MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 18 Jan 11

• One can hope.  “Hope for the best. Expect the worst. So goes the philosophy of the man leading Canada’s battle group into one of southern Afghanistan’s most treacherous areas, with the spring fighting season just around the corner. A winter of raiding Taliban redoubts for hidden weapons has Lt.-Col. Michel-Henri St-Louis feeling optimistic that the insurgents won’t be able to muster the fierce attacks of years past. “We are hoping,” said St-Louis, who is in charge of the 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment combat team, based at CFB Valcartier. “The intent is to have the spike in violence either diminished, lulled or taken away. That will obviously make things better.” “I cannot stand here and say for sure in January that there will be no spike in violence, because the insurgent has a vote, and we will see how he reacts.” ….”
• On how sometimes, capturing bad guys may lead to worse bad guys getting into power.
• Former OMLT-eer Bruce Ralston highlights this story about how it appears a southern Afghanistan village had to be leveled in order to get rid of the Taliban. He points out the only Afghan unit with the group in question was an Afghan Border Police unit – no Afghan army.  Hmmmm…..   More “WTF?” commentary on the original article here, here, here and here.
• Reaction to Jack Layton’s latest on Afghanistan (1):  Historian J.L. Granatstein’s “Layton’s Spurious Comparisions of Wars Past and Present“.
• Reaction to reaction to Jack Layton’s latest on Afghanistan (1):  “Uhm…Harper compared Kandahar deaths to Vimy in ’07“.  Here’s the text of the PM’s speech (apparently edited before delivery).
• Reaction to Jack Layton’s latest on Afghanistan (2):  “A rapid ISAF withdrawal would lead, in very short order, to …. vicious civil war“
• What’s Canada Buying? Chest wound bandages for Afghanistan (ASAP), automating the integration of all-source intelligence, sandbags for CFB Suffield and shootin’ simulators.  More on the shootin’ simulators here from the Ottawa Citizen..
• From Suzanne Steele’s warpoet.ca, “guest haiku (British Army!)“.
• “A review of charges laid against soldiers and civilians inside the defence community conducted after Russell Williams’s arrest has raised troubling questions – concerns the military’s top cop has told Forces brass to investigate further. The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal told senior officials in July that figures analyzed by his office suggest Canada’s defence community – soldiers and civilians connected to the military – has a “noticeably and disturbingly higher per capita rate of sexual violations against children, including child pornography,” than the rest of the country’s population. Its findings have puzzled the military – and the report prepared by Provost Marshal Colonel Timothy Grubb’s staff says as much, suggesting repeatedly that there may be differences from the civilian world in the reporting, investigating and recording of offences that are playing havoc with the Forces’ figures ….”
• Considering Mexico for a “break up the winter” vacation?  Well, according to security analyst Mercedes Stephenson, caveat emptor (or viator).
• A must-read for Canadian politicians (and the Globe & Mail) before considering any commitment of Canadian troops to Congo:  “…. By sending a contingent to the Congo, the Canadian government would be exposing its troops to an endlessly frustrating and thankless mission with no end in sight, and this in a country replete with dangers, corruption and disease ….”
• Latest in the “Let’s Get the F-35 – Let’s Not!” fight:  listen to that guy Eisenhower.  “…. As Eisenhower said 50 years ago, “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defence with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” Some things never change.”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch:  More attacks alleged in Kandahar, Zabul.

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 20 Dec 10

• Corporal Steve Martin, R22eR, R.I.P. Statements from the Commander-in-Chief (who will be attending the return of Martin at CFB Trenton), Prime Minister and Defence Minister.  Condolence thread at Army.ca here.  More from Postmedia News, CBC.ca, CTV.ca, and Agence France-Presse.  He’s reportedly on his way home.
• One last Christmas downrange for Canadian troops? “The weather outside is always frightful, and when you’re under fire, it’s never delightful. And, what Canadian soldiers wouldn’t give to let it snow, even just a little to brighten the drab, winter-scorched farmland of western Panjwaii. Peace on earth and good will to all men seems very far away this season, almost as distant as it was when troops celebrated their first Christmas amid the ruins of this stark land almost seven years ago. Much the same as other days, Dec. 25 is expected to come and go with the grind of army orders and routine of patrols along bomb-sewn laneways in mud-moulded villages that have remained stubbornly unchanged since the Nativity ….”
• Another of Canada’s fallen is remembered though a scholarship. “Women in Defence and Security (WiDS) has named its 2011 Memorial Scholarship in honour of Captain Nichola Goddard. Capt Goddard, a forward observation officer, was killed May 17, 2006, during a clearance operation with Afghan security personnel west of Kandahar City. Having arrived in Afghanistan in January 2006, she served with Task Force Afghanistan as part of 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group. She was stationed with 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, in Shilo, Man. “We thought it was fitting to pay tribute to Capt Goddard,” says WiDS President Anne Healey. “She embodied a phenomenal spirit and the recipient of this scholarship will no doubt carry on her legacy of excellence and leadership in defence and security.”  WiDS established the Memorial Scholarship to encourage women to pursue careers related to the national defence and security interests of Canada. The scholarship is currently renamed annually on behalf of women who have distinguished themselves in the field of defence and security ….”
• Taliban Propaganda Watch: More attacks alleged in Kandahar, Uruzgan, and some screed about Palestine on the Taliban web page.
• In Kingston, it seems CF members are using food banks. “…. Staff are also seeing a developing trend-military personnel low on the pay scale who need a little extra help because they just don’t make enough to meet their needs. According to information on the National Defence website, a Regular Force Private makes $2,663-$3,911 (over a three increment pay grade) a month, not much if they are supporting a family. “We are seeing that quite a bit, and unfortunately that will be the new norm for us,” Singers points out. “The need is getting greater everywhere and the economy is a big factor in that. We find a lot of the new users had either lost a job or their hours had been reduced in the retail sector. There is no change in that status in our community so we can assume that it will continue.” ….” More on the the Partners in Mission Food Bank here.
• CF search and rescue assets take part in Chilean SAR exercise. “Twenty-one members of Canada’s Air Force and a CC-130 Hercules aircraft from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 17 Wing Winnipeg, Man. participated in the first multi-national disaster response exercise organized by the Sistema de Cooperación entre las Fuerzas Aéreas Americanas (System of Cooperation among the Air Forces of the Americas – SICOFAA) hosted by the Republic of Chile …. Canada participated with one CC-130 from 435 (T&R) Sqn with two crews, the SICOFAA liaison officer in Santiago, and an air operations subject matter expert in the international CAOC in Puerto Montt. 435 Sqn’s participation in the exercise included a search and rescue demonstration for participating air forces and local media in Puerto Montt, as well as flying an additional 33 hours, transporting 16 per cent of all exercise cargo and flying 6 per cent of all exercise passengers ….”

American Writers Mention Vandoo Officer Returning to AFG….

….with only one leg – this from the Los Angeles Times:

Bravery is not an American monopoly. Most allies report many soldiers volunteering to return to Afghanistan despite the increased violence. A Canadian officer who lost his leg in a roadside bomb attack in 2007 recently returned to Kandahar, in his words, “to do good.”

That’s Captain Simon Mailloux they’re talking about there.

Hat tips to Terry Glavin at Chronicles & Dissent, and Mark at The Torch for sharing this.

Vandoo Amputee Back to AFG

From CanWest:

“Shortly after losing one of his legs while on duty in Afghanistan, Capt. Simon Mailloux asked his major how good his chances were of getting back to the battlefront.

Nearly two years later, Mailloux is sporting a high-tech prosthetic leg and preparing to return to the war-torn country in November.

“Although there were some rough patches, my determination to go back never faltered,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “I want to finish the work we started.”

The Quebec City native lost half of his left leg when the armoured vehicle he was commanding struck an improvised explosive device on Nov. 17, 2007. Two other soldiers — Cpl. Nicolas Beauchamp and Pte. Michel Levesque — were killed in the blast. Mailloux had to undergo four surgeries but recovered surprisingly fast….”

Bravo, Captain Mailloux.

Patrick Lormand, R.I.P

This from a Canadian Forces statement:

“One Canadian soldier was killed and four injured when an improvised explosive device detonated near their armoured vehicle on a road in Panwjai District. The incident occurred approximately 10 kilometres South-West of Kandahar City at around 1:00 p.m., Kandahar time, on 13th September, 2009.

Killed in action was Private Patrick Lormand from the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment based in Valcartier, Quebec. Private Lormand was serving as a member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group, Quebec.

Four other Canadian Forces members were injured during the incident. They were evacuated by helicopter to the Multi-National Medical Facility at the Kandahar Airfield. They have all since been released. Their identities will not be made public….”

Condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the fallen, and here’s hoping for a full and speedy recovery for the injured.

Update: The Taliban are more than happy to take the credit:

“Foreign troops came across  a mine and lost their tank at Ishaq Zu village, Boldak district when they were on patrol.  The Mujahideen detonated the mine, using a remotely controlled device which completely destroyed the tank. Four Canadian invading soldiers are reported to have been killed in the incident. Afterward, enemy helicopters airlifted the dead bodies but the destroyed tank is still lying at the site of the explosion.”

PDF version of Taliban statement downloadble from non-terrorist site here.