17
In two battles Saturday, coalition troops suffered no casualties but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, said the chief of police in Helmand province.
PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2006.07.17
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
BENECA VIDEO
Here is a link to a site regarding Cpl Beneca with a brief memorial video.
Courtesy of Tony P. Thanks for the info
The site also contains other articles on the Canadian military that maybe of interest.
Friday, July 14, 2006
CANADIAN CRISIS IN KANDAHAR
Canadian troops in Afghanistan will have to get through the weekend without dunking dough in their Tim Hortons coffee, since the outlet at the Kandahar military airfield ran out of doughnuts.
The doughnuts ran out on Thursday, followed on Friday by Timbits, and Tim Hortons officials say a new shipment will arrive next week.
Canadian soldiers, who lobbied for the outlet so they could have a taste of home, are shrugging off the shortage of deep-fried batter.
"I have to tell you the truth, it's the least of our worries," Lieut. Adam Webb told the CBC of the doughnut dearth. "It's the last thing on my mind."
The coffee and doughnut shop — in a 12-metre air-conditioned trailer — opened on July 1, Canada Day.
Tim Hortons is Canada's largest coffee and baked goods chain with more than 2,900 stores in Canada.
Currently, more than 2,300 Canadians are serving in southern Afghanistan.
Last Updated Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:00:46 EDT
CBC News
CBC News
YOU CAN'T FIGHT THIS MYTH
As retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie and other officers noted many times this week, soldiers bitch. Always have, always will. The fact that a soldier killed in combat last Sunday had complained to family and friends about the tough, grinding work he was doing in Afghanistan is essentially meaningless. It is terribly unfair, both to the military and to the memory of the soldier, to read anything into it.
But one comment that didn't draw much attention is worth examining more closely. Dylan Bulloch, the best friend of slain soldier Cpl. Anthony Boneca, told the Citizen that Cpl. Boneca "was telling me no one wants to be there, no one knows exactly why they're there and why is Canada in a war zone when all we do is protect and peacekeep."
If Mr. Bulloch's recollection is accurate, it is troubling. Cpl. Boneca may have been a reservist, but he was still an experienced soldier and when even an experienced soldier thinks it inconceivable that he would have to fight a war because "all we do is protect and peacekeep," the military has a problem.
We Canadians love to see ourselves as the world's peacekeepers. Our soldiers wear blue berets, not helmets. They carry binoculars instead of rifles. They don't take lives -- they save them. War and killing the enemy is for Americans. Peace and protecting the weak is the Canadian way.
Peacekeeping is as central to how most Canadians see their country as universal health care, multiculturalism and hockey. It can be seen on the back of the $10 bill. It can be heard in the speeches of politicians lauding our military's "traditional role."
It is also the source of fears that the combat mission in Afghanistan is a radical departure from Canadian values. "(Prime Minister Stephen) Harper is starting to ditch the peacekeeping vocation that has been the military's primary role abroad since Lester B. Pearson," wrote Josee Legault in the Montreal Gazette. Commentators from the Toronto Star's Haroon Siddiqui to union leader Sid Ryan have said the same. So have countless letter writers in newspapers across the country. They are all asking why Canadian soldiers are now in a war zone when "all we do is protect and peacekeep."
It's a question born of myth.
Peacekeeping is not the "primary role" of Canada's military. It never has been. The military's primary role is, and always has been, fighting wars.
"Peacekeeping was always a sideline activity for the Canadian Armed Forces," wrote Gen. MacKenzie in the Toronto Star. "At the height of our reputation as the UN's lead nation in peacekeeping during the '60s, '70s and '80s, we had at any one time around 1,500 soldiers deployed under the UN flag. At the same time, we had up to 10,000 troops, some armed with nuclear weapons, stationed with NATO on the central front in Germany and France prepared to take on any aggression by the Soviet Union."
Senator Romeo Dallaire, the retired general whose tragic experience in Rwanda made him Canada's most famous peacekeeper, recently made the same point in these pages. "Canada's soldiers are first and foremost specialists in combat," he wrote.
A background paper on the history of Canadian peacekeeping prepared for the Somalia Inquiry put Canada's UN missions squarely into perspective. "After Lester Pearson received the Nobel Prize in 1957, peacekeeping began receiving enthusiastic public and political support, although it remained a low priority within the Department of National Defence. ... All defence white papers and intervening policy statements rank the maintenance of a combat force capable of protecting Canada's sovereignty as the primary function of the Canadian Forces, with peacekeeping as an ancillary function."
And in a very real sense, even that "ancillary function" is finished.
In Lester Pearson's formulation, peacekeeping meant putting neutral blue berets between combatants, usually states, who had agreed to a truce. It was a rare scenario during the Cold War, and since then it has all but vanished. In its place are far more complex situations, most involving civil conflict, that require "peacekeepers" to be heavily armed and prepared, in some circumstances, to take sides and fight.
Experts debate what these missions should be called, but they agree that the term "peacekeeping" is misleading and should be used with care -- or better, retired.
Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Peacekeeping's hold on the Canadian imagination is too strong for mere facts. Everything I've written here has been said a thousand times before by analysts and generals and others far more qualified than me. And yet, the peacekeeping myth is flourishing.
And now, it seems, the peacekeeping myth is believed even by some of the soldiers whose primary mission is, as it always has been, fighting wars.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.14
COLUMN: Dan Gardner
But one comment that didn't draw much attention is worth examining more closely. Dylan Bulloch, the best friend of slain soldier Cpl. Anthony Boneca, told the Citizen that Cpl. Boneca "was telling me no one wants to be there, no one knows exactly why they're there and why is Canada in a war zone when all we do is protect and peacekeep."
If Mr. Bulloch's recollection is accurate, it is troubling. Cpl. Boneca may have been a reservist, but he was still an experienced soldier and when even an experienced soldier thinks it inconceivable that he would have to fight a war because "all we do is protect and peacekeep," the military has a problem.
We Canadians love to see ourselves as the world's peacekeepers. Our soldiers wear blue berets, not helmets. They carry binoculars instead of rifles. They don't take lives -- they save them. War and killing the enemy is for Americans. Peace and protecting the weak is the Canadian way.
Peacekeeping is as central to how most Canadians see their country as universal health care, multiculturalism and hockey. It can be seen on the back of the $10 bill. It can be heard in the speeches of politicians lauding our military's "traditional role."
It is also the source of fears that the combat mission in Afghanistan is a radical departure from Canadian values. "(Prime Minister Stephen) Harper is starting to ditch the peacekeeping vocation that has been the military's primary role abroad since Lester B. Pearson," wrote Josee Legault in the Montreal Gazette. Commentators from the Toronto Star's Haroon Siddiqui to union leader Sid Ryan have said the same. So have countless letter writers in newspapers across the country. They are all asking why Canadian soldiers are now in a war zone when "all we do is protect and peacekeep."
It's a question born of myth.
Peacekeeping is not the "primary role" of Canada's military. It never has been. The military's primary role is, and always has been, fighting wars.
"Peacekeeping was always a sideline activity for the Canadian Armed Forces," wrote Gen. MacKenzie in the Toronto Star. "At the height of our reputation as the UN's lead nation in peacekeeping during the '60s, '70s and '80s, we had at any one time around 1,500 soldiers deployed under the UN flag. At the same time, we had up to 10,000 troops, some armed with nuclear weapons, stationed with NATO on the central front in Germany and France prepared to take on any aggression by the Soviet Union."
Senator Romeo Dallaire, the retired general whose tragic experience in Rwanda made him Canada's most famous peacekeeper, recently made the same point in these pages. "Canada's soldiers are first and foremost specialists in combat," he wrote.
A background paper on the history of Canadian peacekeeping prepared for the Somalia Inquiry put Canada's UN missions squarely into perspective. "After Lester Pearson received the Nobel Prize in 1957, peacekeeping began receiving enthusiastic public and political support, although it remained a low priority within the Department of National Defence. ... All defence white papers and intervening policy statements rank the maintenance of a combat force capable of protecting Canada's sovereignty as the primary function of the Canadian Forces, with peacekeeping as an ancillary function."
And in a very real sense, even that "ancillary function" is finished.
In Lester Pearson's formulation, peacekeeping meant putting neutral blue berets between combatants, usually states, who had agreed to a truce. It was a rare scenario during the Cold War, and since then it has all but vanished. In its place are far more complex situations, most involving civil conflict, that require "peacekeepers" to be heavily armed and prepared, in some circumstances, to take sides and fight.
Experts debate what these missions should be called, but they agree that the term "peacekeeping" is misleading and should be used with care -- or better, retired.
Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Peacekeeping's hold on the Canadian imagination is too strong for mere facts. Everything I've written here has been said a thousand times before by analysts and generals and others far more qualified than me. And yet, the peacekeeping myth is flourishing.
And now, it seems, the peacekeeping myth is believed even by some of the soldiers whose primary mission is, as it always has been, fighting wars.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.14
COLUMN: Dan Gardner
SOLDIER RECOVERS FROM CHEST WOUND
With a fast-food breakfast in one hand and sunglasses atop his head, Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak walks slowly toward a picnic table to discuss a life that has been "no picnic."
As he bends down, the injured Ottawa soldier, wearing civilian clothes and back at home base with friends from the 30th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, winces and grabs his chest. It is the same region that was exposed beyond the bone by a Taliban rocket at the coalition's main base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, two weeks ago, and which bares the ghastly evidence of his near-death experience.
Makthepharak's heart was pierced by shrapnel and manually pumped back by a medic during minutes he does not remember -- save for dark smoke.
On June 30, "Mak," as he is called, was believed dead.
One week later, he returned home, and Thursday, he spoke about the experience.
"(Doctors) said I was clinically dead for a few hours. They told me they had to break through my ribs to massage my heart. Both of my lungs were punctured and one part of my heart was punctured," he said. "We had just gotten off our shift. We were walking through the mess (hall) and we were talking about how we had not been hit by a mortar round or a rocket for the past two weeks. After that, I just remember waking up in Germany."
The rocket attack also injured nine others, including another Canadian soldier. The base is home to more than 2,000 people, and has been subject to more than 20 attacks since February.
At the Landstuhl Medical Centre, a U.S. army hospital where he was transferred hours after the attack, Makthepharak stabilized and it became clear he would be flown home faster than most anyone expected.
News spread to his comrades in a reserve unit known as the Bytown Gunners and to Sgt. Jon Clark, a paramedic with the City of Ottawa.
"I made a few calls, talked to our dispatchers, and made sure I'd be the one to meet him at the airport for the transfer (into an ambulance)," Clark said Thursday.
The bandages are gone, but the baby-faced, 30-year-old is still smiling, even through frequent grimaces. The pain has slowed this health enthusiast down, but the experience has not shaken his purpose.
His commitment to the military runs deep, through his paternal line, through a refugee camp in Thailand, through three overseas tours, and a desire to continue a soldier's life despite this terrifying turn.
"I miss my boys. We went through training together and we had started to develop a bond," he said of his section in Afghanistan. "Once I get better, I'm thinking about joining operations. I'll go back," he added.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2006.07.14
BYLINE: Matthew Sekeres
As he bends down, the injured Ottawa soldier, wearing civilian clothes and back at home base with friends from the 30th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, winces and grabs his chest. It is the same region that was exposed beyond the bone by a Taliban rocket at the coalition's main base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, two weeks ago, and which bares the ghastly evidence of his near-death experience.
Makthepharak's heart was pierced by shrapnel and manually pumped back by a medic during minutes he does not remember -- save for dark smoke.
On June 30, "Mak," as he is called, was believed dead.
One week later, he returned home, and Thursday, he spoke about the experience.
"(Doctors) said I was clinically dead for a few hours. They told me they had to break through my ribs to massage my heart. Both of my lungs were punctured and one part of my heart was punctured," he said. "We had just gotten off our shift. We were walking through the mess (hall) and we were talking about how we had not been hit by a mortar round or a rocket for the past two weeks. After that, I just remember waking up in Germany."
The rocket attack also injured nine others, including another Canadian soldier. The base is home to more than 2,000 people, and has been subject to more than 20 attacks since February.
At the Landstuhl Medical Centre, a U.S. army hospital where he was transferred hours after the attack, Makthepharak stabilized and it became clear he would be flown home faster than most anyone expected.
News spread to his comrades in a reserve unit known as the Bytown Gunners and to Sgt. Jon Clark, a paramedic with the City of Ottawa.
"I made a few calls, talked to our dispatchers, and made sure I'd be the one to meet him at the airport for the transfer (into an ambulance)," Clark said Thursday.
The bandages are gone, but the baby-faced, 30-year-old is still smiling, even through frequent grimaces. The pain has slowed this health enthusiast down, but the experience has not shaken his purpose.
His commitment to the military runs deep, through his paternal line, through a refugee camp in Thailand, through three overseas tours, and a desire to continue a soldier's life despite this terrifying turn.
"I miss my boys. We went through training together and we had started to develop a bond," he said of his section in Afghanistan. "Once I get better, I'm thinking about joining operations. I'll go back," he added.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2006.07.14
BYLINE: Matthew Sekeres
WE DON'T NEED TO BRING THE DEAD HOME
After 32 years of service in Canada's Armed Forces, I fail to understand what the fuss is about with respect to the repatriation of Canada's fallen in war. Rarely in past wars have Canadian soldiers been repatriated to Canadian soil and then usually under special circumstances.
The soldier has always considered it a supreme honour to die on the field of battle and to be buried near the place where he gave up his life. It is only recently that members of the services killed in action abroad have been returned to their homeland.
Time and distance are no longer crucial factors in the movement of military personnel and resources. Military air services support our troops in the field and from Parliament Hill to an operational theatre is only a matter of hours.
The repatriation of Canada's fallen began toward the end of the Cold War. They were first returned to their unit, squadron or regiment, whose members mourned their loss. In most cases, the ceremonies included the immediate survivors, who were recognized as fellow members of the military family. It was always an intimate affair, away from the prying eyes of those who did not fully comprehend the sacrifice that had been made in the search for peace and the protection of their fellow man.
For the most part, the next of kin understood the need of their sons' and daughters' comrades to mourn quietly the passing of one of their own. After appropriate military ceremonies at the home unit, the remains were released to the immediate family for the funeral and interment at a place of their choosing.
It matters little whether Tim Goddard, father of Canada's most recent victim of coalition operations in Afghanistan, was disappointed that the media were not allowed to cover his daughter's repatriation. It matters more that Captain Nichola Goddard, who was serving with Task Force Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group, was reunited with her brothers- and sisters-at-arms one final time before the formalities of a family funeral.
During the past 60 years, there has been little public interest in Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen who have died in defence of their country. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 have brought back into focus the dangers that lurk beyond our everyday lives and the fear that it could happen to us. In our fear, we turn to our armed forces for protection.
We become intensely interested in how they are trained and equipped, we debate how they should be deployed and we examine the many alternatives to our involvement in violence in the name of self-defence. We then impose our demands to share the grief of loved ones as some of them come home in caskets.
That their units prefer to mourn their passing in private has escaped the understanding of many. Their friends and colleagues embrace the path they have taken and resent those who seek only to sensationalize an event that should be conducted with honour and dignity. The close families of the fallen share that grief with those who have trained, lived and fought alongside their sons and daughters, and military tradition allows them to do so.
Canadians do mourn the fallen who have devoted their lives to the service of their country so that others may live in peace. But the unnecessary demands for overpowering media focus in the early days of repatriation of our fallen should be resisted.
It is not an event to be dominated by media in search of the sensational. It is a quiet, solemn period of mourning that should be reserved for the families, including the military family who has been closest to those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Terry Thompson is a retired air force officer.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2006.07.14
BYLINE: Terry Thompson
The soldier has always considered it a supreme honour to die on the field of battle and to be buried near the place where he gave up his life. It is only recently that members of the services killed in action abroad have been returned to their homeland.
Time and distance are no longer crucial factors in the movement of military personnel and resources. Military air services support our troops in the field and from Parliament Hill to an operational theatre is only a matter of hours.
The repatriation of Canada's fallen began toward the end of the Cold War. They were first returned to their unit, squadron or regiment, whose members mourned their loss. In most cases, the ceremonies included the immediate survivors, who were recognized as fellow members of the military family. It was always an intimate affair, away from the prying eyes of those who did not fully comprehend the sacrifice that had been made in the search for peace and the protection of their fellow man.
For the most part, the next of kin understood the need of their sons' and daughters' comrades to mourn quietly the passing of one of their own. After appropriate military ceremonies at the home unit, the remains were released to the immediate family for the funeral and interment at a place of their choosing.
It matters little whether Tim Goddard, father of Canada's most recent victim of coalition operations in Afghanistan, was disappointed that the media were not allowed to cover his daughter's repatriation. It matters more that Captain Nichola Goddard, who was serving with Task Force Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group, was reunited with her brothers- and sisters-at-arms one final time before the formalities of a family funeral.
During the past 60 years, there has been little public interest in Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen who have died in defence of their country. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 have brought back into focus the dangers that lurk beyond our everyday lives and the fear that it could happen to us. In our fear, we turn to our armed forces for protection.
We become intensely interested in how they are trained and equipped, we debate how they should be deployed and we examine the many alternatives to our involvement in violence in the name of self-defence. We then impose our demands to share the grief of loved ones as some of them come home in caskets.
That their units prefer to mourn their passing in private has escaped the understanding of many. Their friends and colleagues embrace the path they have taken and resent those who seek only to sensationalize an event that should be conducted with honour and dignity. The close families of the fallen share that grief with those who have trained, lived and fought alongside their sons and daughters, and military tradition allows them to do so.
Canadians do mourn the fallen who have devoted their lives to the service of their country so that others may live in peace. But the unnecessary demands for overpowering media focus in the early days of repatriation of our fallen should be resisted.
It is not an event to be dominated by media in search of the sensational. It is a quiet, solemn period of mourning that should be reserved for the families, including the military family who has been closest to those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Terry Thompson is a retired air force officer.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2006.07.14
BYLINE: Terry Thompson
Thursday, July 13, 2006
COMMENTS ON ARTICLE ENTITLED,"DEATH OF A SOLDIER RESERVISTS' SITUATION UNDER MICROSCOPE"
HERE IS THE ARTICLE -
While we in the media are good at questioning everyone else's ethics, the death of a young Canadian soldier amid conflicting reports about whether he wanted to be in Afghanistan raises issues we need to face.
First, how should we treat the combat death of Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, compared to the other 16 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat who died there, and who have all been portrayed as doing what they loved?
The ethical answer is while Boneca's death raises legitimate concerns about whether our soldiers, particularly reservists, understand what it means to volunteer for the military today, Boneca merits all the respect accorded his fallen comrades.
Whatever his state of mind - and Boneca's mother and father, through the Defence Department, have categorically rejected claims, primarily by the father of his 19-year-old girlfriend, that he was ill-prepared and distraught -- Boneca died with honour.
This was his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was just three weeks away from coming home. So remember: Boneca did his duty. He did not quit. He did not desert. He died in the service of Canada.
Since much has been made of claims by others, perhaps less close to him, the statement by Boneca's parents, Antonio and Shirley merits emphasis:
"Our pride was in our son, before and after he became a professional soldier. He was a giving person. He was a leader. He was the kind of person who was always joking and liked to make others around him happy. Anthony was the first to volunteer in any situation. My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in the army and my wife, Shirley and I, supported our son wholeheartedly. In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties.
"Recent media reports state my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on ... He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives ...
"Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn't in that situation? There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he was sent to do.
"Please respect my family's request for privacy during our time of grief."
Look at the last line. Will we in the media do that? We, who fought so hard for the right to attend repatriation ceremonies of the remains of fallen soldiers? Word yesterday was media will be allowed to take pictures of the return of Boneca's coffin, presumably with the consent of his parents, but not interview them. But that's at a military base where access is controlled.
What happens when Boneca's parents go home for their son's funeral, now they've been unwittingly thrown into a huge controversy?
Will we be true to our word then?
Finally, there are larger issues here. Do young people signing up for our military today fully understand what the changed role of our Armed Forces from being "peacekeepers" to peacemakers means for them?
Will we in the media, wherever we stand on Afghanistan, examine these issues in a way that respects our fallen soldiers and all who serve?
I hope so. But I wouldn't count on it.
PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun
DATE: 2006.07.13
SOURCE: BY LORRIE GOLDSTEIN
BOH RESPONCE -
While we in the media are good at questioning everyone else's ethics, the death of a young Canadian soldier amid conflicting reports about whether he wanted to be in Afghanistan raises issues we need to face.
First, how should we treat the combat death of Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, compared to the other 16 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat who died there, and who have all been portrayed as doing what they loved?
The ethical answer is while Boneca's death raises legitimate concerns about whether our soldiers, particularly reservists, understand what it means to volunteer for the military today, Boneca merits all the respect accorded his fallen comrades.
Whatever his state of mind - and Boneca's mother and father, through the Defence Department, have categorically rejected claims, primarily by the father of his 19-year-old girlfriend, that he was ill-prepared and distraught -- Boneca died with honour.
This was his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was just three weeks away from coming home. So remember: Boneca did his duty. He did not quit. He did not desert. He died in the service of Canada.
Since much has been made of claims by others, perhaps less close to him, the statement by Boneca's parents, Antonio and Shirley merits emphasis:
"Our pride was in our son, before and after he became a professional soldier. He was a giving person. He was a leader. He was the kind of person who was always joking and liked to make others around him happy. Anthony was the first to volunteer in any situation. My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in the army and my wife, Shirley and I, supported our son wholeheartedly. In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties.
"Recent media reports state my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on ... He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives ...
"Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn't in that situation? There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he was sent to do.
"Please respect my family's request for privacy during our time of grief."
Look at the last line. Will we in the media do that? We, who fought so hard for the right to attend repatriation ceremonies of the remains of fallen soldiers? Word yesterday was media will be allowed to take pictures of the return of Boneca's coffin, presumably with the consent of his parents, but not interview them. But that's at a military base where access is controlled.
What happens when Boneca's parents go home for their son's funeral, now they've been unwittingly thrown into a huge controversy?
Will we be true to our word then?
Finally, there are larger issues here. Do young people signing up for our military today fully understand what the changed role of our Armed Forces from being "peacekeepers" to peacemakers means for them?
Will we in the media, wherever we stand on Afghanistan, examine these issues in a way that respects our fallen soldiers and all who serve?
I hope so. But I wouldn't count on it.
PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun
DATE: 2006.07.13
SOURCE: BY LORRIE GOLDSTEIN
BOH RESPONCE -
MORE TROOPS MEANS MORE AWL: MILITARY
The number of Canadian soldiers who have gone absent without leave has doubled in the last six years, Sun Media has learned.
Records obtained through access to information show 708 troops were convicted of going AWL in 2005 -- more than two times the 340 who were convicted of the offence in 2000. Numbers show a sharp rise after 2001, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks propelled Canada's military into a more dangerous, combative role abroad.
But the Department of National Defence insists the increase is not related.
Spokesman Lieut. Desmond James said brass are not concerned with the rise in AWL convictions because the numbers correlate to a general increase in new recruits, and the "vast majority" are for those cutting out early or reporting late for duty, charges considered relatively minor.
But Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute, a left-leaning Ottawa lobby group, called the numbers "astounding.
"The fact that it's increasing dramatically along the lines of the escalation of our involvement in Afghanistan makes sense in terms of the evolving role there -- where we've moved away from traditional peacekeeping operations to real combat."
PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2006.07.13
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN HARRIS
Records obtained through access to information show 708 troops were convicted of going AWL in 2005 -- more than two times the 340 who were convicted of the offence in 2000. Numbers show a sharp rise after 2001, when the 9/11 terrorist attacks propelled Canada's military into a more dangerous, combative role abroad.
But the Department of National Defence insists the increase is not related.
Spokesman Lieut. Desmond James said brass are not concerned with the rise in AWL convictions because the numbers correlate to a general increase in new recruits, and the "vast majority" are for those cutting out early or reporting late for duty, charges considered relatively minor.
But Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute, a left-leaning Ottawa lobby group, called the numbers "astounding.
"The fact that it's increasing dramatically along the lines of the escalation of our involvement in Afghanistan makes sense in terms of the evolving role there -- where we've moved away from traditional peacekeeping operations to real combat."
PUBLICATION: The Winnipeg Sun
DATE: 2006.07.13
SOURCE: BY KATHLEEN HARRIS
CANADIAN SODLIER HURT IN AFGANISTAN RETURNS HOME
LLOYD ROBERTSON: A Canadian soldier who had a brush with death in a separate incident in Afghanistan is already thinking about going back. Master Bombardier Bounyarat4 Makthepharak was critically injured when Taliban rockets slammed into the coalition base in Kandahar. Since returning home to Ottawa, the soldier, known to his pals as Mac, has shied away from the spotlight as he recovers from his injuries. But today he broke his silence about his harrowing ordeal in this exclusive interview with CTV's Roger Smith. BOUNYARAT TANAPHON MAKTHEPHARAK (Master Bombardier): Everything is so smoky. I couldn't remember. I think I remember saying that I was hit.
ROGER SMITH (Reporter): Bounyarat4 Tanaphon Makthepharak knows he's lucky to be alive, and he has the scars to prove it.
MAKTHEPHARAK: The shrapnel exploded somewhere behind my back and went through my lungs and my heart. Yeah, I was very happy to come back alive for sure.
ROGER: Known simply as Mack, the 30 year old reservist was critically injured just two weeks ago when a Taliban rocket hit the base in Kandahar. Evacuated to a hospital in Germany, he almost died on the operating table.
MAKTHPHARAK: I was clinically dead for awhile. They had to like open up my ribs and massage my heart to get me stabilized.
SMITH: Then a miraculous recovery. Flown home last week, just out of hospital, now walking again, albeit slowly, welcomed back to his regiment as a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Glad to see you all in one piece.
MAKTHEPHARAK: Yeah. It was pretty close.
SMITH: Scarred in Afghanistan, Mack was first scarred by war in his native Louse. His father, head of the Laotian army was executed when the communists took over. In the early 80s, he and his mother escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand where Mack found a role model in UN peacekeepers.
MAKTHEPHARAK: The boys wearing the blue helmet beret and stuff like that, and helping other people in need. I thought that was a cool thing to do.
SMITH: Inspiring him years later in his adopted land to join the reserve and serve three missions abroad.
MAKTHEPHARAK: It's something small to give to humanity I guess I would say, but I like doing what I do.
SMITH: And despite his close call, Mack is already thinking about going back to Afghanistan. Roger Smith, CTV News, Ottawa.
PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV News
DATE: 2006.07.12
TIME: 23:00:00 ET
ROGER SMITH (Reporter): Bounyarat4 Tanaphon Makthepharak knows he's lucky to be alive, and he has the scars to prove it.
MAKTHEPHARAK: The shrapnel exploded somewhere behind my back and went through my lungs and my heart. Yeah, I was very happy to come back alive for sure.
ROGER: Known simply as Mack, the 30 year old reservist was critically injured just two weeks ago when a Taliban rocket hit the base in Kandahar. Evacuated to a hospital in Germany, he almost died on the operating table.
MAKTHPHARAK: I was clinically dead for awhile. They had to like open up my ribs and massage my heart to get me stabilized.
SMITH: Then a miraculous recovery. Flown home last week, just out of hospital, now walking again, albeit slowly, welcomed back to his regiment as a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Glad to see you all in one piece.
MAKTHEPHARAK: Yeah. It was pretty close.
SMITH: Scarred in Afghanistan, Mack was first scarred by war in his native Louse. His father, head of the Laotian army was executed when the communists took over. In the early 80s, he and his mother escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand where Mack found a role model in UN peacekeepers.
MAKTHEPHARAK: The boys wearing the blue helmet beret and stuff like that, and helping other people in need. I thought that was a cool thing to do.
SMITH: Inspiring him years later in his adopted land to join the reserve and serve three missions abroad.
MAKTHEPHARAK: It's something small to give to humanity I guess I would say, but I like doing what I do.
SMITH: And despite his close call, Mack is already thinking about going back to Afghanistan. Roger Smith, CTV News, Ottawa.
PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV News
DATE: 2006.07.12
TIME: 23:00:00 ET
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
A SOLDIER'S DUTY
To some ears, Gordon O'Connor's comments surrounding the death of Corporal Anthony Boneca, a 21-year-old reservist killed in a firefight west of Kandahar, undoubtedly seemed harsh. "You don't opt out once you're in," the Defence Minister said Monday in response to reports that Cpl. Boneca had been miserable and seeking a way out of Afghanistan prior to his death. "You don't get a choice about what you do or don't do. This is the military."
But however Mr. O'Connor's message may have been delivered, it was the right one. And if anything, it was actually a service to others of Cpl. Boneca's mindset.
It's all too easy for those on the outside to view the military as being like any other workplace -- one that can be opted in and out of at pleasure. To some extent, the military plays into this misconception itself with sunny recruitment campaigns focusing on education opportunities and a sense of adventure. But even those who merely join the reserves, as Cpl. Boneca did, are willingly placing themselves under the authority of others, and must be prepared to unquestioningly put their lives on the line when called upon to do so. Whereas free thinking is to be encouraged in most workplaces, allowing too much of it to creep into the military culture would have disastrous consequences -- both for the success of our missions and for soldiers.
While Cpl. Boneca's apparent complaints about a lack of adequate supplies for troops in Afghanistan merit some attention from military brass, sympathy for the fallen reservist and his family should not affect the way that our Forces are run. It is unfortunate that a man who was apparently ill-suited to combat in Afghanistan found himself there. But the answer is to ensure that recruits know what they're getting themselves into before they enlist -- something Mr. O'Connor's comments should go some distance toward achieving
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.07.12
SOURCE: National Post
But however Mr. O'Connor's message may have been delivered, it was the right one. And if anything, it was actually a service to others of Cpl. Boneca's mindset.
It's all too easy for those on the outside to view the military as being like any other workplace -- one that can be opted in and out of at pleasure. To some extent, the military plays into this misconception itself with sunny recruitment campaigns focusing on education opportunities and a sense of adventure. But even those who merely join the reserves, as Cpl. Boneca did, are willingly placing themselves under the authority of others, and must be prepared to unquestioningly put their lives on the line when called upon to do so. Whereas free thinking is to be encouraged in most workplaces, allowing too much of it to creep into the military culture would have disastrous consequences -- both for the success of our missions and for soldiers.
While Cpl. Boneca's apparent complaints about a lack of adequate supplies for troops in Afghanistan merit some attention from military brass, sympathy for the fallen reservist and his family should not affect the way that our Forces are run. It is unfortunate that a man who was apparently ill-suited to combat in Afghanistan found himself there. But the answer is to ensure that recruits know what they're getting themselves into before they enlist -- something Mr. O'Connor's comments should go some distance toward achieving
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2006.07.12
SOURCE: National Post
WHY WE'LL FAIL IN AFGANISTAN: We can't fight the war on drugs and fight insurgents at the same time and hope to be successful at either
It's hard not to admire the blunt talk of Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff. "One of the things that I found when I was the commander on international operations," he told the Citizen recently, "was the most dangerous thing of all was the individual who visited the theatre of operations for 48 hours and then left as an instant expert with the solution to everything, which invariably was wrong."
Gen. Hillier was responding to a report recently released by the Senlis Council, a European think tank specializing in drug issues, which claimed the situation in Afghanistan is worsening because the forced eradication of poppy crops is turning farmers against the authorities. "We don't have everything right in Afghanistan. We know that," continued Gen. Hillier. "Each day we change the way we do business just a little bit, and we'll continue to do that until the day we come home from the mission."
I haven't been to Afghanistan, not even for 48 hours. But I do know a thing or two about drugs. And if Gen. Hillier will forgive the impertinence, I'd like to suggest to him that he is wrong.
Not about the particulars on the ground. I'll defer to him on that. But he's wrong in thinking that operational changes will decide whether the mission in Afghanistan succeeds or fails. What we see today is in large part the creation of a far more fundamental policy choice, one that was made long ago. If that policy isn't reconsidered, Canadian soldiers will continue to die. The mission will fail. And there will be nothing Gen. Hillier or any other soldier can do about it.
The policy is what might be called the globalization of drug prohibition.
In the United States and Canada, alcohol and narcotic prohibition were introduced together, early in the 20th century. But only narcotic prohibition was elevated into international agreements, largely at the behest of the United States. After the Second World War, the U.S. became particularly aggressive in getting countries to sign on to the international system and adopt domestic drug policies in line with American norms. By the 1960s, drug prohibition spanned the globe.
That's when Richard Nixon had a bright idea.
"Narcotics are the modern curse of American youth," Nixon declared in the 1968 election. To win what he dubbed "the war on drugs," he proposed to work with the governments of countries that grow drug crops and wipe out the whole illicit trade at the source.
This had never been done before but it made some superficial sense. Most heroin in the United States came from Turkey, where it was illegally diverted from the licit opium industry and shipped via Marseille (the "French Connection") across the Atlantic. Fix the problem in Turkey and the drug would disappear from American streets.
It worked. The White House got the Turks to co-operate and the flow of drugs quickly dried up. Problem solved.
For about a day, that is. The law of supply and demand kicked in and opium production started to grow rapidly in other regions, particularly "the Golden Crescent" -- Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A few months ago, Gen. Hillier said that Afghanistan was "a relatively advanced country" prior to the Soviet invasion. Here's what a 1976 White House policy document said about the poppy situation in that relatively advanced country: "Afghanistan has an extremely difficult problem in controlling the production and trafficking of narcotics. Many areas are highly inaccessible; subsistence farmers value the opium crop as a source of income; and Afghan tribesmen traditionally have looked upon smuggling as a way of life. Additionally, the police and other law enforcement agencies have a limited ability to act effectively in Afghanistan's more isolated tribal areas where there are no modern means of communication."
The U.S. government funded Afghanistan's anti-narcotic efforts, but to no effect. (The documents quoted here can be found in their entirety in The Quest for Drug Control by historian David Musto.)
If the situation was bleak in 1976, it soon got much worse. Political turmoil was followed by the Soviet invasion, a decade of war against the invaders, and another half-decade of civil war. Afghanistan's meagre infrastructure was destroyed and a country that had never had a strong, effective central government became almost ungovernable. The elimination of poppy growing, impossible in 1976, became a pipe dream.
The Taliban's alleged success in suppressing poppy growing is sometimes cited as proof to the contrary, but that's nonsense. Production was reduced for barely a year -- long enough to boost the price on the Taliban's opium stockpile but not long enough for market forces to kick in. Had the ban stayed in place longer, it would have failed: Not even the savagery of the Taliban can defeat the most powerful law of economics.
That law is what Richard Nixon didn't understand. But a White House policy adviser did. "The likely result" of the elimination of Turkish heroin sources, he wrote in an internal memo, "would be disruption for a time, and then a resumed flow from other sources." Don't bother, the memo concluded.
Nixon didn't listen. And the history of the last three-and-a-half decades -- as the United States, the United Nations and others spent tens of billions of dollars fighting plants and economics -- unfolded just as that memo said it would.
So what has this history of failure taught the world's leaders? Not much, apparently. Everyone from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to NATO's top commanders agrees that the poppy trade fuels most of Afghanistan's woes -- corruption, crime, warlords, terrorists and insurgents -- and that poppies, not the Taliban, are the greatest threat. But no one is talking about real alternatives to Richard Nixon's bright idea.
Some critics suggest more financial support to encourage farmers to grow legal crops. The Senlis Council wants farmers to be permitted to sell opium for the legal painkiller market. A few say Western governments should just buy the entire crop.
But from the perspective of economics, none of this matters. Both sticks and carrots -- eradication and financial incentives -- are designed to artificially reduce the flow of opium to the black market. If either tool succeeds, it will cause black-market prices to rise, and rising prices will spur renewed production in existing growing regions or elsewhere.
Where could the poppies go? Afghanistan is a big country full of desperately poor farmers. There's plenty of room for poppy growth to shift, and plenty of people to grow it.
And what if, by some act of divine intervention, poppy-growing were driven entirely from Afghanistan? First, the price would explode. Then, like night follows day, poppies would spring up throughout the region. Maybe it would be Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. But more likely, there would be a resurgence in Iran and Pakistan.
My money would be on Pakistan. The northwest of Pakistan is a traditional opium-growing region only tenuously controlled by the Pakistani government. Its border with Afghanistan is, in places, no more than a line on the map and it would be no great trouble for warlords, terrorists and smugglers to move operations east.
Now imagine what would happen if the Afghan poppy industry pitched tent in Pakistan -- a country notorious for political instability, religious extremism and nuclear weapons.
I'm not the expert Gen. Hillier is, but it seems to me that no matter how bad the situation is in Afghanistan, that would be a hell of a lot worse.
This is a riddle with no solution, a knot that cannot be untied. It is folly to keep trying to do what is clearly impossible. Like Alexander the Great, a man who once conquered Afghanistan, we must cut the damned knot in two.
In official circles, there are plenty of doubts about the international regime of drug prohibition but they are only discussed quietly, over drinks, never on the record. Too many institutions owe their existence to the war on drugs, too many careers are built on it. Heresy is punished.
To denounce the status quo as the unsalvageable disaster it is, to call for a serious discussion of alternatives, would take a person of uncommon courage and blunt talk.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.12
COLUMN: Dan Gardner
Gen. Hillier was responding to a report recently released by the Senlis Council, a European think tank specializing in drug issues, which claimed the situation in Afghanistan is worsening because the forced eradication of poppy crops is turning farmers against the authorities. "We don't have everything right in Afghanistan. We know that," continued Gen. Hillier. "Each day we change the way we do business just a little bit, and we'll continue to do that until the day we come home from the mission."
I haven't been to Afghanistan, not even for 48 hours. But I do know a thing or two about drugs. And if Gen. Hillier will forgive the impertinence, I'd like to suggest to him that he is wrong.
Not about the particulars on the ground. I'll defer to him on that. But he's wrong in thinking that operational changes will decide whether the mission in Afghanistan succeeds or fails. What we see today is in large part the creation of a far more fundamental policy choice, one that was made long ago. If that policy isn't reconsidered, Canadian soldiers will continue to die. The mission will fail. And there will be nothing Gen. Hillier or any other soldier can do about it.
The policy is what might be called the globalization of drug prohibition.
In the United States and Canada, alcohol and narcotic prohibition were introduced together, early in the 20th century. But only narcotic prohibition was elevated into international agreements, largely at the behest of the United States. After the Second World War, the U.S. became particularly aggressive in getting countries to sign on to the international system and adopt domestic drug policies in line with American norms. By the 1960s, drug prohibition spanned the globe.
That's when Richard Nixon had a bright idea.
"Narcotics are the modern curse of American youth," Nixon declared in the 1968 election. To win what he dubbed "the war on drugs," he proposed to work with the governments of countries that grow drug crops and wipe out the whole illicit trade at the source.
This had never been done before but it made some superficial sense. Most heroin in the United States came from Turkey, where it was illegally diverted from the licit opium industry and shipped via Marseille (the "French Connection") across the Atlantic. Fix the problem in Turkey and the drug would disappear from American streets.
It worked. The White House got the Turks to co-operate and the flow of drugs quickly dried up. Problem solved.
For about a day, that is. The law of supply and demand kicked in and opium production started to grow rapidly in other regions, particularly "the Golden Crescent" -- Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A few months ago, Gen. Hillier said that Afghanistan was "a relatively advanced country" prior to the Soviet invasion. Here's what a 1976 White House policy document said about the poppy situation in that relatively advanced country: "Afghanistan has an extremely difficult problem in controlling the production and trafficking of narcotics. Many areas are highly inaccessible; subsistence farmers value the opium crop as a source of income; and Afghan tribesmen traditionally have looked upon smuggling as a way of life. Additionally, the police and other law enforcement agencies have a limited ability to act effectively in Afghanistan's more isolated tribal areas where there are no modern means of communication."
The U.S. government funded Afghanistan's anti-narcotic efforts, but to no effect. (The documents quoted here can be found in their entirety in The Quest for Drug Control by historian David Musto.)
If the situation was bleak in 1976, it soon got much worse. Political turmoil was followed by the Soviet invasion, a decade of war against the invaders, and another half-decade of civil war. Afghanistan's meagre infrastructure was destroyed and a country that had never had a strong, effective central government became almost ungovernable. The elimination of poppy growing, impossible in 1976, became a pipe dream.
The Taliban's alleged success in suppressing poppy growing is sometimes cited as proof to the contrary, but that's nonsense. Production was reduced for barely a year -- long enough to boost the price on the Taliban's opium stockpile but not long enough for market forces to kick in. Had the ban stayed in place longer, it would have failed: Not even the savagery of the Taliban can defeat the most powerful law of economics.
That law is what Richard Nixon didn't understand. But a White House policy adviser did. "The likely result" of the elimination of Turkish heroin sources, he wrote in an internal memo, "would be disruption for a time, and then a resumed flow from other sources." Don't bother, the memo concluded.
Nixon didn't listen. And the history of the last three-and-a-half decades -- as the United States, the United Nations and others spent tens of billions of dollars fighting plants and economics -- unfolded just as that memo said it would.
So what has this history of failure taught the world's leaders? Not much, apparently. Everyone from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to NATO's top commanders agrees that the poppy trade fuels most of Afghanistan's woes -- corruption, crime, warlords, terrorists and insurgents -- and that poppies, not the Taliban, are the greatest threat. But no one is talking about real alternatives to Richard Nixon's bright idea.
Some critics suggest more financial support to encourage farmers to grow legal crops. The Senlis Council wants farmers to be permitted to sell opium for the legal painkiller market. A few say Western governments should just buy the entire crop.
But from the perspective of economics, none of this matters. Both sticks and carrots -- eradication and financial incentives -- are designed to artificially reduce the flow of opium to the black market. If either tool succeeds, it will cause black-market prices to rise, and rising prices will spur renewed production in existing growing regions or elsewhere.
Where could the poppies go? Afghanistan is a big country full of desperately poor farmers. There's plenty of room for poppy growth to shift, and plenty of people to grow it.
And what if, by some act of divine intervention, poppy-growing were driven entirely from Afghanistan? First, the price would explode. Then, like night follows day, poppies would spring up throughout the region. Maybe it would be Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. But more likely, there would be a resurgence in Iran and Pakistan.
My money would be on Pakistan. The northwest of Pakistan is a traditional opium-growing region only tenuously controlled by the Pakistani government. Its border with Afghanistan is, in places, no more than a line on the map and it would be no great trouble for warlords, terrorists and smugglers to move operations east.
Now imagine what would happen if the Afghan poppy industry pitched tent in Pakistan -- a country notorious for political instability, religious extremism and nuclear weapons.
I'm not the expert Gen. Hillier is, but it seems to me that no matter how bad the situation is in Afghanistan, that would be a hell of a lot worse.
This is a riddle with no solution, a knot that cannot be untied. It is folly to keep trying to do what is clearly impossible. Like Alexander the Great, a man who once conquered Afghanistan, we must cut the damned knot in two.
In official circles, there are plenty of doubts about the international regime of drug prohibition but they are only discussed quietly, over drinks, never on the record. Too many institutions owe their existence to the war on drugs, too many careers are built on it. Heresy is punished.
To denounce the status quo as the unsalvageable disaster it is, to call for a serious discussion of alternatives, would take a person of uncommon courage and blunt talk.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen
DATE: 2006.07.12
COLUMN: Dan Gardner
SOLDIER KNEW DANGERS FATHERS [SAYS]; Competing stories surface in wake of corporal's death Reservist 'loved' being in army, his family says
Cpl. Anthony Boneca knew the dangers of his mission in Afghanistan and was well-prepared to face them. Or he was ill-informed about his role and ill-equipped to carry it out.
These are the competing stories coming from the family of the 21-year-old reservist and the family of his girlfriend, in the wake of his death Sunday near Kandahar.
"My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan," father Antonio Boneca said in a statement released by the military yesterday. "Anthony knew what he was getting into.
"In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties."
His girlfriend's father, Larry DeCorte, said Sunday that Boneca, serving his second tour in Afghanistan, was deeply unhappy about the conditions, including one long patrol without adequate food or water.
"He hated it over there. He was misled as to what was going to be there when he got there, and what he would be doing," DeCorte told the Star.
Antonio Boneca painted his son's military service in a different light, saying the Thunder Bay native "loved" being in the army. "He was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on," the statement read.
"He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada.
"Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask, what soldier wouldn't in that situation?"
Maj. Tod Strickland, a top commander in the Kandahar field, said in an interview from Afghanistan yesterday that even if Boneca had expressed some misgivings about the mission, "what is really remarkable is that ... he went forward and did his job."
"That to me speaks volumes about the kind of man he was," said Strickland, the deputy commander of task force Orion, the infantry battle group.
Strickland was gracious in his praise of Boneca as a "fine" reservist who was able to make the cut and be accepted by a front-line rifle company that was fighting the enemy.
"That he was good enough to make the 'A-team' ... speaks very highly of his qualities as a soldier," Strickland said.
He said the life of an infantry soldier is, at times, one of "deprivation and hardship.
"We all know when we sign on, even if it's a slightly romantic view, that there's going to be periods when you're hungry, when you're tired, thirsty, wet, cold - in this case very hot - and you're going to have a difficult job to perform with someone trying to kill you," he said.
"We, as leaders, try to minimize ... the sufferings of our soldiers."
Boneca's body is expected to arrive at CFB Trenton today at 7 p.m. to a solemn ceremony attended by his grieving family, along with dignitaries such as Governor General Michaelle Jean; Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor; Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff; and Maj.-Gen. Marc Lessard, assistant chief of land staff.
His family decided yesterday to allow all media access to the ceremony and to allow photographs to be taken.
Strickland defended the Afghan operation against complaints levelled by Boneca in phone calls and emails to family and friends that patrols ran low on food and water. In one case, a one-week patrol stretched to three weeks with just seven days of food, according to DeCorte.
Having patrols run longer than expected is common, but it's rare those missions would go too long without getting new supplies of food, water and ammunition, Strickland said.
"Going from one week's worth of rations and trying to live on it for three weeks, I think I would have heard about that," he said.
"That's not to say it didn't happen. It may well have. But that would be the exception, not the rule," he said.
Boneca also complained about being kept on patrol in the mountains for a week after breaking his ankle.
Strickland said he didn't know details of that incident, but said the military has evacuated troops from the front line for "far less, whether it be dehydration, back injuries, any number of wounds. We get the guys out as quickly as we can.
"Someone who can't march really isn't any good. He's a liability."
Strickland wondered if Boneca covered up his injury out of sense of duty to fellow soldiers.
Strickland conceded that the Kandahar mission, with its dangers of roadside bombs and ambushes, is something few troops, reservist or full-time, can fully prepare for.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you Afghanistan met my expectations," said Strickland, who has done three overseas tours.
"It's an extreme challenge and it continues to evolve. Every day you see something different or something you wouldn't have expected," said Strickland.
He was just back in Kandahar after being on the front line where in recent days Canadians have faced some of their fiercest fighting in their six-month tour.
"I can think of little I have seen in my service as challenging as the past couple of days have been," he said, describing scorching temperature nearing 50C, the ever-present dust and the dangerous insurgents.
"They are an extremely tenacious enemy," he said.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.12
BYLINE: Bruce Campion-Smith
SOURCE: Toronto Star
These are the competing stories coming from the family of the 21-year-old reservist and the family of his girlfriend, in the wake of his death Sunday near Kandahar.
"My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan," father Antonio Boneca said in a statement released by the military yesterday. "Anthony knew what he was getting into.
"In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties."
His girlfriend's father, Larry DeCorte, said Sunday that Boneca, serving his second tour in Afghanistan, was deeply unhappy about the conditions, including one long patrol without adequate food or water.
"He hated it over there. He was misled as to what was going to be there when he got there, and what he would be doing," DeCorte told the Star.
Antonio Boneca painted his son's military service in a different light, saying the Thunder Bay native "loved" being in the army. "He was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on," the statement read.
"He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada.
"Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask, what soldier wouldn't in that situation?"
Maj. Tod Strickland, a top commander in the Kandahar field, said in an interview from Afghanistan yesterday that even if Boneca had expressed some misgivings about the mission, "what is really remarkable is that ... he went forward and did his job."
"That to me speaks volumes about the kind of man he was," said Strickland, the deputy commander of task force Orion, the infantry battle group.
Strickland was gracious in his praise of Boneca as a "fine" reservist who was able to make the cut and be accepted by a front-line rifle company that was fighting the enemy.
"That he was good enough to make the 'A-team' ... speaks very highly of his qualities as a soldier," Strickland said.
He said the life of an infantry soldier is, at times, one of "deprivation and hardship.
"We all know when we sign on, even if it's a slightly romantic view, that there's going to be periods when you're hungry, when you're tired, thirsty, wet, cold - in this case very hot - and you're going to have a difficult job to perform with someone trying to kill you," he said.
"We, as leaders, try to minimize ... the sufferings of our soldiers."
Boneca's body is expected to arrive at CFB Trenton today at 7 p.m. to a solemn ceremony attended by his grieving family, along with dignitaries such as Governor General Michaelle Jean; Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor; Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff; and Maj.-Gen. Marc Lessard, assistant chief of land staff.
His family decided yesterday to allow all media access to the ceremony and to allow photographs to be taken.
Strickland defended the Afghan operation against complaints levelled by Boneca in phone calls and emails to family and friends that patrols ran low on food and water. In one case, a one-week patrol stretched to three weeks with just seven days of food, according to DeCorte.
Having patrols run longer than expected is common, but it's rare those missions would go too long without getting new supplies of food, water and ammunition, Strickland said.
"Going from one week's worth of rations and trying to live on it for three weeks, I think I would have heard about that," he said.
"That's not to say it didn't happen. It may well have. But that would be the exception, not the rule," he said.
Boneca also complained about being kept on patrol in the mountains for a week after breaking his ankle.
Strickland said he didn't know details of that incident, but said the military has evacuated troops from the front line for "far less, whether it be dehydration, back injuries, any number of wounds. We get the guys out as quickly as we can.
"Someone who can't march really isn't any good. He's a liability."
Strickland wondered if Boneca covered up his injury out of sense of duty to fellow soldiers.
Strickland conceded that the Kandahar mission, with its dangers of roadside bombs and ambushes, is something few troops, reservist or full-time, can fully prepare for.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you Afghanistan met my expectations," said Strickland, who has done three overseas tours.
"It's an extreme challenge and it continues to evolve. Every day you see something different or something you wouldn't have expected," said Strickland.
He was just back in Kandahar after being on the front line where in recent days Canadians have faced some of their fiercest fighting in their six-month tour.
"I can think of little I have seen in my service as challenging as the past couple of days have been," he said, describing scorching temperature nearing 50C, the ever-present dust and the dangerous insurgents.
"They are an extremely tenacious enemy," he said.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.12
BYLINE: Bruce Campion-Smith
SOURCE: Toronto Star
Monday, July 10, 2006
TWO CANADIANS SOLDIERS INJURED: fierce fighting in Afghanistan
SANDIE RINALDO: Good evening. Canadian forces are locked in some of the fiercest fighting of the mission in Afghanistan. Two more soldiers were wounded today, one seriously. Early reports said one of them may have been injured by friendly fire. But in the fog of war, itÆs unclear what exactly happened. Here is what is we know. The firefights are part of Operation Mountain Thrust, a massive coalition offensive in the Panjwai region, long a Taliban stronghold west of Kandahar City. As the battles raged, other Canadian troops fired supporting artillery rounds from positions close to Kandahar City. When air power did arrive, it was close and concentrated lending to early confusion between the front and Kandahar.
MAJOR MARC THERIAULT (Canadian Forces): The soldiers suffered blast injuries for some of the ordinants that was dropped on the enemy position.
RINALDO: However, commanders on the ground say both Canadians were injured in combat with the Taliban. The offensive is far from over and everyone accepts there could be more casualties.
THERIAULT: Making progress often unfortunately involves having people wounded. So we will carry on.
RINALDO: And CTV's Steve Chao is embedded with Canadian troops and he's on the line now from Panjwai province. Steve, how bad was the fighting?
STEVE CHAO (Reporter): It's an area hostile to coalition forces. The coalition forces, mostly Canadians here, unleashed a heavy barrage of gunfire as well as air power on locations. They believe they killed about 25 insurgents in a battle that lasted about 15 hours. This was a major campaign, one of the most severe campaigns that Canadian soldiers have been engaged in so far.
RINALDO: Steve, what about the confusing reports? One of the Canadian soldiers may have been injured by friendly fire. Can you confirm?
CHAO: They're fighting in vineyards, they're fighting in mud walled compounds, and they're also trying to work together with the Afghan national army on these sort of offensives. So it's very hard to determine if during the battle exactly where the fire is coming from. We understand that the two soldiers were injured when a rocket propelled grenade landed near their position. Did that come from the Afghan national army? That's still to be determined. We do know that the fighting has been extremely fierce and that this is the most fierce fighting that Canadian soldiers have undergone so far.
RINALDO: Thanks, Steve. CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar.
PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV News
DATE: 2006.07.08
TIME: 23:00:00 ET
MAJOR MARC THERIAULT (Canadian Forces): The soldiers suffered blast injuries for some of the ordinants that was dropped on the enemy position.
RINALDO: However, commanders on the ground say both Canadians were injured in combat with the Taliban. The offensive is far from over and everyone accepts there could be more casualties.
THERIAULT: Making progress often unfortunately involves having people wounded. So we will carry on.
RINALDO: And CTV's Steve Chao is embedded with Canadian troops and he's on the line now from Panjwai province. Steve, how bad was the fighting?
STEVE CHAO (Reporter): It's an area hostile to coalition forces. The coalition forces, mostly Canadians here, unleashed a heavy barrage of gunfire as well as air power on locations. They believe they killed about 25 insurgents in a battle that lasted about 15 hours. This was a major campaign, one of the most severe campaigns that Canadian soldiers have been engaged in so far.
RINALDO: Steve, what about the confusing reports? One of the Canadian soldiers may have been injured by friendly fire. Can you confirm?
CHAO: They're fighting in vineyards, they're fighting in mud walled compounds, and they're also trying to work together with the Afghan national army on these sort of offensives. So it's very hard to determine if during the battle exactly where the fire is coming from. We understand that the two soldiers were injured when a rocket propelled grenade landed near their position. Did that come from the Afghan national army? That's still to be determined. We do know that the fighting has been extremely fierce and that this is the most fierce fighting that Canadian soldiers have undergone so far.
RINALDO: Thanks, Steve. CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar.
PUBLICATION: CTV - CTV News
DATE: 2006.07.08
TIME: 23:00:00 ET
OUR FALLEN IN AFGHANISTAN
A list of Canadian deaths in Afghanistan[to date]:
- April 18, 2002: Four soldiers killed and eight wounded near Kandahar when a U.S. F-16 jet mistakenly bombs the Canadians. Killed are Sgt. Marc Leger, 29, of Lancaster, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 24, of Montreal, Pte. Richard Green, 21, of Mill Cove, N.S., and Pte. Nathan Smith, 27, of Tatamagouche, N.S.
- Oct. 2, 2003: Two soldiers killed and three wounded in a roadside bombing southwest of Kabul. Killed are Sgt. Robert Alan Short, 42, of Fredericton, and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, 29, of Ottawa.
- Jan. 27, 2004: Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, 26, of Conception Harbour, Nfld. dies in a suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul.
- Nov. 24, 2004: Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield of Eastern Passage, N.S., dies and four soldiers are injured when their armoured vehicle rolls near Kandahar.
- Jan. 15, 2006: A Canadian diplomat, Glyn Berry, killed and three Canadian soldiers wounded in a suicide bombing near Kandahar.
- March 2, 2006: A soldier is killed and another dies later of his injuries after their armoured vehicle runs off a road in the Kandahar area. Six others are injured. Killed are Cpl. Paul Davis of Bridgewater, N.S., and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta.
- March 29, 2006: Pte. Robert Costall of Thunder Bay dies and three other soldiers are wounded during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Helmand province.
- April 22, 2006: Four Canadian soldiers die when their G-Wagon patrol vehicle is destroyed by a roadside bomb near Gumbad, 75 km north of Kandahar. Killed are Cpl. Matthew Dinning of Richmond Hill, Bombardier Myles Mansell, of Victoria, Lieut. William Turner of Toronto and Cpl. Randy Payne of CFB Wainright, Alta.
- May 17, 2006: Capt. Nichola Goddard is killed in a Taliban ambush during a battle in the Panjwai region. She is the first Canadian woman killed in action while serving in a combat role.
- July 9, 2006: Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, 21, a reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, dies in a firefight near the village of Pashmol west of Kandahar City.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY CP
- April 18, 2002: Four soldiers killed and eight wounded near Kandahar when a U.S. F-16 jet mistakenly bombs the Canadians. Killed are Sgt. Marc Leger, 29, of Lancaster, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 24, of Montreal, Pte. Richard Green, 21, of Mill Cove, N.S., and Pte. Nathan Smith, 27, of Tatamagouche, N.S.
- Oct. 2, 2003: Two soldiers killed and three wounded in a roadside bombing southwest of Kabul. Killed are Sgt. Robert Alan Short, 42, of Fredericton, and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, 29, of Ottawa.
- Jan. 27, 2004: Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, 26, of Conception Harbour, Nfld. dies in a suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul.
- Nov. 24, 2004: Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield of Eastern Passage, N.S., dies and four soldiers are injured when their armoured vehicle rolls near Kandahar.
- Jan. 15, 2006: A Canadian diplomat, Glyn Berry, killed and three Canadian soldiers wounded in a suicide bombing near Kandahar.
- March 2, 2006: A soldier is killed and another dies later of his injuries after their armoured vehicle runs off a road in the Kandahar area. Six others are injured. Killed are Cpl. Paul Davis of Bridgewater, N.S., and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta.
- March 29, 2006: Pte. Robert Costall of Thunder Bay dies and three other soldiers are wounded during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Helmand province.
- April 22, 2006: Four Canadian soldiers die when their G-Wagon patrol vehicle is destroyed by a roadside bomb near Gumbad, 75 km north of Kandahar. Killed are Cpl. Matthew Dinning of Richmond Hill, Bombardier Myles Mansell, of Victoria, Lieut. William Turner of Toronto and Cpl. Randy Payne of CFB Wainright, Alta.
- May 17, 2006: Capt. Nichola Goddard is killed in a Taliban ambush during a battle in the Panjwai region. She is the first Canadian woman killed in action while serving in a combat role.
- July 9, 2006: Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, 21, a reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, dies in a firefight near the village of Pashmol west of Kandahar City.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY CP
SOLDIER SON CALLS TO SAY HE'S OK
Having a son serving in Afghanistan is less stressful if you've already served in the military yourself - news of battle casualties overseas is a little easier to brace for.
And it's even easier to sleep if your son joined the military after retiring from a career as a bare-knuckle boxing champion and an ultimate fighter.
But there was still a split second when William Nairne feared the worst when his phone rang at midnight Saturday in Winnipeg.
"I'd just heard a soldier had been killed and two others injured in Afghanistan," Nairne told the Sun yesterday.
"I had the fleeting thought - oh no, this is the call - but it was him, and he was OK."
William's son Pte. Andrew Social, 40, was calling to say he wasn't one of the two soldiers injured in a firefight west of Kandahar, in which Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was killed.
Social was deployed to Afghanistan in February from Edmonton Garrison.
"He'd been hospitalized for dehydration and to get his eyes cleaned out, but they were sending him back out on patrol right away," Nairne said.
"Honestly I'm not sure which is more stressful. Having him be a bare-knuckle boxer and fighter, or having him serve over there," said the retired military signalman.
Nairne said his son isn't allowed to tell him if he was involved in the tragic firefight until he returns to Canada
PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY BROOKES MERRITT, EDMONTON SUN
And it's even easier to sleep if your son joined the military after retiring from a career as a bare-knuckle boxing champion and an ultimate fighter.
But there was still a split second when William Nairne feared the worst when his phone rang at midnight Saturday in Winnipeg.
"I'd just heard a soldier had been killed and two others injured in Afghanistan," Nairne told the Sun yesterday.
"I had the fleeting thought - oh no, this is the call - but it was him, and he was OK."
William's son Pte. Andrew Social, 40, was calling to say he wasn't one of the two soldiers injured in a firefight west of Kandahar, in which Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was killed.
Social was deployed to Afghanistan in February from Edmonton Garrison.
"He'd been hospitalized for dehydration and to get his eyes cleaned out, but they were sending him back out on patrol right away," Nairne said.
"Honestly I'm not sure which is more stressful. Having him be a bare-knuckle boxer and fighter, or having him serve over there," said the retired military signalman.
Nairne said his son isn't allowed to tell him if he was involved in the tragic firefight until he returns to Canada
PUBLICATION: The Edmonton Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY BROOKES MERRITT, EDMONTON SUN
RESERVIST WENT DOWN FIGHTING
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was killed as troops pursued insurgents near the village of Pashmol, a hotbed of Taliban activity.
The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group, with which Boneca was fighting, and the Afghan National Army combed through the region of mud-hut villages and lush fields of grapes, marijuana and other crops in search of the insurgents.
Infantry and armoured vehicles soon made contact with the Taliban, sparking the firefight. The coalition later called in air strikes and artillery support.
U.S. Apache assault helicopters buzzed over the area like angry dragonflies, smashing targets. A-10 Warthog jets roared in, dropping bombs. A battery of Canadian heavy guns pounded the insurgents with shells.
A few hours after Boneca was hit, two other Canadian soldiers were wounded in battle.
Both were flown by helicopter to hospital at the international coalition base.
WORD SPREAD
Their injuries were described as non-life threatening. Two other Canadians were wounded Saturday, one seriously, in a firefight in the same area. None of their names have been released.
Word of Boneca's death spread quickly among troops at the coalition base.
Master Cpl. Will Emsle, a fellow reservist who trained with Boneca, said the reality of losing his friend hadn't sunk in.
"I was surprised. I was really shocked," said Emsle, who is from Calgary. "He was a real joker. He loved to joke around. He was a good guy."
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser said Boneca's death will not have any impact on the operation to sweep the region of Taliban.
"We are going to carry on operations as they are," the general said. "We are not pulling back at all, we are leaning into this. We are going to push right through for as long as it takes."
Coalition troops are to assemble for a ceremony this morning at Kandahar airfield to pay tribute to Boneca, the 17th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
Boneca's flag-draped coffin will then be loaded onto an air transport for the flight back to Canada.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY JOHN COTTER, CP
The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group, with which Boneca was fighting, and the Afghan National Army combed through the region of mud-hut villages and lush fields of grapes, marijuana and other crops in search of the insurgents.
Infantry and armoured vehicles soon made contact with the Taliban, sparking the firefight. The coalition later called in air strikes and artillery support.
U.S. Apache assault helicopters buzzed over the area like angry dragonflies, smashing targets. A-10 Warthog jets roared in, dropping bombs. A battery of Canadian heavy guns pounded the insurgents with shells.
A few hours after Boneca was hit, two other Canadian soldiers were wounded in battle.
Both were flown by helicopter to hospital at the international coalition base.
WORD SPREAD
Their injuries were described as non-life threatening. Two other Canadians were wounded Saturday, one seriously, in a firefight in the same area. None of their names have been released.
Word of Boneca's death spread quickly among troops at the coalition base.
Master Cpl. Will Emsle, a fellow reservist who trained with Boneca, said the reality of losing his friend hadn't sunk in.
"I was surprised. I was really shocked," said Emsle, who is from Calgary. "He was a real joker. He loved to joke around. He was a good guy."
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser said Boneca's death will not have any impact on the operation to sweep the region of Taliban.
"We are going to carry on operations as they are," the general said. "We are not pulling back at all, we are leaning into this. We are going to push right through for as long as it takes."
Coalition troops are to assemble for a ceremony this morning at Kandahar airfield to pay tribute to Boneca, the 17th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
Boneca's flag-draped coffin will then be loaded onto an air transport for the flight back to Canada.
PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Sun
DATE: 2006.07.10
SOURCE: BY JOHN COTTER, CP
Sunday, July 09, 2006
CANADIAN RESERVE SOLDIER KILLED IN AFGANISTAN
Click Image for more
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, a 21-year-old from Thunder Bay, Ont., was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
A young reservist from Thunder Bay, Ont., has been killed in battle in Afghanistan, a day after Taliban militants wounded two other Canadians in the same area west of Kandahar City.
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, a 21-year-old from Thunder Bay, Ont., was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. (DND)
The international and Afghan forces have been battling since Friday night in the southern area, considered to be a hotbed of Taliban activity over the past few months.
Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, a 21-year-old reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, died on Sunday morning, military officials said.
Top general vows to push on
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, Canada's top soldier in Afghanistan, called Boneca's death a tragic loss.
But Fraser said it wouldn't deter Canada's 2,300 soldiers from continuing their mission. They're part of the U.S.-led international forces that have been trying to stabilize Afghanistan since the Taliban government was ousted after the al-Qaeda attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
"We're going to carry on operations as they are going on right now," Fraser said. "We're not going to pull back. We're going to push through for as long as it takes."
Boneca on 2nd tour, uncle says
Boneca's uncle, William Babe, said his nephew was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan and serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
"He spent his last tour in Kabul, and this year, when the war escalated, he went to Kandahar with the Princess Pats," Babe told CBC News from Thunder Bay.
"He was due home at the end of this month."
A solemn military ceremony for the soldier was expected to be held on the Kandahar airfield on Monday, but there has been no word yet on when his body will be returned to Canada.
Boneca was 17th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since the first battle group was sent to the country in February 2002. A Canadian diplomat was also killed.
Last Updated Sun, 09 Jul 2006 09:00:39 EDT
CBC News
CANADIANS WOUNDED IN TALIBAN FIREFIGHT; Friendly fire injures soldier
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan Two Canadian soldiers were wounded yesterday, one seriously, during a firefight with Taliban west of Kandahar City.
The soldiers were hit during a sweep through an area of villages and farms that have been the scene of numerous clashes with insurgents over the last two months, said Maj. Mark Theriault, a Canadian Forces spokesman.
"In response to small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, Canadian and Afghan soldiers returned fire and called in coalition air support," Theriault said.
Both soldiers were evacuated to the hospital at the international coalition base in Kandahar.
The more seriously injured of the two was wounded in the firefight.
The other man was hurt as a result of the coalition air strike.
He was listed in good condition.
The seriously wounded soldier was to be airlifted to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for more extensive treatment.
Neither soldier was identified and the exact nature of their wounds was not released.
During the firefight, the Canadian battle group also called in artillery support from a battery of heavy guns.
At least five Taliban insurgents were killed in the firefight, Theriault said.
"This was part of a joint Afghan-coalition security operation aimed at removing the Taliban threat to Afghan citizens in the region west of Kandahar City," he said.
"The fighting has been fierce," Theriault added.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.09
BYLINE: John Cotter
The soldiers were hit during a sweep through an area of villages and farms that have been the scene of numerous clashes with insurgents over the last two months, said Maj. Mark Theriault, a Canadian Forces spokesman.
"In response to small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, Canadian and Afghan soldiers returned fire and called in coalition air support," Theriault said.
Both soldiers were evacuated to the hospital at the international coalition base in Kandahar.
The more seriously injured of the two was wounded in the firefight.
The other man was hurt as a result of the coalition air strike.
He was listed in good condition.
The seriously wounded soldier was to be airlifted to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for more extensive treatment.
Neither soldier was identified and the exact nature of their wounds was not released.
During the firefight, the Canadian battle group also called in artillery support from a battery of heavy guns.
At least five Taliban insurgents were killed in the firefight, Theriault said.
"This was part of a joint Afghan-coalition security operation aimed at removing the Taliban threat to Afghan citizens in the region west of Kandahar City," he said.
"The fighting has been fierce," Theriault added.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.07.09
BYLINE: John Cotter
TWO CANADIAN SOLDIERS WOUNDED IN AFGANISTAN: Intense fighting. One critically injured, flown to Germany
For the 30th time since the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group arrived in the southern Afghan theatre four months ago, a critically injured soldier was to be rushed 5,100 kilometres by air ambulance to a U.S. army combat hospital in Germany for specialized medical care.
The Canadian - identified by the Defence Department as infantryman Corp. Christopher Klodt - was seriously wounded yesterday during one of several violent firefights between the Princess Patricia's and the Taliban in the neighbouring districts of Zharei and Panjwei, two notorious hotbeds of the insurgency in farming country about 30 kilometres west of Kandahar. Klodt was first treated at the Canadian combat hospital at the Kandahar Airfield, where surgeons decided that he should be sent on to the facility at Landstuhl, Germany, which treats many of the most seriously wounded coalition troops from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Defence Department did not release any other details about Klodt, including his age or his hometown or province. However, it's believed he is in his early 20s and has a girlfriend in Manitoba.
Another Canadian soldier who was less seriously wounded in one of Saturday's battles was to continue being treated at the hospital at the Kandahar Airfield. He is expected to return to duty before the Patricia's rotate back to Canada next month. The PPCLI are to be replaced by a similar battle group from the Ottawa Valley-based Royal Canadian Regiment.
The second soldier, according to Defence Department policy, will not be identified because he has been released from hospital and is returning to duty.
Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, commander of Land Force Western Area, discussed the Afghanistan firefight while attending a celebration honouring the military at Calgary's Spruce Meadows on Saturday.
His thoughts went out to the families of the injured officers.
"The greatest challenge I have is taking care of the families during this particular deployment. There is no doubt the risks of this deployment, the dangers of this deployment, are very real," Grant said.
"Regardless of the challenges that have been faced with the casualties that have been brought home, their friends are totally supportive of the choices they have made as individuals and the work they've done as soldiers."
Grant declined to elaborate on Klodt's injuries, saying: "All I can say is that he was seriously injured in an engagement with the Taliban. He is receiving the best medical treatment that can be offered to him. He will likely return to Canada when his medical condition will allow it."
Fighting with the Taliban was so intense yesterday that the Patricia's, who had flooded the area with a large number of troops, called in air strikes by coalition assault helicopters and fighter jets and dozens of rounds from the new M-777 155-mm guns of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The battles raged during a day when temperatures reached into the high 50s C.
"Obviously, the fighting is fierce," Major Marc Theriault said of Operation Zahar (or Operation Sword, in English), which was launched two days ago as a result of intelligence received by the Canadian battle group and their Afghan army and police allies. "This is an ongoing effort that we expect to last several days.
"We have a robust capacity. Despite the fact that we are seeing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, we have the tactical advantage."
At least five Taliban were killed in yesterday's exchanges, which occurred near the village of Pashmol. Three Taliban were captured. Two of the Enemy Prisoners of War were handed over to the Afghan government. The third EPW was being treated for battle wounds at the hospital at Kandahar Airfield.
PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.07.09
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER
The Canadian - identified by the Defence Department as infantryman Corp. Christopher Klodt - was seriously wounded yesterday during one of several violent firefights between the Princess Patricia's and the Taliban in the neighbouring districts of Zharei and Panjwei, two notorious hotbeds of the insurgency in farming country about 30 kilometres west of Kandahar. Klodt was first treated at the Canadian combat hospital at the Kandahar Airfield, where surgeons decided that he should be sent on to the facility at Landstuhl, Germany, which treats many of the most seriously wounded coalition troops from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Defence Department did not release any other details about Klodt, including his age or his hometown or province. However, it's believed he is in his early 20s and has a girlfriend in Manitoba.
Another Canadian soldier who was less seriously wounded in one of Saturday's battles was to continue being treated at the hospital at the Kandahar Airfield. He is expected to return to duty before the Patricia's rotate back to Canada next month. The PPCLI are to be replaced by a similar battle group from the Ottawa Valley-based Royal Canadian Regiment.
The second soldier, according to Defence Department policy, will not be identified because he has been released from hospital and is returning to duty.
Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, commander of Land Force Western Area, discussed the Afghanistan firefight while attending a celebration honouring the military at Calgary's Spruce Meadows on Saturday.
His thoughts went out to the families of the injured officers.
"The greatest challenge I have is taking care of the families during this particular deployment. There is no doubt the risks of this deployment, the dangers of this deployment, are very real," Grant said.
"Regardless of the challenges that have been faced with the casualties that have been brought home, their friends are totally supportive of the choices they have made as individuals and the work they've done as soldiers."
Grant declined to elaborate on Klodt's injuries, saying: "All I can say is that he was seriously injured in an engagement with the Taliban. He is receiving the best medical treatment that can be offered to him. He will likely return to Canada when his medical condition will allow it."
Fighting with the Taliban was so intense yesterday that the Patricia's, who had flooded the area with a large number of troops, called in air strikes by coalition assault helicopters and fighter jets and dozens of rounds from the new M-777 155-mm guns of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The battles raged during a day when temperatures reached into the high 50s C.
"Obviously, the fighting is fierce," Major Marc Theriault said of Operation Zahar (or Operation Sword, in English), which was launched two days ago as a result of intelligence received by the Canadian battle group and their Afghan army and police allies. "This is an ongoing effort that we expect to last several days.
"We have a robust capacity. Despite the fact that we are seeing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, we have the tactical advantage."
At least five Taliban were killed in yesterday's exchanges, which occurred near the village of Pashmol. Three Taliban were captured. Two of the Enemy Prisoners of War were handed over to the Afghan government. The third EPW was being treated for battle wounds at the hospital at Kandahar Airfield.
PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.07.09
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER
QW - Hesitation
“On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless many who, on the eve of victory rested, and resting, died there”
– Unknown
Saturday, July 08, 2006
SOLDIERING ON COUNTRY STAR MICHELLE WRIGHT A STAUNCH SUPPORTER OF OUR TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
It was hot, dusty and at times she feared for her life.
But weeks later, Michelle Wright says she longs to return to that army base in Afghanistan, where she slept in a tent, sat elbow-to-elbow with soldiers at breakfast and was left stunned upon learning of Canada's first female soldier to die in Afghanistan.
"I miss those soldiers," Wright says in a recent interview to promote her new album, Everything And More.
"Every artist that I went with who had either been there before or has just returned, we'd been e-mailing going, 'I miss it, I wonder how they're doing over there, I wish we were getting up this morning and going to have breakfast with those guys and gals.'
"It's just a funny thing because you almost hate to leave, you want to stay and do what you can do."
Wright was in Afghanistan when Capt. Nichola Goddard died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on May 17.
The night before, she had performed for soldiers set to leave for the front lines.
The mood started out sombre, says the country crooner, but it wasn't long before everyone was clapping and singing.
Wright didn't meet Goddard, but she says the overall experience -- along with the recent terrorism-related arrests in Toronto -- has left her more certain than ever that Canada is a target of radical extremists.
"They do not agree with our lifestyle and so they think we need to be eliminated," Wright says emphatically.
"It's not about oil, it's not about whatever ... It's about the radicals wanting to eliminate us."
The experience has so affected Wright that she's thinking about writing a book.
"I want to go again," says Wright, whose trips to Zambia and Honduras in 2002 and 2004 spurred her to sponsor a child from each of the impoverished countries.
"Maybe I can interview -- nobody has to give names -- but tell me, soldier guy, tell me really what you think, and the families, too. I'd really like to do something like that, so we'll see. I want the Canadian people to be proud."
The Nashville-based singer, known for hits including Take It Like A Man and He Would Be Sixteen, just published a book last year. It was a day-by-day account of her experiences titled, Wright A Year In The Life: The Journals Of Michelle Wright.
She plans to put up photos and journals from her trip to Afghanistan on her website within a couple of weeks.
But a political song about the war is not in the works.
"Politics to me is a very grey place. I don't know what the truth is," says Wright, who grew up in the small farming community of Merlin, Ont.
These days, she's focused on returning to her roots with her first full slate of country material in 10 years. After dabbling in pop, gospel and adult contemporary genres, Wright dives into southern-tinged melodies with Everything And More.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.07.08
SOURCE: BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI, CP
But weeks later, Michelle Wright says she longs to return to that army base in Afghanistan, where she slept in a tent, sat elbow-to-elbow with soldiers at breakfast and was left stunned upon learning of Canada's first female soldier to die in Afghanistan.
"I miss those soldiers," Wright says in a recent interview to promote her new album, Everything And More.
"Every artist that I went with who had either been there before or has just returned, we'd been e-mailing going, 'I miss it, I wonder how they're doing over there, I wish we were getting up this morning and going to have breakfast with those guys and gals.'
"It's just a funny thing because you almost hate to leave, you want to stay and do what you can do."
Wright was in Afghanistan when Capt. Nichola Goddard died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on May 17.
The night before, she had performed for soldiers set to leave for the front lines.
The mood started out sombre, says the country crooner, but it wasn't long before everyone was clapping and singing.
Wright didn't meet Goddard, but she says the overall experience -- along with the recent terrorism-related arrests in Toronto -- has left her more certain than ever that Canada is a target of radical extremists.
"They do not agree with our lifestyle and so they think we need to be eliminated," Wright says emphatically.
"It's not about oil, it's not about whatever ... It's about the radicals wanting to eliminate us."
The experience has so affected Wright that she's thinking about writing a book.
"I want to go again," says Wright, whose trips to Zambia and Honduras in 2002 and 2004 spurred her to sponsor a child from each of the impoverished countries.
"Maybe I can interview -- nobody has to give names -- but tell me, soldier guy, tell me really what you think, and the families, too. I'd really like to do something like that, so we'll see. I want the Canadian people to be proud."
The Nashville-based singer, known for hits including Take It Like A Man and He Would Be Sixteen, just published a book last year. It was a day-by-day account of her experiences titled, Wright A Year In The Life: The Journals Of Michelle Wright.
She plans to put up photos and journals from her trip to Afghanistan on her website within a couple of weeks.
But a political song about the war is not in the works.
"Politics to me is a very grey place. I don't know what the truth is," says Wright, who grew up in the small farming community of Merlin, Ont.
These days, she's focused on returning to her roots with her first full slate of country material in 10 years. After dabbling in pop, gospel and adult contemporary genres, Wright dives into southern-tinged melodies with Everything And More.
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2006.07.08
SOURCE: BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI, CP
Sunday, July 02, 2006
QW - the Art of Leadership
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”
- Dwight Eisenhower
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
2,300 NEW TRUCKS REVVING UP CANADIAN FORCES; $1.2B pledged for high-tech vehicles Delivery slated to begin in 2008
The Canadian Forces will get 2,300 new high-tech logistics trucks as part of a $15 billion cash injection into the military, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor announced yesterday.
The trucks, which come with a $1.2 billion price tag, will allow the Forces "to do correctly the work Canadians expect of them, inside the country and abroad," O'Connor said at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Quebec City.
O'Connor's shopping list includes 1,500 vehicles built exclusively for military purposes, and 800 commercial trucks which will be adapted for the army.
The trucks come on top of plans to acquire 300 defence systems for the Forces' armoured vehicles, 300 special tow trucks and 1,000 pieces of equipment for specialized vehicles, such as mobile kitchens and offices. Delivery of the equipment is expected to begin in 2008 following a call for tenders, and continue until 2010.
O'Connor said it's about time the Forces' aging fleet of trucks was replaced.
"The replacement of our current fleet of trucks, which came into service in the early 1980s, is long-overdue," he said.
It's the second straight day that O'Connor has announced defence spending, and other announcements are expected this week.
In Halifax on Monday, O'Connor revealed a $2.1 billion plan to build three navy supply ships.
The new trucks will allow the military to reduce transportation costs and cut down deployment time, O'Connor added.
About 800 of the vehicles will be set aside for use in Canada, while as many as 300 trucks will be outfitted to suit needs in Afghanistan.
Public Works Minister Michael Fortier said Canada will look to companies from its NATO partners to build the new fleet. But he added that didn't mean Canadian companies won't stand to benefit from the defence spending.
For every dollar a supplier receives from his contract with the government, it will have to reinvest an equal amount into the Canadian economy, Fortier said. "The money will be spent over many years, in some cases up to 20 years."
O'Connor defended the huge cost outlay for the equipment.
"The armed forces have been under-financed for 12 years," he said.
"We have to spend a lot of money to correct that and allow them do their job fully."
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Martin Ouellet Canadian Press
SOURCE: Canadian Press
The trucks, which come with a $1.2 billion price tag, will allow the Forces "to do correctly the work Canadians expect of them, inside the country and abroad," O'Connor said at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Quebec City.
O'Connor's shopping list includes 1,500 vehicles built exclusively for military purposes, and 800 commercial trucks which will be adapted for the army.
The trucks come on top of plans to acquire 300 defence systems for the Forces' armoured vehicles, 300 special tow trucks and 1,000 pieces of equipment for specialized vehicles, such as mobile kitchens and offices. Delivery of the equipment is expected to begin in 2008 following a call for tenders, and continue until 2010.
O'Connor said it's about time the Forces' aging fleet of trucks was replaced.
"The replacement of our current fleet of trucks, which came into service in the early 1980s, is long-overdue," he said.
It's the second straight day that O'Connor has announced defence spending, and other announcements are expected this week.
In Halifax on Monday, O'Connor revealed a $2.1 billion plan to build three navy supply ships.
The new trucks will allow the military to reduce transportation costs and cut down deployment time, O'Connor added.
About 800 of the vehicles will be set aside for use in Canada, while as many as 300 trucks will be outfitted to suit needs in Afghanistan.
Public Works Minister Michael Fortier said Canada will look to companies from its NATO partners to build the new fleet. But he added that didn't mean Canadian companies won't stand to benefit from the defence spending.
For every dollar a supplier receives from his contract with the government, it will have to reinvest an equal amount into the Canadian economy, Fortier said. "The money will be spent over many years, in some cases up to 20 years."
O'Connor defended the huge cost outlay for the equipment.
"The armed forces have been under-financed for 12 years," he said.
"We have to spend a lot of money to correct that and allow them do their job fully."
PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Martin Ouellet Canadian Press
SOURCE: Canadian Press
TALIBAN WEAKEN IN NORTHERN KANDAHAR: Rift among factions, Canadian forces say
Taliban fighters have had a falling-out in one of their strongest mountain redoubts in northern Kandahar province, with one faction apparently prepared to give up the fight against Canadian combat forces deployed in the area, coalition officials say.
"What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale."
The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved Canadian, U.S., British and Dutch forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas across Afghanistan's four southern provinces to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating back into the country from Pakistan. The offensive has been backed by U.S. air power including B-1 and B-52 bombers.
"The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, PPCLI. "They are very cognizant that they cannot meet our force with force. We are convinced the days o f the Taliban are over. Every now and then they do something that the media thinks is spectacular. They are a threat and a security issue, but they run from us.
While there has been no fighting between Canadians and the Taliban in northern Kandahar recently, Hope said that Panjwai, an agricultural area just to the west of Kandahar City, remained "the main centre for Taliban now. That's where their numbers are."
Canadian troops already have been involved in several deadly battles with the Taliban in Panjwai's labyrinthine orchards and vineyards. Commanders have indicated they will return there as often as necessary to deal with the Taliban threat.
But in southern Afghanistan yesterday, violence raged across the region, killing 29 suspected militants, two British soldiers and two Afghan troops and the U.S.-led coalition pressed on with its largest military offensive here since 2001, officials said.
Resurgent Taliban militants and extremist allies are waging their fiercest campaign against Afghan and coalition forces since the extremist regime was toppled after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
British forces came under attack early yesterday in the Sangin valley of southern Helmand province, where Britain has 3,300 troops, the British Defence Ministry said.
Two British soldiers were killed and one wounded in the firefight, said Capt. Drew Gibson, a military spokesperson. Five suspected militants were also killed.
The last British combat death was June 11. In all, 10 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since November 2001.
Militants also ambushed an Afghan army patrol in Musa Qala, a remote Helmand provincial district about 30 kilometres north of Sangin, said Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi, the Afghan army commander in southern Afghanistan.
Two Afghan soldiers and 11 Taliban insurgents were killed in the fighting, Roufi said.
Online Extra: For thousands of soldiers, celebrating Canada Day in the sweltering emptiness of the Afghan desert is at best a wistful experience.
PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER
"What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale."
The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved Canadian, U.S., British and Dutch forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas across Afghanistan's four southern provinces to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating back into the country from Pakistan. The offensive has been backed by U.S. air power including B-1 and B-52 bombers.
"The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, PPCLI. "They are very cognizant that they cannot meet our force with force. We are convinced the days o f the Taliban are over. Every now and then they do something that the media thinks is spectacular. They are a threat and a security issue, but they run from us.
While there has been no fighting between Canadians and the Taliban in northern Kandahar recently, Hope said that Panjwai, an agricultural area just to the west of Kandahar City, remained "the main centre for Taliban now. That's where their numbers are."
Canadian troops already have been involved in several deadly battles with the Taliban in Panjwai's labyrinthine orchards and vineyards. Commanders have indicated they will return there as often as necessary to deal with the Taliban threat.
But in southern Afghanistan yesterday, violence raged across the region, killing 29 suspected militants, two British soldiers and two Afghan troops and the U.S.-led coalition pressed on with its largest military offensive here since 2001, officials said.
Resurgent Taliban militants and extremist allies are waging their fiercest campaign against Afghan and coalition forces since the extremist regime was toppled after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
British forces came under attack early yesterday in the Sangin valley of southern Helmand province, where Britain has 3,300 troops, the British Defence Ministry said.
Two British soldiers were killed and one wounded in the firefight, said Capt. Drew Gibson, a military spokesperson. Five suspected militants were also killed.
The last British combat death was June 11. In all, 10 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since November 2001.
Militants also ambushed an Afghan army patrol in Musa Qala, a remote Helmand provincial district about 30 kilometres north of Sangin, said Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi, the Afghan army commander in southern Afghanistan.
Two Afghan soldiers and 11 Taliban insurgents were killed in the fighting, Roufi said.
Online Extra: For thousands of soldiers, celebrating Canada Day in the sweltering emptiness of the Afghan desert is at best a wistful experience.
PUBLICATION: Montreal Gazette
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: MATTHEW FISHER
TALIBAN SAID SPLIT OVER FIGHTING CANADIANS
ZAMTO KALAY, Afghanistan -- Taliban fighters have had a falling-out in one of their strongest mountain redoubts in northern Kandahar province, with one faction apparently prepared to give up the fight against Canadian combat forces deployed in the area, coalition officials say.
"What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale."
The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating into the country from Pakistan.
"The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Bn, PPCLI.
PUBLICATION: Vancouver Sun
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Matthew Fisher
"What I'm seeing is very positive here. There has been a split in the local leadership," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. "There are indications that one group does not want to fight any more. There have been yelling matches with words that are not characteristic in the culture. That is tremendous for the people here and has really boosted our morale."
The Canadian battle group is wrapping up its part in Operation Mountain Thrust, which has been the biggest coalition offensive in Afghanistan in more than four years. The operation has involved forces moving into remote Taliban-held areas to counter a large and violent push by Taliban insurgents infiltrating into the country from Pakistan.
"The Taliban are literally watching us all the time, but they are unable to mount co-ordinated attacks," said Maj. Kirk Gallinger of Alpha Company, 1st Bn, PPCLI.
PUBLICATION: Vancouver Sun
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Matthew Fisher
WOUNDED SOLDIERS ARE BACK IN CANADA
EDMONTON - Three Canadian soldiers who were wounded in Afghanistan returned to Canada on Tuesday.
Capt. Joseph Larose flew to Edmonton and Corp. Ryan Elrick and Master Corp. Gregory White landed in Winnipeg.
All three were wounded by roadside bombs on June 21.
Land Force Western Area spokesperson Katie McLaughlin said the soldiers' injuries are serious but not life-threatening.
PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Laura Payton
Capt. Joseph Larose flew to Edmonton and Corp. Ryan Elrick and Master Corp. Gregory White landed in Winnipeg.
All three were wounded by roadside bombs on June 21.
Land Force Western Area spokesperson Katie McLaughlin said the soldiers' injuries are serious but not life-threatening.
PUBLICATION: Edmonton Journal
DATE: 2006.06.28
BYLINE: Laura Payton
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