Two more bodies head for home

[67HEAVEN]

The bodies of the 44th and 45th Canadian casualities of the war in Afghanistan are heading home. One of them, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, is the first Canadian Regimental Sargeant Major to be killed in action since WWII.
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Bodies of slain Canadians leave Kandahar base

The bodies of two Canadian soldiers killed earlier this week while serving in Afghanistan are on their way home to Canada.



http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2006/11/28/girouard-bobby_dnd.jpg
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard was one of two Canadian soldiers killed in a suicide bombing Monday in Afghanistan.


Hundreds of Canadian, American, Dutch, and British soldiers stood on the Kandhar Airfield Thursday to bid farewell to Cpl. Albert Storm and Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard.

The two men died Monday in a suicide bomb attack on the outskirts of Kandahar.

Armoured vehicles, similar to what the soldiers were in when they died, served as makeshift hearses.

A piper played Amazing Grace as the flag-covered coffins were carried onto a Hercules C-130 aircraft for the flight home.

The soldiers were killed when their Bison armoured personnel carrier was struck by a car loaded with explosives. They were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment, based in CFB Petawawa, Ont.

A number of soldiers offered remembrances of their comrades.

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2006/11/28/storm-albert-dnd.jpg
Cpl. Albert Storm was killed in a suicide bombing Monday in Afghanistan.


Cpl. William Guse, a medic, says he's a better soldier for having had Girouard as his platoon warrant officer in battle school. Cpl. Victor Thibault, who served with Storm in Kosovo, says his friend was good-natured, a hard worker, an exceptional soldier and will be missed. The blast, the first deadly attack on Canadians in six weeks, happened in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province. Most of the more than 2,000 Canadians in Afghanistan are deployed in Kandahar.

Panjwaii is considered a Taliban stronghold and has been the scene of fierce fighting between NATO soldiers and Taliban militants in recent months.

Forty-four Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002.

SOURCE - http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/11/30/ramp-kandahar.html

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[TJay]

Another sad time for all Canadians.. how much longer are we going to put our people in harms way. I think it's time to put an end it over there once and for all and stop playing cat & mouse with them.

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[Mac]

Yup, another sad day... :cry

Apparently, PM Harper made some progress in getting the other NATO countries to step up to the bat but not as much as he would like. As the deployment date for my nephew approaches, I'm trying hard to remain objective about this conflict but it's not easy.

-Mac

[CyberFire 12]

What a waste of human life, fighting over who gets the oil. If we put as much effort, not to mention money into alternative fuels, E85 etc. we would not be so dependent on that portion of the world. It's a sad state of affairs when our "comander in chief" leads us into harms way over oil with a story of "tararists".


Any military death is cause for sadness and my condolences to the families.

This is Afghanistan, not Iraq. Oil is not a factor in this conflict. This is the true "war on terrorism" not the phony, trumped up "war on terrorism" in Iraq.

This also is a NATO effort and that is why the Canadians are there.

[82ColEd]

Bob, Mac and all of the Canadians here:
Firstly: This makes me real sad and my condolences go out to their families.

Secondly:
I wanted to express my regret that my Govt doesn't have the cohones to at least provide a Fast Reaction Strike force for the South, even if we are not coming out of the North and we are "hiding" behind the NATO mandate. While i believe we are there for the right reasons, i believe we should shoulder more of the burden of the south and not let it rest on the US, CA & GB troops that are there. I do think that we are doing the reconstruction and development needed in the north, but we should be making an effort to help out our allies. Politics. :( :eyerole

AFAIK, we had 18 losses and the German public has been dealing with it rather well, giving that we're still "gun shy" because of our history, but i think it is high time that we get out of our "safe" umbrella and help you guys out.

I hope you guys can accept my apologies and hopefully, more of the barricades can be removed so that we can succeed in Afghanistan and not see this country, and our allies, crumble.

-Stefan

[67HEAVEN]

Bob, Mac and all of the Canadians here:

.........I hope you guys can accept my apologies and hopefully, more of the barricades can be removed so that we can succeed in Afghanistan and not see this country, and our allies, crumble.

-Stefan

First Stefan, your apology is accepted, although as an individual, you hardly owe us that.

Secondly, due to the severe restrictions placed upon the troops of many of the NATO countries in Afghanistan, I think NATO's future is in doubt.

Following a request for help from the new Afghan government, NATO voted to support that request. Under the NATO Charter, all member countries are to support its decisions.........however............only a few have offered "unqualified" support. Too many send in forces who are specifically forbidden to enter combat.

Just this week, our Prime Minister Harper travelled to the NATO Conference and personally requested additional fighting forces. The response was underwhelming, if you get my meaning.

NATO is in trouble.

:w

[Chas]

These brave men made the ultimate sacrifice for our FREEDOM.

If you Love Freedom, Thank a Veteran....they gave their today, for your tomorrow.

"Peace be the Journey"

May their familys find comfort in the Lord.

Chas

[TJay]

82ColEd,

Man that means alot, and thank you from our families who have lost their love ones in this quest for a safe feedom from terrorist. Canada will always stand by our friends to the south, we may not have the military might as the US but throughout time have always stood by your side in battle when ask upon to do so.
Our forces are in Afghanistan because our friends Nation was attacked, we are not in Iraq because our leaders may not have seen proof of the weapons that were thought to be there, not to say they weren't.
All Nations there now need their heads of state to re-think there roll, and get on with why we are there, and end this with one swift strike against terrorist. those Countries that are there and will not fight, need to go home, and let the rest of us get on with the task at hand, our way.
I also agree with 67Heaven, NATO has become a joke and needs to be dismantled or re-built with those who will do whats needed and stop playing both sides of the fence, at the cost of our fighting forces lives.

[67HEAVEN]

TJay,

82ColEd (Stefan) currently lives and works in the U.S.A., but I believe he was speaking as the German citizen that he is. ;)

I believe he was expressing some regret that Germany (among a number of other Eurpoean members of NATO) was not allowing its troops into combat. They are playing a reconstruction role in Afghanistan.....but we need some reinforcements on the front lines.

:grouphug:

[67HEAVEN]

Excuse my harping on this story, but it's not every day that........
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A suicide bomber robs regiment of its soul

By CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD

The Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper
Saturday, December 2, 2006, Page A3

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The equivalent rank in the US Army is a Command Sergeant Major.

The billet of Regimental Sergeant Major exists in the United States Marine Corps. In the USMC a Regimental Sergeant Major is the senior enlisted advisor to the Regimental Commander.

[67HEAVEN]

I moved this thread from The Edge to the Military Members section, knowing that you guys will best understand what this means to the regiment.

[Bioscache2]

Thats a hard loss to take indeed.

[hoosierdaddy]

May God Bless The UNITED STATES, CANADA, GREAT BRITAN and ALL OUR ALLIES. I do think NATO needs to be disbanded and personally feel this is the snag that is costing brave men and women in the military thier lifes. Maybe the NATO headquarters needs to be located down town Bagdad!

Just a thought,

Bill

[82ColEd]

TJay,

82ColEd (Stefan) currently lives and works in the U.S.A., but I believe he was speaking as the German citizen that he is. ;)

I believe he was expressing some regret that Germany (among a number of other European members of NATO) was not allowing its troops into combat. They are playing a reconstruction role in Afghanistan.....but we need some reinforcements on the front lines.

:grouphug:
Bob is correct. Sometimes i fail to mention my being a German living here, assuming most know by now. And yes, the 2nd part is as well true. We should be playing a more active role, especially as it seems to be getting heated around Kabul. :crazy

I was especially speaking on the "conditions" that have been set by Nations other then the US, GB and Canada, that i believe should be reduced or a Joint Strike Force (Rapid Reaction Force type) be established to help out where needed, not based on "political" hindrances.

As for NATO: I don't believe dismantling it would serve us anything, but a restructure should be done asap. Given that our former enemy, the Soviet Bloc has been gone for quite some time and given the NRC framework (http://www.nato.int/issues/nato-russia/index.html); maybe even a future that sees Russia joining NATO.

But we would need to come up with a Goal/Purpose of NATO in the first place. Large bureaucracies are strange beasts.. :eyerole

-Stefan