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Topic: Afghanistan - 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment - 2006-2007 (Read 15134 times)
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Well Dalt, you raise some intersting points and I guess it all revolves down to what we, as now non-serving Royal Canadians, can do to see that the issue of finding good men to volunteer to fill the regimental ranks does not suffer through lack of awareness. Really, much as the fire burns within, we're a bunch of out of shape civvys now and would, in all probabilty, only break down in the harsh environment the troops are serving in. Worse, become a liability to the lads that deserve better. I know I'd probably melt in the temperatures they are operating in. Bitter reality, yes? Cest le Guerre... What the answer is to the recruiting dillema is I really do not know but, well, I like to think there is something that I or we, as RCRs in damn fine standing, can do to at least be an presence for those considering a career in the Canadian Armed Forces and, if they got the cajones to serve at the pointy end of the stick, show them The Royal Canadian Regiment is the answer.
Most of our youth within the realm of elistment age, methinks, do not even know we exist. The Patricias have been attaining most of the press for the past year as far as combat arms go and, well, the lure of the airforce and , to a lesser extent, can't be dismissed.
Perhaps opportunity is knocking.
The lads of the 1st battalion, by God, have already delivered the greatest victory in Afghanistan since the taliban was driven into exhile. This is something maybe we can build on at home. I think we, as retired Royal Canadians, must become more visible. We must fly the banner whenever possible, specially on our vehicles or flag poles, if you got one, at the cottage and/or home. Apply for the veterans plate if you deserve it and, as I do, put some Regimental stickers on either side of the licence plate (1st and 3rd) and that grandaddy of of a sticker they got at the regimental kitshop... http://www.thercrkitshop.com/index.php?page=products/index.php&indid=333 ... on the right and the Support the Troops ribbon on the left. I know, it sounds kinda hokey. But when you add a penchant for RCR golf and T-shirts or the gray Canadian Army t-shirt they sell at the kit shop with, of course, the ever present RCR ball cap... I got to tell you, brother, Im, a freaking walking, driving billboard!
It's not much, but damn it, its something.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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A sad, but dignified, ceremony. I hope the population of Khandahar takes note realizes that, unless they conform to the rules, there will be deadly repercussions. What choice do our soldiers have when to hesitate potentially results in one, or many, of our brothers in arms suffering at the hands of some misguided wacko wrapped in HE. At the moment, no news.... which, I suggest, is good news.
A solemn ceremony for Afghan 10-year-old
GRAEME SMITH
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- The wail of bagpipes and the roar of jet engines filled the air at Kandahar airfield last night, as the Canadian military said farewell to a fallen soldier.
But silence hung over another goodbye yesterday, a smaller ceremony for a 10-year-old Afghan boy killed by a Canadian bullet.
No eulogy was spoken, and no explanation for why a soldier guarding a street in Kandahar fired at him.
There was a gesture of respect for the boy's family, however. He had spent almost 24 hours in the hands of foreigners -- first at Camp Nathan Smith, the home of Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team, where he was shot about half a kilometre outside the gates, and then at the Kandahar airfield's military hospital.
After he was declared dead, he was zipped into a black body bag and laid on a stretcher.
Sergeant Paul Turner, a military bodyguard who normally guards the PRT commander, was assigned the task of loading the small corpse into a LAV-3 armoured vehicle and taking him to his family.
It could have been a crude delivery, but the Canadians wanted something more dignified. They parked the LAV outside the blue metal gates of Camp Nathan Smith, a short distance from the blue-and-silver sport-utility vehicle the boy's father intended to use as a hearse.
About a dozen Afghan police and Canadian soldiers formed two lines between the military and civilian vehicles. Soldiers saluted as the corpse was carried out of the LAV's back ramp and loaded into the SUV.
"It was a pretty sobering experience for everybody," Sgt. Turner said. "It was pretty quiet. Nobody knew what to say. I just wanted to call my own children."
The bodyguard had another reason for wanting to check on his family. He had dealt with another child victim of war the previous day, when he performed first aid on a young girl who was hit by a suicide bomb. She died shortly afterward.
That same bomb killed a Canadian soldier and resulted in the military roadblock where the 10-year-old was shot two hours later.
Sgt. Turner did eventually find a quiet moment to call home. His four children -- ages 18, 15, 9 and 6 -- are all okay, he said, although security rules prevented him from explaining to his wife all the reasons why he needed to talk. Watching that grieving father take away his son's body has left an ugly image in his mind's eye, he said, and that picture will probably stay with him forever.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Dave Brydon
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Mike, Dalton, Jerry; I think your all right in some respect, conditioning and age possibly being the biggest factors. However, you’re missing the primary ingredient we all carry…experience and solid soldiering skills.
Although the CF may not be willing to consider us as valid assets to be utilized; well, it wouldn’t be the first time these great thinkers have missed the boat. Regardless, positive examples are – prior to both the First and Second World Wars, old soldiers were brought back into the system to establish training cells, thus freeing up more troops of the regular force.
I think the point is, we the soldiers of yesterday, can be placed in a great many positions within the army machine to keep the wheels turning efficiently…to discount such an option, would indicate that the CF has limited views, which equates to leaders with limited views…all bad points for leaders fighting a tactical war.
As for the physical fitness aspect, well, some of us can probably do more or less then others…but we would not be hired to do pushups, or carry rucksacks; again, our strength is in our experience. The CF has a multitude of jobs that retired soldiers could easily manage: some ex-soldiers may be brought in directly, while others could go through a limited re-introductory course to see where they skills sets may be of the best use – just a consideration!
Cheers,
Dave
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"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom."
-George Patton
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Well; As they say ," old soldiers never die".. i won't go on with the rest of that... you should maybe fire a email off to the Min of Nat Defence.. one thing is for sure, if the Gov. is having problems with recruiting they will need all the young bucks that are trained to go to the sharp point. You guys could not only free them up, but also give invaluable experience in training new guys.. just a thoought.. you all seem keen.Why not find out here and on other sites how many old boys..you can muster and get an e mail off to the Min of Nat Defence, ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Know Thyself. An ancient sage once said and, much as the fire bruns bright and always has within, I'm fifty years old, have had two back operations and the continuing disability from the last butchering pretty well precludes any form of formal service on my behalf. I'm not bitchin, just stating a fact.
That being said, we can all help out, regardless of age or condition. It is to us to demonstrate our support the lads on the ground and, just as importantly, when they come home with medical issues. A number of the PPCLI lads have returned to Canada with serious head and orthapedic injuries to their arms and legs and, much as I dislike saying this, it would be unrealistic to think that our lads will not suffer similar injuries at some juncture. I spent a year in or on the NDMC hospital list prior to release, you feel pretty isolated from the family, specially when your pinned to the rack. Trust me, your letter will make a difference.
Heres the address for Afghanistan. When the time comes, God forbid, I will find the address of NDMC in Ottawa and post it.
OP ARCHER - Afghanistan
Sending post cards/letters
If you do not know the name, rank and section of the person you are sending the post card to, please use the following address:
Any Canadian Soldier (Any Royal Canadian!)
OP ARCHER
PO Box 5058 Stn Forces
Belleville ON K8N 5W6
Good to see the lads from the west are recieving the accolades they deserve.
Fallen soldiers remembered as heroes
working.com jobs
Jim Farrell, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
EDMONTON -- Tears and long goodbyes for the dead marked an Edmonton Garrison memorial service for seven fallen soldiers Friday.
Six months ago, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram, Cpl. Christopher Reid, Cpl. Bryce Keller, Pte. Kevin Dallaire, Cpl. Francisco Gomez, Cpl. Andrew Eykelenboom and Master Cpl. Raymond Arndt were among the 1,500 soldiers who left Edmonton for Afghanistan to help bring peace to the war-ravaged country. But the tour has been marked by escalating levels of ambushes, pitched battles and suicide bombings, inflicting casualties not seen since the Korean War 55 years ago.
To mark their sacrifice, many soldiers who recently returned from Afghanistan joined those who had stayed behind in a solemn ceremony in the base's Lecture Training Centre.
Some Afghan vets turned up for the ceremony in the speckled brown desert camouflage uniforms they had worn while on duty. Others had already returned to their mottled green traditional uniforms. Among those dressed in green was one soldier who entered the building slowly, on crutches.
Master Cpl. Paul Franklin had been involved in the first suicide bombing to hit the deployment, a Jan. 15th blast that killed Canadian diplomat Glyn Berry and severely wounded three soldiers riding with him in an armoured G-Wagon.
Franklin, the driver of the G-Wagon, lost both legs below the knees. Friday marked his first day back in uniform.
"It's tough. It's really tough, putting the uniform back on," said Franklin, whose entry into the hall was marked with cheers and well-wishes from his fellow soldiers.
The pace of losses for Canadian soldiers has only increased in the final weeks. On Aug. 3, as insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades attacked a Canadian position, an RPG round flew through the door of a Canadian-occupied building, exploded and killed three soldiers. It wounded even more, including Capt. John Hamilton, the platoon commander.
Hamilton showed up for Friday's memorial ceremony in a wheelchair. He grieved for his lost men but never shed a tear.
"It's all part of a soldier's makeup to hold it together," he said.
Approximately 1,000 people attended the ceremony and stood quietly as a trumpeter played the Last Post and a piper played a mournful dirge, followed by the trumpeter who picked up the pace with Reveille, a musical reminder to troops life must go on.
And it will, said Jim Leddy, a veteran of the Korean War. Leddy, 76, was a teenager when he joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He had barely entered his 20s when his 2nd Battalion was sent to Asia. He hadn't yet turned 21 when his battalion engaged Chinese troops at the Kapyong reservoir. Thirteen Canadian soldiers died in that firefight.
"It comes with being a soldier," said Leddy.
Meanwhile, troops at Canadian Forces Base Shilo near Brandon, Man., also marked the loss of one of their comrades Friday. Friends and family of Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh held a memorial for the 33-year-old, killed in a weapons-related accident Aug. 8 outside Kandahar. He is one of two soldiers from Shilo killed this month in Afghanistan.
A suicide bomber hit a military convoy on Tuesday, killing Cpl. David Braun, 27. A funeral in Braun's hometown of Raymor, Sask., will be held next week. A memorial at CFB Shilo is expected some time afterward.
Re injuries..... this story is western based but, daring to assume, (yeah yeah, I now, ass of you and me...) I would think out lads will be med-evaced to NDMC as was I in 84 when 1 RCR was in Cyprus.
What happens to the wounded when they come home?
On the long road to recovery
KATHERINE HARDING
EDMONTON -- While the country has stopped to mourn 27 young Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, the sacrifices of dozens more quietly continue at home, as they slowly recover from their battle wounds.
Edmonton has emerged as a key hub for treating the returning wounded: The University of Alberta and Glenrose Rehabilitation hospitals are becoming this country's version of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the U.S. military hospital that treats hundreds of soldiers.
A small army of military and civilian medical staff in Edmonton have had to come to terms with this new reality very quickly due to the jump in battlefield casualties since Canada's combat duties increased earlier this year.
Doctors say those who return on stretchers are also coming back with devastating head injuries and damaged or lost limbs -- wounds more severe than military medical staff have seen in previous conflicts. Modern body armour is saving the lives of soldiers who would have died in battles of yesteryear.
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The Globe and Mail
Soldiers, too, are struggling to cope with this new reality.
Only a few months ago, Private Brent Ginther was a 20-year-old small-town Alberta boy dodging bullets on the hot, dusty battlefields of Afghanistan.
Today, he is surrounded by wheelchairs, seniors playing shuffleboard and long days of physiotherapy as he recovers at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
His life was transformed forever on June 12, when those flying bullets finally caught up to the infantry soldier posted with the 1 Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Charlie Company.
He was shot in both thighs after his platoon tried to capture Taliban insurgents who were cornered behind a grape hut. He now uses a wheelchair.
"I couldn't really see them and I don't think they could see me. I guess they got lucky," the plain-spoken 6-foot-1 soldier said from his hospital bed.
Pte. Ginther's thin legs are strapped into braces. Dressed in blue-and-white striped pyjamas and a camouflage-coloured baseball hat, he is surrounded by books and movies, including Office Space, Anger Management and a thick tome about the history of heavy metal band AC/DC.
He doesn't recall being dragged into a waiting helicopter after he was shot. He barely remembers the emergency surgeries that Canadian medics performed at a field hospital in Kandahar for two days. It's all lost in a fog of painkillers.
His memories only start to flicker back to life after he was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where he said doctors "cut a lot of muscle out because it died from not getting enough oxygen from the tourniquets being on too long."
After six days, he was flown to Edmonton to begin his long recovery and determined struggle to walk again.
That now familiar route -- Afghanistan to Germany to Canada -- has been taken by about 20 seriously wounded Canadian soldiers since January. Dozens more have made the trip since Canada's military was first dispatched to the war-torn country in 2002.
Not since Canada's involvement in the Korean War more than 50 years ago have so many of this country's soldiers been killed or maimed on the battlefield.
Because most of the more than 2,000 soldiers who were sent to Afghanistan earlier this year for a six-month tour were from the Edmonton army base, medical staff there were charged with fine-tuning the plan to treat the first large group of returning wounded.
Major William Patton, Edmonton's base surgeon and most senior medical officer, said his staff had been preparing for the possibility of increased casualties for a year, and is confident as outfits from other Canadian military bases begin to rotate through Afghanistan, they can learn from Edmonton's experience.
"These practices will be shared nationally," he said.
Major Patton, a 41-year-old former reservist who joined the military full-time more than a year ago, said he sat down with administrators at the U of A hospital and Glenrose to explain the impending situation.
He said the reaction by both facilities has been "overwhelmingly positive and supportive," with each supplying ample resources and staff when the call goes out that another soldier has been injured.
When the wounded first arrive in Edmonton, most are taken directly to the U of A hospital, where stays range between three days and several months. A pseudo-military wing on the hospital's third floor, referred to as 3F2, has emerged mainly because it has trauma nurses who have become familiar with dealing with serious combat injuries.
Major Patton said military doctors, surgeons and nurses are "embedded" in both hospitals to assist with the soldiers' recovery because "they bring a military perspective to their care."
Combat wounds are more complex to treat than injuries normally seen by a Canadian doctor, he added. The two most common suffered by returning soldiers are head wounds, and orthopedic injuries to arms and legs.
Major Robert Stiegelmar, one of two military orthopedic surgeons based in Edmonton, said most of the seriously wounded he has treated likely would have died if not for recent advancements in body armour that protects their vital organs, especially from bomb attacks.
"More people are surviving, and because of that we are seeing things we haven't, like a person coming in with two broken feet instead of just one," said the 41-year-old father of four who is being deployed to Kandahar on Monday.
He said these injuries use a lot of hospital resources because they require repetitive surgical procedures to repair the damaged skin, bone and even nerves. For example, soldiers who are hurt in a bomb blast often require up to 20 operations -- every two to three days -- on their damaged limbs. During a soldier's recovery, every member is assigned to what the military call an assisting officer upon their return to Canada. That person is essentially at the beck and call of the soldier until she or he no longer requires help, or leaves the military.
Petty Officer 1st Class Ron Roberts was assigned to Pte. Ginther when he flew back to Edmonton last June. "I'm at his disposal basically 24/7. My normal daily duties come second," he said. "Brent and his family are No. 1 over everything else."
PO1 Roberts said that Pte. Ginther's "overall outlook" has changed 100 per cent since they first met. "He's got a tough road ahead of him. But I think, overall, he has come to terms with the situation and is moving forward. He's a tough guy."
There are still a lot of unknowns for Pte. Ginther. He doesn't know when he will be able to walk again. He doesn't know what he wants to do with the rest of his life.
"I don't know," he sighs. "I've come up with a million different things. Never just one thing sticks in my head."
Pte. Ginther expects that he will apply for a medical release after he is rehabilitated and returns home to Coaldale (population 6,000).
"But I don't know what comes after that."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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An update, another so called *accidental* shooting.
I'm beginning to think the Afghan authorities just don't get it. Specially the police who first allowed the kids through the barricade the other day then dont follow the damn SOPs for approaching heavily armed Canadian soldiers now. This was not a mistake, its an act of gross negligence on behalf of the Afghan police commander... like what did he think was going to happen when his truck, frull of armed civies (NO UNIFORMS) comes at one of our formations and fails to stop when they are told to stop? Same with the bonehead on the scooter....
Canadian solider mistakenly kills police officer
GRAEME SMITH
Globe and Mail Update
Kandahar — Canadian soldiers killed an Afghan policeman and wounded six others in the dusty flatlands west of Kandahar city today, mistaking their allies for enemies in the increasingly confused battlefields of southern Afghanistan.
The shooting comes just four days after a Canadian soldier shot two youths riding a motorcycle, killing a 10-year-old boy.
The latest incidents happened around a makeshift camp about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar, where a Canadian artillery troop had stopped for the night in the open desert.
A truck filled with Afghan National Police members, armed but wearing local clothing, drove towards the Canadians around 12:20 p.m. local time.
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The Globe and Mail
The truck didn't stop after repeated warnings, a Canadian official said.
"The persons in the vehicle opened fire in response to warning shots fired by the Canadians," said Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent in Afghanistan. "It is at this time that the Canadian soldiers returned fire on the vehicle and its six occupants."
He added: "In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, five of the Afghans travelling in the vehicle were injured. There were no Canadian casualties."
Just 45 minutes later, a similar incident unfolded at the same location. Two men, also believed to be Afghan National Police officers, drove towards the artillery troop on a motorbike.
Again ignoring warnings, the men driving the motorbike were struck by Canadian gunfire.
"Of the seven casualties from the two incidents, one Afghan national security force member has since succumbed to his injuries," Col. Lewis said.
"It would appear the Canadian soldiers reacted in self-defense in both incidents, one of which was regrettably a friendly force on friendly force incident. ... We share an extremely close and professional relationship with the Afghan National Police and we deeply regret this incident."
The Canadian military leadership hasn't yet made formal contact with its counterpart in Afghanistan to talk about the shooting, Col. Lewis said. But the incident is likely to hurt relations with local Afghans, whose Pashtun culture has strong requirements for avenging a family member's death.
Most of the Canadian soldiers now deployed in southern Afghanistan arrived within the last month, as a new rotation replaces outgoing troops. It's been a difficult month for the new arrivals, as they witnessed eight Canadian deaths since beginning of August.
"I would say, right now, that the soldiers have acted exactly in accordance with the rules of engagement and the training they have undergone," Col. Lewis said. "They did what they had to do."
another report
Canadian troops kill Afghan police officer, injure six others
Donald McArthur, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian troops shot and killed an Afghan national police officer and injured four others Saturday and then shot and injured two other officers riding a scooter 40 minutes later in an incident reminiscent of the fatal shooting of a young Afghan boy by a Canadian soldier Tuesday.
The firefight began about 12:20 p.m., west of Kandahar City, when armed Afghan police officers in plainclothes "rapidly approached" a Canadian position and "failed to heed" repeated warnings to stop, said Col. Fred Lewis, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan.
"It is believed that the persons in the civilian vehicle opened fire in response to warning shots fired by the Canadians. It was at this time that Canadian soldiers returned fire on the vehicle and its six occupants," said Lewis.
Troops didn't recognize the truck's occupants as police officers in plainclothes because "neither their vehicle nor their immediate appearance readily identified them as such."
Forty minutes after the fatal shooting, two plainclothes officers riding a scooter approached the same Canadian position and were shot at after ignoring warnings that including warning fire, said Lewis.
One was wounded by a single gun shot and it is unclear how the other officer was injured. There were no Canadian casualties in either incident.
"It would appear Canadian soldiers reacted in self-defence in both incidents," said Lewis. "We share an extremely close and professional working relationship with the Afghan national police and deeply regret the incident."
On Tuesday, a single bullet fired by a Canadian soldier killed a young Afghan boy and injured another about two hours after a Canadian soldier was killed and three injured in a suicide bombing in Kandahar.
The military said the two civilians had approached a Canadian security cordon at a high rate of speed and ignored warning shots before the fatal shot was fired.
That incident and Saturday's incidents will be investigated by Canada's Military Intelligence Service, an independent and internal body.
© CanWest News Service 2006
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Hi Mike and all: Geez, you got a lot of good stuff here and i think we all need to put on our thinkin caps and come up with things" we " can do for both the guys "over there " and the guys back here, for all will be "injured " in some way and will need support in many ways. I know there is an infrastructure for this but think the vets can be a big help in many ways too.. lets all get our caps on and try to get thru what is /will be needed here. Good stuff Mike, ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Your probably right on the money there, drummy.  Can't help but get soft once you hang up yer beret.
Back to Afghanistan.
Another apology, not one I'm sure we really have to offer but, in an effort to cultivate a healthy working environment between the troops and the Afghan police forces, I can understand why it was tendered. What I can't understand is why the Afghans do no respond when you put a round over there heads.....
Cdn. military apologizes for friendly fire death
Updated Sat. Aug. 26 2006 9:33 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The Canadian military has issued an apology for fatally shooting an Afghan National Police officer and injuring six others in two friendly fire incidents Saturday.
"One Afghan National Police officer has been killed and six others have been injured after two incidents that happened shortly after lunchtime today about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar City," said CTV's Matt McClure in Kandahar.
Canadian troops had set up an artillery position in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar, when an unmarked truck carrying armed men in civilian clothes approached in the distance.
The soldiers launched warning shots but the occupants returned fire, prompting the Canadians to retaliate.
"They say they believe the people in that vehicle opened fire in response to their warning shots and that it was at that time the Canadians returned fire on the vehicle and the ... people in it," said McClure.
All five occupants of the vehicle were injured and one later died.
Canadians later discovered that the men were Afghan police officers in plain clothes.
About 45 minutes later, a fast-moving motorcycle with two people approached the same position.
They also ignored warnings to stop and were fired on by Canadian troops.
The two victims also turned out to be Afghan National Police officers.
Calling NATO's relationship with the Afghan National Police a close one, Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of NATO's international force in Afghanistan, expressed deep regret for the incidents.
However, he said that Canadian troops were reacting in self defence.
"I would say right now that the soldiers have behaved exactly as they should under their rules of engagement and the training they've undergone," said Lewis.
On Tuesday, a 10-year-old boy was killed and a teenager was severely wounded after they approached a Canadian checkpoint on a motorcycle at high speed. In that incident, soldiers opened fire on the boys after they ignored warnings to stop.
Earlier that day, a Canadian soldier was killed and three others were injured when a suicide bomber struck a Canadian convoy in Kandahar.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Update from the war zone...
Mortar attack injures Canadian soldier near Kandahar
Last Updated Sun, 27 Aug 2006 10:48:26 EDT
CBC News
A Canadian soldier was among seven people hurt Sunday in a mortar attack on a military operating base near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
The soldier, who has not been publicly identified, suffered minor injuries when a number of mortar shells pounded the Zhari District Centre, which is frequently used by Canadian troops to launch operations.
It's about 30 kilometres south of Kandahar, where the main coalition troops are based.
The mortar attack also hurt six other people, believed to be Afghan soldiers.
Zhari District Centre has become a target of insurgent attacks. Militants frequently fire mortars, small arms and rocket-propelled grenades from areas surrounding it.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Good Lord, how could anyone figure out why the Afghan Police do not even have enough sense to conduct themselves in accordance with the agreed terms of agreement ...how can our people deal with that??? They follow the rules of engagement and that is all they can do, if Afghanis,espec. police are acting in contrary, well,, people are going to be killed..good report Mike, what in the name of God can our guys do ,other than what they have been?? ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Conficting stories are now surfacing from Afghanistan with a little whining from the Afghan Police force about US!!!!
The F'n nerve!!!!
Canadians, Afghans at odds over killing of officer
Local forces ignored warnings: military
GRAEME SMITH
From Monday's Globe and Mail
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — An angry split emerged between Canadian and Afghan forces in a key district west of Kandahar city this weekend as they disagreed about the circumstances in which Canadian soldiers killed an Afghan police officer and injured six other people.
Soldiers fired twice on Saturday at vehicles they mistook for approaching enemies in the barren desert under the midday sun.
The Canadian military expressed deep regret after discovering that the troops had attacked Afghan security forces, their biggest allies in the fight against Taliban insurgents in the country's violent south.
But Canadian officials said the soldiers had reacted properly to a perceived threat, as the Afghans drove toward a Canadian artillery position about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar city at high speed in unmarked vehicles, carrying weapons but wearing local clothing.
The military says the Afghans continued to speed toward the Canadians' makeshift camp, despite warnings, and responded to warning shots by returning fire at the Canadians around 12:20 p.m. local time.
No Canadians were injured as the Afghans were quickly overwhelmed by a flurry of bullets, leaving one dead and four injured. A similar scenario repeated itself just 45 minutes later in the same location, as Canadians shot and wounded two men later identified as police as they approached on a motorbike.
"The key issue here is that the Afghan national security forces were not in uniform," said Colonel Fred Lewis, deputy commander of the Canadian contingent in Afghanistan.
That version of events was challenged by police and government officials in Zhari district, where the shooting happened.
Afghan National Police officers caught in the Canadian gunfire were wearing standard-issue police uniforms and driving white pickup trucks marked with the word "POLICE" in green lettering on the doors, two local officials said.
"The police are very upset, because the Canadians should know our vehicles by now," Haji Kheerdin, the Zhari district chief, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
"They especially should know the vehicles they bought for us," Mr. Kheerdin added.
He said one of the pickup trucks, following behind the vehicle hit by Canadian fire, was a clearly marked, four-door white Toyota donated to the police in a ceremony earlier this summer at the Canadian reconstruction headquarters in Kandahar.
Four of the injured officers had been wearing the local shawar kameez, consisting of a knee-length shirt and baggy trousers, because they work for the National Directorate of Security -- Afghanistan's intelligence agency -- and usually dress in plainclothes for their own protection, Mr. Kheerdin said.
Responding to questions last night, the Canadian military confirmed its view that none of the Afghan casualties had been wearing uniforms and that the police vehicles were unmarked.
"I can't really comment on why we're getting contradictory stories," Lieutenant-Commander Kris Phillips said.
The National Investigation Service, an independent agency that examines lethal-force incidents in the military, sent officers to the scene in Zhari district little more than two hours after first reports of the shooting, LCdr. Phillips said.
The NIS is already investigating the death of a 10-year-old boy last week, after Canadian soldiers in Kandahar city opened fire on a motorcycle that approached a military cordon and failed to stop when warned.
Beyond looking at the details of the latest shooting, however, Afghan officials say they're hoping that investigators will re-examine the Canadian soldiers' use-of-force training and improve the shoddy communication links with their Afghan allies.
Reporters embedded with Canadian troops are forbidden from reporting the rules of engagement that dictate when a soldier can shoot. But local Afghans say they have noticed the Canadians seem more willing to fire warning shots at civilians since a fresh rotation of troops arrived in late summer. It's been a difficult month for the new soldiers, as they witnessed eight Canadian deaths since the beginning of August.
Mr. Kheerdin blamed the new troops' lack of familiarity with his region.
The spectacle of a pickup truck full of plainclothes Afghan police, sometimes with their faces covered, usually overloaded with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Kalashnikov rifles, is an ordinary sight in the dangerous districts southwest of Kandahar. Local police are accustomed to roaring around the countryside at high speeds, forcing traffic to yield.
"It was a Canadian mistake, because they were in a new place," the district chief said. "They were not familiar with their surroundings."
Several other officials said the incident shows the urgent need for equipment that would allow Afghan forces to talk with their foreign counterparts. Some Afghan National Police are issued Icom or Motorola radios, but many fighting units have trouble finding enough bullets, much less communications equipment.
Police have been promised radios in Zhari district, but none have arrived. They rely instead on the Roshan mobile-phone network, which often fades out in the dusty wastelands.
"In police work, communications are very important," said a senior police official in Kandahar city. "Roshan is not enough. We need radios."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3203
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Anther good read....
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan deserve our support
SCOTT TAYLOR
On Target
ON AUG. 22, the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan suffered another major setback. Just outside their fortified camp in the centre of Kandahar, a suicide bomber targeted a small supply convoy returning from a Provincial Reconstruction Team base. The resulting blast killed Cpl. David Braun, injured three others and left two armoured vehicles blazing fiercely.
As the ammunition stored in the Canadian vehicles continued to "cook off" in the aftermath of the attack, the rapid response team from Camp Nathan Smith was sent out to secure the ambush site. It was several hours later that Canadian soldiers fired on an approaching motorcycle, seriously wounding the 17-year-old driver and killing his 10-year-old passenger.
The news that our soldiers had shot and killed an Afghan child — albeit under the belief that they were acting in self-defence — sent shock waves across Canada.
Over and over we have been told that our troops were sent to Afghanistan to "protect the weak and the vulnerable," and now that logic has been stood on its head. Once again Canadians have begun asking exactly what we hope to achieve in Kandahar and whether our soldiers’ sacrifice can be justified in the long run.
Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of defence staff, was quick to mount his own private PR counterattack. In an interview from St. John’s, Hillier told reporters that the incident would be fully investigated but that all preliminary indicators were that our soldiers had exercised the proper procedures within the rules of engagement. The general also opined that ultimately the blame for the boy’s death cannot be attributed to our soldiers.
"The conditions that caused that death to occur are set by the Taliban, who refuse to accept that a stable Afghanistan is better for all people there," claimed Hillier. Those familiar with recent history will understand that blaming the Taliban for all of Afghanistan’s woes is unfairly simplistic. The Soviet occupation in 1979 was mounted in an attempt to stabilize an Afghanistan already ravaged by factional violence.
After nine years of bloody gu | | | |
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