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Topic: Pte. Blake Williamson.1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. (Read 692 times)
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Private Blake Williamson, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, died yesterday morning while escorting engineers south of Pashmul in the Panjawaii district of Afghanistan. He will be missed. Rest in peace, young soldier, rest in peace.
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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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Jim Hickson
CWO H.J. Hickson, MMM, CD. (Retd)
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Pte Blake Williamson you paid the ultimate price Pro Patria
Jim Hickson
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1961-Depot San Lenorado
1962-1st Bn RCR Ex Gagetown
1962-JR NCO Course Grad 19 Oct
1962-1965 Germany B-C-D-A Coy (Revecated Nov 64)
1965-1967 Sigs Pl Cyprus Prom CPL 'til xmas and C of Drums
1967-1973 Cpl, MCpl, Sgt, Sigs, D Coy
1973-1977 CFOCS Chilliwack Prom WO
1977-1982 UEO, Sigs, Pl WO RECCE, CSM B&A Coy,
1982-1984 SIT School
1984-1988 Career Manager (Prom CWO 1986)
1988-1990 RSM 1RCR
1991-1995 CWO Adm(Per) - C Of S
1995-1999 Base CWO Wainwright
1999-Retired
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Statements from prime Minister and MND.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
OFFICE OF THE
PRIME MINISTER
DEPARTMENT OF
NATIONAL DEFENCE
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Statement by the Prime Minister on the deaths of Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson
October 15, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the deaths of Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson:
"It is with great sorrow that I extend my condolences to the loved ones of Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians.
"Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson were killed on October 14 when their unit was attacked by insurgents near the new roadway project in the Panjwayi area of Afghanistan.
"This road is being built by the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team and other Canadian units in partnership with Afghan officials, and is part of the ongoing development and reconstruction process that Canada is engaged in.
"It is with courage and heroism that Sergeant Darcy Tedford and Private Blake Williamson have sacrificed their life to bring stability, democracy and peace in Afghanistan.
"Three Canadian soldiers were also injured in the same incident. I know the prayers and thoughts of all Canadians are with their family and friends during this sad and difficult time.
"The Government of Canada stands proudly with our men and women of the Canadian Forces, as they devotedly continue this mission to help Afghans establish a better life for themselves, while also protecting us from the global threat of terrorism."
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Statement by the Minister of National Defence on the deaths of Sergeant Darcy Scott Tedford and Private Blake Neil Williamson
OTTAWA, ONTARIO - (Oct. 15, 2006) - The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today on the deaths of Sergeant Darcy Scott Tedford and Private Blake Neil Williamson:
"The Canadian Forces mourn the deaths of Sergeant Darcy Scott Tedford and Private Blake Neil Williamson who paid the ultimate sacrifice yesterday in Afghanistan.
"No words can express the grief of family and friends when loved ones are lost.
"My heartfelt thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Sergeant Tedford and Private Williamson. We also hope for a speedy recovery of those injured today.
"Sergeant Tedford and Private Williamson were killed when their unit was ambushed near a road development project in the Panjwayi area of Afghanistan, west of Kandahar.
"This road project is vital to local development and progress.
"The risks involved in our mission in Afghanistan are present, but the men and women of the Canadian Forces remain committed to the mission to help Afghan people establish a better future.
"Canadians support and commend their determination, and I am forever grateful for the sacrifice of Sergeant Tedford and Private Williamson."
Sergeant Tedford and Private Williamson were members of 1 Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ontario
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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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Slain soldier from Kemptville
By DEREK ABMA
Staff Writer
KEMPTVILLE -- Private Blake Neil Williamson has become the second soldier from Leeds and Grenville to be killed as part of Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan.
Williamson, 23, was killed with Sergeant Darcy Scott Tedford by a rocket-propelled grenade at the site of a roadway reconstruction project west of Kandahar on Saturday. Both men were part of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa.
Williamson was a native of Kemptville and was recently living in Ottawa.
The first solider from this region to be killed was Corporal Randy Payne, 32, in April.
Payne grew up in Gananoque and lived in Mallorytown for a number of years.
Williamson attended North Grenville District High School and graduated from there in 2001.
David Coombs, principal of Brockville Collegiate Institute, was vice-principal of the North Grenville school when Williamson attended. Coombs said he remembers Williamson as a student who was popular, friendly and respectful.
"I remember he was very social, had a lot of friends, and a wide range of friends," Coombs said.
"He was a polite young man. He was respectful. He was easy to get along with."
Coombs said Williamson, who was killed by the violence of war, was not violent himself in high school.
"As a vice-principal, generally you deal with discipline issues," he said. "I certainly never dealt with Blake getting into any type of altercation or disagreement. Mainly it was - it seems so trivial now - but late for class, that type of thing.
"Any interaction I had with him was always respectful."
Coombs said Williamson was a musician, playing guitar in a rock band during his high school years.
"He had a great interest in music," Coombs said.
He said there was nothing about Williamson at that time to indicate he was destined for a military career.
"When I see his picture in the paper in uniform, I remember him just as a normal teenager, walking the hallways of the school and getting along with people. It really hits home."
Coombs called Williamson's death "a terrible tragedy" and added, "We certainly wish his family the very best at a difficult time."
The bodies of Williamson and Tedford arrived back in Canada on Monday night, where they were met by their families at CFB Trenton.
Among the mourners were Williamson's mother, Heather Anderson, his sister, Reid, and his brother, Ryan, a private with the Canadian Forces.
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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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Thank you, Earl.
I hope everybody takes a moment to leave a message, to lose a son at such a young age must be absolutely horrible and Im sure there will come a time when his loved ones read our words and, as such, feel the pride of The Regiment and the place their son will always have with 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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Eli Aucoin
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Pte B. Wlliamson's younger brother is presently undergoing Recruit Training at this Unit (NRTD)here in Borden. The CO and I will be leaving in a few moments to attend Willimason's funeral in Ottawa. For those of you in the area of Ottawa/Petawawa and interested in attending, here are the details:
Viewing: 1900-2100 hrs, Friday 20 Oct and Saturday 21 Oct 1100-1230 hrs at Hulse Playfair and McGarry Funeral Chapel, 315 McLeod St, Ottawa
Funeral Service: 21 Oct Saturday 1300 hrs, Hulse Playfair and McGarry Funeral Chapel.
Internment: 1500 hrs 21 Oct Saturday, Beechwood National Military Cemetary, Ottawa.
Unit Memorial Service: Wed, 1 Nov 06, 1100 hrs, Bldg Y-101, 1RCR Petawawa. Seated by 1045 hrs. Reception to follow at the WO/Sgts Mess.
Hope to see some of you there. I'll be the CWO with the red (MP) berret. Come over and say hi.
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Mike Blais
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Interment ceremony of Private Blake Williamson
MA-06-010 - October 20, 2006
OTTAWA — The interment ceremony of Private Blake Williamson of the 1st Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, will be held Saturday October 21, 2006 at 2:15 p.m. at the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa.
As per the request of the families, media may attend to view the ceremony, though no interviews will be given.
Pte Williamson and Sgt Darcy Tedford were killed when their unit was ambushed near the new Panjwayi development road, at approximately 3:10 pm (Afghanistan time), October 14, 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!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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Here is another site where you can leave a message of condolence.
http://www.legacy.com/can-ottawa/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=19619437
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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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The end of the mission....
Soldier killed in Afghan ambush buried in Ottawa
Last Updated: Saturday, October 21, 2006 | 11:32 PM ET
CBC News
A soldier who was killed in Afghanistan last week was buried at the national military cemetery on Saturday.
Pte. Blake Williamson, 23, was killed on Oct. 14 when militants ambushed a patrol on a road connecting the volatile Panjwaii district and Kandahar. The road, Highway 1, is often referred to by Canadian soldiers as "Ambush Alley."
Also killed in the attack was Sgt. Darcy Tedford. Both soldiers were members of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Petawawa near Ottawa. Tedford will be buried in the military cemetery, which is a part of Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, on Oct. 23.
They were among several Canadian soldiers killed in the area in recent weeks.
"The Taliban don't like roads because roads mean progress," Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian and NATO commander in southern Afghanistan, said after the attack.
Williamson was raised in Kemptville, Ont., about 35 kilometres from Ottawa.
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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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Body of Pte. Blake Williamson interred at National Military Cemetery
Jennifer Ditchburn
Canadian Press
Saturday, October 21, 2006
OTTAWA (CP) — Pte. Blake Williamson’s coffin lay bathed in blazing autumn sunlight Saturday, piled with red and white roses placed by grieving family and friends.
Williamson was 23 when he and Sgt. Darcy Tedford were killed on a road west of Kandahar, Afghanistan, that Canadians are helping to build and protect. Anti-government insurgents ambushed the Canadian unit with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire.
Both men were from the 1st Batallion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, and based at CFB Petawawa.
Williamson had called nearby Ottawa home in recent years. Dozens of his friends, most in their 20s, huddled against a wintery wind, many wiping away tears, as the military interment ceremony unfolded.
At the outset, eight regimental comrades in full red dress slowly carried the flag-draped coffin into the open, grassy area of the National Military Cemetery where he would be buried.
Williamson’s mother Heather Anderson, stepfather Gary Benedict, sister Reid Williamson and brother Ryan Williamson followed behind while a bagpiper played Amazing Grace.
Lt. Bruce McKay of the Royal Canadian Navy presided at the service.
“We will grieve, we’ll be sad, we’ll go through and at times there’ll be a flash of memory of Blake,” McKay said. “But there is a mystery about this. The mystery is that life does not end at the grave.”
Later, the military pallbearers methodically folded the Canadian flag draped over the coffin and carefully handed it from soldier to soldier until it was finally placed on his mother’s lap.
Anderson smiled and patted the hand of the soldier who gave her the flag as he knelt before her.
Williamson’s father, Neil, wrote a letter that appeared Saturday in newspapers in Ottawa and London, Ont., commending the military for the respect they show families in the aftermath of a soldier’s death.
“It is difficult to lose a 23-year-old son but the respect, precision, patience, understanding and complete focus on the families suffering this loss is overwhelming,” Williamson wrote.
Williamson’s simple grey headstone joins a growing number at the National Military Cemetery that mark the final resting places of soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Forty-two Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have now died there since 2002.
About 2,300 Canadian troops are based in Kandahar province.
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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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Soldier's kin praise repatriation
Sat, October 21, 2006
By PATRICK MALONEY, FREE PRESS REPORTER
The London family of a slain soldier who will be buried today is praising the Canadian government's response to his death in Afghanistan.
In a rare behind-the-scenes look at the repatriation of our soldiers, the family of Pte. Blake Williamson -- killed in an ambush last Saturday -- has publicly applauded the "sincere" care surrounding his body's return to Canada.
"There was nothing they missed. Nothing," said Londoner Mae Williamson, the 23-year-old soldier's grandmother. "They couldn't have handled it any better."
Williamson, a native of the Ottawa-area town of Kemptville, died along with Sgt. Darcy Tedford while patrolling a road being built by Canadians west of Kandahar. Both served with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
From the emotional support of military members to the appearance of high-ranking Ottawa officials, the arrival of Williamson's body in Trenton last Monday was detailed in a letter from his father, Neil Williamson of London.
The letter -- sent to The London Free Press and an Ottawa newspaper -- offered a glowing review of the treatment the grieving family received.
"Blake's grandmother (Mae) and I were greeted at the entrance to the passenger terminal and never left alone or unattended," Neil Williamson wrote, adding a military chaplain offered uninterrupted support.
Both Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean and Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor attended, Williamson wrote.
"It was sheer amazement to myself and my mother that such personal attention and sincere focus was being directly given to the families in this private setting by such senior Canadian figures."
Neil Williamson was heading to Ottawa for the funeral, his mother said, and couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Williamson's interment ceremony will be held at 2:15 p.m. today at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa, a National Defence department statement read.
"It is difficult to lose a 23-year-old son, but the respect, precision, patience, understanding and complete focus on the families suffering this loss is overwhelming," Neil Williamson's letter concludes.
This is a letter from Londoner Neil Williamson, whose son, Pvt. Blake Williamson of Kemptville, ON., was killed while on patrol in Afghanistan last Saturday:
On the evening of Saturday Oct. 14, 2006, I received the news that no dad wishes for. My oldest son and first born had been killed in Afghanistan doing his job alongside his sergeant while on patrol guarding a road that has been problematic to protect. A road that will link a major highway to better offer services and necessary supplies to the nearby residents of Panjwaii district.
As Brig.-Gen. David Fraser said earlier, the Taliban do not like roads because roads mean progress and aid to the residents.
It was my son’s wishes to serve his country as many of his grandparents, uncles and family friends had many years earlier.
But the rest of the story is, what happens when the news and the full support of the Canadian military comes into play?
(It includes) condolences for our loss to transportation, support, aid, providing a chaplain and dedicated military warrant officer for each family upon arrival at (CFB) Trenton for the repatriation ceremony.
Blake’s grandmother and I were greeted at the entrance to the passenger terminal and never left alone or unattended. After being escorted into a family hospitality reception lounge, coffee, teas, sandwiches, dessert and flowers were provided.
Chaplain Morrison, who had served in Afghanistan, was there to explain the ceremony and offer spiritual support. Master warrant officer Ron Clement was present to offer whatever support, explanations and directions to the family.
From my perspective, having watched television of this ceremony prior to this loss, I believed that although the governor-general and senior-ranking military officers may be in attendance, it was to deliver speeches. That does not occur.
Instead, the ceremony is reserved solely to pay respect for the loss to the families and military. There are no speeches and photo ops on the tarmac, just the honour guard, piper and pallbearers, some of whom would have known my son.
The governor-general, cabinet politicians and those very senior officers (in) attendance come into each of those hospitality suites on a one-to-one basis. They enter in perhaps twos, introduce themselves, and offer their condolences, admitting they never know what to say in these cases, except that they appreciate what the family has given up in the service of Canada and its commitment to Afghanistan.
It was sheer amazement to myself and my mother that such personal attention and sincere focus was being given directly to the families in this private setting by such senior Canadian figures.
Once the aircraft has arrived and the repatriation service is ready to commence the families are escorted to the tarmac on the receiving line. The caskets containing the sons are lowered one by one to the pallbearers after a military honour guard salute, and to the tune of the piper.
The pallbearers, many made up of friends and perhaps those who served with the son lost, slowly escort each casket on shoulders across the quiet tarmac to the awaiting vehicles. The family then separately approaches the casket to lay flowers and pay their private respects.
The family returns to the receiving line. The next casket is lowered and when all family have completed their visit they depart to awaiting limos to be escorted off the field while the . . . senior officers and the governor-general stand in respect and (are) the last to leave the field. Again, in respect to those lost.
It is difficult to lose a 23-year-old son but the respect, precision, patience, understanding and complete focus on the families suffering this loss is overwhelming.
On behalf of families who have experienced this repatriation service I wish to say thank you to all those who organize such a sorrowful event for their professionalism, respect and sharing of loss they provide to the families in this time of grief.
Neil Williamson.
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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 and again thanks for this great report. I must say i am very happy to see this is being done for these heroes and their families. It is the last respect we can show them and it is refreshing to know our country is doing what ever it can do make things right. Very good show Canada and al you people out there who are making this happen, ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Ktowngirl
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I was honored to have grown up with Blake and to have been a friend of his. He was an amazing person, who I will NEVER forget.. I am honored to have known a true hero!
R.I.P Blake.. I miss you!
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Mike Blais
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Trying to make a difference'
As Canada mourns its war dead of the past, we examine the present situation in Afghanistan, and where the mission should go in the future
Brian Hutchinson, National Post
Published: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Blake Williamson did not die in a blaze of glory. He did not single-handedly mount an attack, or take swaths of territory from unsuspecting Taliban. He fell as most soldiers killed in battle do. Suddenly, without warning.
Private Williamson was helping protect combat engineers as they shaped a road in Panjwaii district. Called Route Summit, the road was designed to benefit both military interests and civilians, and marked the western front outside of Kandahar city.
There had been an incident on patrol that morning: A Canadian light armoured vehicle (LAV) struck a land mine planted near construction crews. There were no obvious casualties but one section from Charles Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, had left the area for medical assessment.
The rest of the company resumed regular defensive duties in and around a small fortification known as Strong Point Centre. At 3 p.m., Taliban insurgents crept towards it, sneaking along a system of small canals. Once in range, they fired a volley of rocket-propelled grenades. At least one of the grenades found an LAV and exploded.
The Canadians engaged; the ensuing firefight lasted 10 minutes. When it was over, Pte. Williamson, 23, was found on the ground, dead. Next to him was his section leader, Sergeant Darcy Tedford, 32, killed by flying shrapnel from the first RPG that hit.
Since that firefight last year, 29 more Canadians have died in Afghanistan. The body count now stands at 73 and includes one female army captain, one diplomat, one civilian carpenter and one suicide. There have been hundreds of casualties. More than $6-billion has been spent on Canada's military operations in Afghanistan since they began in 2002. So goes the usual debate about the involvement in Afghanistan and the mission's usefulness, perceived failures and future.
Overlooked, frequently, are the people for whom Pte. Williamson died and whom thousands of Canadian soldiers, government aid workers, police officers, corrections officers and others have been asked to assist: Afghanistan's 32 million inhabitants.
Donald McNamara, a retired Brigadier-General, visited Kandahar last year, a few weeks after the attack in Panjwaii that killed Pte. Williamson and Sgt. Tedford. He was shocked at the level of distress he saw there.
"All military deaths are tragic," says Brig.-Gen. McNamara, now a director at the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. "But I think there is some undue emphasis placed on them, on this side. It's a kind of selfishness. Canadians must really try to understand what it's like in Afghanistan right now. It is a desperate place."
The debate about the current mission in Kandahar, he says, is focused too narrowly on the costs: Canadian lives, injuries and money spent.
Pte. Williamson died for Afghanistan, a place he hardly knew and could not have loved.
"He would have gone back," says Jason Royer, his closest friend in Charles Company. "He was just one soldier, doing his job and trying to make a difference over there."
Removed with ease in 2001, but now resurgent, the Taliban are bent on stopping progress in Afghanistan and returning it to theocratic rule. Ground battles are waged daily all over the country but more worrisome to civilians is so-called asymmetrical warfare -- non-conventional, terrorist-style attacks that rely on remote-controlled improvised explosive devices and suicide bombings.
These attacks, and the campaigns of death the Taliban wage in villages against those whom they deem traitors, have claimed more Afghan lives than stray Western bombs and bullets.
The suicide bombing this week in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan was among the worst civilian massacres since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ended the Taliban regime: At least 73 people, including schoolchildren and six Afghan parliamentarians, were killed and a hundred or more were wounded.
The Baghlan bombing was so odious that no group will claim responsibility for it -- not the Taliban, not the vicious warlords who still cling to power in various pockets of the country.
According to a United Nations report published in September, there has been an average of 548 insurgent and terrorist "incidents" per month in Afghanistan in 2007, a 20% increase from 2006. At least 143 civilians were killed this year, before Baghlan.
"Security conditions limiting the [UN Assistance] Mission's access to combat areas and the political sensitivity of the issue make it difficult to gather sufficient information to provide a comprehensive incident report," the UN notes.
This makes any overall assessment of conditions in Afghanistan difficult. Have the lives of ordinary Afghans worsened or improved? Do they welcome in their country the International Security Assistance Force, the UN-sanctioned deployment of 35,000 troops from 38 national armies?
It is tempting but wrong to assume the negative, that Western intervention has achieved nothing. The political situation in Afghanistan is unstable, but physical improvements, while incremental, are helping people in their daily lives.
Foreign troops are welcomed at village shuras, or community council gatherings. Elders openly and bravely condemn the Taliban, and plead for more Western aid.
And no wonder. Farmers lack water to raise their crops. Forests are denuded. Electricity is sporadic. People can't find fuel to cook or warm their homes in winter. The result: They burn anything, including hard plastics such as polyvinyl chloride, and toxic chemicals foul the air.
Non-governmental workers still have not returned to Afghanistan, thanks to the persistent dangers, but material aid such as medicine is definitely arriving and is being distributed quickly and effectively, albeit in heavily secured environments manned by ISAF soldiers. Western engineers and local Afghans are building schools, also under ISAF protection.
Last month came the clearest indication of how Afghans feel about these efforts. A nationwide opinion poll, conducted by Afghans for Environics Research Group, found that 60% of men and women surveyed thought the "presence of foreign countries" is good for the country. Only 16% felt it is a bad thing.
Moreover, 64% felt foreign countries are doing a good job of fighting the Taliban, who were viewed negatively, and 65% felt the foreign countries are doing a good job with reconstruction assistance.
The survey was based on interviews with 1,278 Afghans, conducted on the ground by trained staff. "Male respondents were interviewed only by male interviewers and female respondents only by female interviewers," according to an Environics research methodology report.
The results came as a pleasant surprise to one of the survey's consultants. Gordon Smith, a former Canadian ambassador to NATO, says he did not expect such broad support for foreign involvement. The polling altered his own assessment of the military mission there, offered in a comprehensive, carefully researched report he wrote last March. ( Canada in Afghanistan: Is it Working? can be found here: http://www.cdfai.org/currentpublications.htm) Commissioned by the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute, an independent, Calgary-based think-tank, Mr. Smith's report gives a stark assessment of the situation in Afghanistan, beginning with an historical analysis of the country and ending with a long list of "policy conclusions." These are predicated on an understanding that the Taliban "cannot be defeated or eliminated as a political entity in any meaningful time frame by Western armies using military measures, and certainly not with the relatively small increases in force strength that are currently planned."
In other words, there must be some negotiation with the enemy. "This was a radical idea in the spring, when the report came out," Mr. Smith says. "The Canadian government is still opposed to it. But [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai may have no choice. He is already pursuing it, with the softer elements."
Mr. Smith does not advocate discussions with such hard-line Taliban leaders as Mullah Omar, in hiding since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. "He is not open to anything," he says. But the current Taliban insurgency "is distinct from the original movement," he notes in his report. "Different pockets of Taliban resistance have exhibited contradictory behaviours, some promising a kinder, gentler Taliban that will allow greater social freedoms, while others continue to blow up schools." ISAF can try to exploit the fissures, he says.
Difficult as it is for some to accept, achieving peace and security inside Afghanistan will take much more time, many more troops and a lot more money, Mr. Smith says. There is a bewildering assortment of barriers to topple, aside from those thrown up by insurgents.
Poverty, particularly in the south, is rampant. So is corruption in the Afghan parliament and in the judiciary, he notes. Warlords "retain private militias and dominate the countryside in private fiefdoms ? the Italian-led effort to establish legal reform has been very slow? Numerous Afghan [aid] organizations have halted all operations in the south, as have large international agencies like Oxfam."
Rising opium production, increased use of heroin among Afghans, political instability in neighbouring Pakistan --on it goes.
Aside from an apparent shift in Afghan public opinion, little has changed since his report was published in March, Mr. Smith says. Yet he remains convinced Afghanistan can be rescued: Efforts by the international community must continue.
Like Brig.-Gen. McNamara, he is appalled by demands inside Canada for a military withdrawal.
"Yes, we're really in a tough position. Yes, we got into Afghanistan without really knowing what was involved. But we are there. We have made a commitment. The question is, how do we best execute our responsibilities?
"Most of the debate over what we should do is pitifully simplistic. Politicians throw out good one-liners for television. There is no respect for our lost soldiers and their families. Using them to score cheap political points is just a travesty."
Forget a withdrawal in 2009, says Mr. Smith. Canada has pledged $100-million worth of aid to Afghanistan annually, to at least 2011. Who is to deliver and distribute it? Not civilians.
"We are wearing Afghanistan," Mr. Smith says. "We can't just walk away."
Brig.-Gen. McNamara agrees; he calls Canada's role there an "obligation" that will not end until members of the Afghanistan national army and its belittled police force can offer protection and maintain order themselves.
Trained by Canadian soldiers and police officers, the national army and police now patrol areas of Panjwaii, including Route Summit, which was completed this year.
Afghan farmers have returned to their crops. It is harvest time in Panjwaii. Carts trundle along asphalt, past Strong Point Centre, or what's left of it. Gone, likely, are the rough wooden crosses that were pounded into the soil, one for Blake Williamson, one for Darcy Tedford. The road is their memorial: It will last for decades.
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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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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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