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In todays Canoe:
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Hi
No comment. regards Darrell |
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my brother in law was one of them, he was wounded in the arm and hand 12 stiches in all he's fine and should be back to duty soon.
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Militiamen in Afstan
For those in the know, what proportion of Canucks in-theatre at any given time are militia types? While obviously those who go have to be in top form, is this just another chapter in the time-honoured 'call-out' book, or has the demand dictated new criteria for service?
Either way, this reminds me of the warm pride we as a nation share at the 1939 response to the call to arms... OPSEC is obviously a primary consideration - if there are concerns, please PM me separately. Geoff
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Please Be Careful
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Why give our enemies such as the Taliban and NDP types any advantages?
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RHC Why is it that when you have the $$, you don't have the time, and when you have the time you don't have the $$? |
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Duly noted and of course agreed, Robert - why do you think I asked? I'm just curious as to whether anyone's heard or seen anything on the subject which is UNclassified, and which has so far escaped my attention. In a case like that, you can bet your next case of frostys that the BGs already have it.
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Afstan Notes
For all who are interested, there's a wealth of commentary on the day-to-day lives of Canadians in Afstan in the National Post, here:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/a...tan/index.html There's enough reading there to keep you going for hours. A couple of pages I was particularly impressed with (so far) are: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/a...5b8cd9&k=89970 and: http://communities.canada.com/nation...l/default.aspx The first link is some stuff written by a Don Martin; he's really very good. The second is a blog by a Richard Johnson, who combines writing and drawing skills to paint a unique picture of everyday life over there.
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Is THIS some of what you soldiering ones all eat? Oh yum ... ??? I don't envy you deployed folks some of your rations there. (I like that story about the "comments" card inserted with the rations ... sounds like they are used a lot ...
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Me, I'm just pissed they chucked the ham omelet; it was a culinary work-of-art... I used to trade just about any other meal I was carrying for ham omelets, while the lads would look at me with a mixture of awe and horror on their faces. It was a character-building exercise to scarf the things cold at oh-dark-thirty, flavoured with salt, pepper and ketchup! The young-uns with spirit learned to motivate THEIR charges accordingly, bless 'em all! When the CF started cutting over to what they thought of as 'gourmet' meals, the charm went out of field cookery. It was "where the hell is my Tabasco sauce?!" Ah, the good ol' days...
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Hi Geoff
I too was a great fan of the old Ham Omlette. And I too was the subject of disbelief when stating that at meal times. I think the young-uns had it removed because it was visually un-appealing. I thought so too but at least the old "Lung in a Bag" was certainly the best tasting of the Breakfast menus. That and the old corned beef hash. Both were also good next-to-skin pouches for supplementary heating methods!! One drawback of the peas in the Mac and Cheese was that if the meal was heated too long, the peas would explode in your mouth. No one wants burning pea in their mouth!!! IMHO, this drink would be a welcome addition to the meals for the deployed fighting troops here. Oh and I've always known MREs to be 3 lies in one; not a meal, not ready, and certainly not anything you can eat!!! regards Darrell |
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:witch |
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The hash was good, although spending any amount of time inside a Grizzly after eating a couple was, er, an interesting olfactory experience... Cold spaghetti was also a bit of adventure. One thing they never did get right was that abomination they called coffee. Disgusting! There was NOTHING you could do to make that palatable. Order of the day, your OWN coffee or tea in your ruck!
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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HARSH ... BAD COFFEE IS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT!!!!
OKAY WHO DO I HAVE TO TAKE OUT :witch TO GET GOOD COFFEE IN FOR OUR TROOPS pssssst Geoff ... I found the link for those Blue Rodeo tunes and am listening now |
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? |
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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George Patton on the War on Terror
This is incredibly well done! It's America-oriented of course, so you Yank-baiters will have to bite your tongues; simply respect the creativity and imagination which has gone into this!
Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUX6wV1lBQ
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Welcome Home ROTO107
Well, the last of the 2 RCR ROTO will be back home any day now and I wish the best of luck to the VanDoo BG in their misson.
Putting all of the political/media trash aside, over concerns of a French Canadian BN deploying, I'm sure that they see themselves as contributing to a worthwhile Op. Unfortunately, the odds of the BN coming out of this ROTO unscathed are slim. We, back here in Canada (Franco and Anglo) had best steele ourselves for the inevitable "talking head" annoucement of a Quebec (not Canadian) soldier casualty. This will, no doubt, inspire a political feeding frenzy. While Layton goes on a rant, the Bloc will secretly rub their hands in glee. Hopefully the PM can muster up some poise (something he's not really famous for) and remind the Country, that being the envy of the Global Community comes with Global Responsibility, now let's quietly grieve with the mother who's world has come crashing down. My most heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost loved ones.
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Re: Welcome Home ROTO107
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Also I am sure that some in English Canada are waiting for the first perceived screw-up by the Van-Doos, so they can engage in their favourite sport of Quebec bashing. One should remember that the troops being sent to Afghanistan are Canadians! Quebec, in spite of the best efforts of the PQ, BQ and their allies in the rest of Canada, is still a part of Canada. The Van-Doos includes French speaking troops from all parts of Canada, and not just Quebec. |
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Re: John
The spirit of Paul Triquet and his men is ageless, universal and unconquerable... oh that the rest of the country would sit up and shed its petty, media-driven preconceptions!!
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Royal 22nd Regiment penetrates hostile territory
Updated Mon. Aug. 6 2007 7:55 AM ET Martin Ouellet, Canadian Press DISTRICT SHAH VALI KOWT, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers from the Royal 22nd Regiment moved deep into hostile territory over the weekend, patrolling a vast region of Afghanistan known to be sympathetic to the Taliban. Canadian troops did not confront insurgents during this trek but they are convinced the territory is guided by a "phantom Taliban government." Along roads, through fields and mountains, the soldiers cut a wide swath across a region north of Kandahar in light armoured vehicles. They continued their patrol on foot through punishing 50 degree C heat. At best, the reception from local villagers was polite and lukewarm, as most men and children - women are absent from public spaces in Afghan villages -- watched the soldiers march with a mix of fear, mistrust and sometimes hostility in their eyes. The troops are often seen as invaders. One youth, who hid a sickle behind his back was told by a soldier to drop his weapon. An elder intervened and persuaded the young man to get rid of the object before the situation deteriorated. Elsewhere, residents in a hamlet acknowledged the troops with indifference. The locals spoke among themselves and drank tea, while an officer tried to persuade citizens to show the soldiers around the village. "The Americans came here and they promised to build a school," said Chalam Abad, an elder claiming to be the town's mayor. "They never did it." Abad, speaking through an interpreter, said he had not seen NATO soldiers in the community for at least three years. Villagers said they have never had a problem with the Taliban. Some said the Taliban have never set foot in the region. The International Security Assistance Force, of which Canada is a member, thinks otherwise. "There is a phantom Taliban government here," said one officer. "That's why we have to be present here, checking over the terrain to counter infiltration by the Taliban." For his part, Sgt. Steve Dufour says there is still a lot of work to be done in Afghanistan before winning over the local population. "There are people who are frightened and we see that there is still lots of information to send to the villages to explain to people that we are here to help," he said http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories Canadian helping spur development in Afghanistan Updated Sun. Aug. 5 2007 10:16 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff A veteran Canadian aid worker is braving the serious security threats of southern Afghanistan and trying to help villagers in the region better their lives. "It's really critical to establish the economic infrastructure -- jobs, jobs, jobs," Drew Gilmour of Development Works Canada told CTV News. "Water is life, but providing opportunity jobs and training -- well, that makes life worth living." Gilmour's private-sector work with Marjburobad -- one poor, dry community outside Kandahar City -- did start with water. "They said, 'We have seen a thousand people come and go, but prove to us you are serious,' and we asked them, what, and they said water," he said. Gilmour responded by first digging them a well. Within a few weeks, over 200 village men had jobs. They built six more wells, and construction on an irrigation system is now well underway. The goal is to plant fields with vegetable crops that can then be grown at market. The community's sense of hope is growing with the progress. To help them, Gilmour brought Said Ahmad Azizi, one of Afghanistan's leading engineers, out of retirement to help with the efforts. "I am not supposed to work, but I love to work with the country because its completely ruined out, destroyed and everybody needs something," Azizi said. The Canadian International Development Agency funds Gilmour's work. They look on his effort as establishing a blueprint for how badly-needed private-sector development projects can get started in Kandahar province. "He is operating as a pioneer," Kevin Rex, a CIDA official and development advisor to Joint Task Force Afghanistan, said of Gilmour. However, the dangers facing anyone doing the work Gilmour does are very real. In 2006, insurgents are believed to have murdered British Columbia resident Mike Frastacky, who was building a co-ed school in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban think kidnappings are a good way to pressure the Afghan government. They currently hold 21 South Korean missionaries and aid workers, having killed two others. When Gilmour leaves his Kandahar City compound, he does so with protection and after engaging in some careful planning. "We have security procedure and I would say we are professional, and I would say there is some inherent risk that we try to minimize," he said. But Gilmour also said the risk is worth it. "By far this is the most rewarding thing I have done in development," he said, adding his biggest reward is the smiles on the faces of village children. He hopes to extend his efforts to a total of seven villages, and that if he succeeds, more will follow in his footsteps. With a report from CTV's Denelle Balfour\ http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories |
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Sex, Religion, Politics
These are the Cardinal Sins for discussion in any Sergeants Mess I've ever been in. Here, on my first visit to your Mess I've broken Rule #3. To the uninitiated, the Sergeants & WOs Mess might appear to be a pretty boring place with all these people standing around with nothing to talk about. However, we know that, that is not the case.
In my experience I have witnessed a definite "Regimental Personality" down to the BN level. However, I am ignorant of the " personality" of 1,2,3 BN R22R. This has never stopped me from joining the frivolity of "Unit Bashing" which is a great Mess sport conducted around the BS table. However, we all know that if we come to find ourselves on the wrong side of the Crack/Thump I'll be more than happy to have a Canadian Infanteer watching my back regardeless of what capbadge he's wearing. So, let politicians wail, let the media pontificate. Just know that and trust that for this Misson to succeed the best people in the world are on the job, the Canadian Infantryman.
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Afghan insurgent attack injures 5 Canadians
Updated Sat. Aug. 11 2007 10:12 PM ET Canadian Press KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Five Canadian soldiers were slightly injured on Sunday when their convoy was attacked by a roadside bomb and rocket-propelled grenades. Lt.-Cmdr. Hubert Genest says the victims were in an RG31 light-amoured vehicle in a supply convoy when they were ambushed about 13 kilometres west of Kandahar at 1:20 a.m. local time. They had just supplied the Ma'sum Ghar base and were about halfway back to the base at Kandahar when they were attacked. The injured were brought back to the Ma'sum Ghar camp where they are waiting to be transferred by helicopters to the hospital at the Kandahar base. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories |
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Injured Canadian soldiers airlifted to hospital
Updated Sun. Aug. 12 2007 8:54 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff Five Canadians soldiers, injured in a roadside attack, have been airlifted to a Kandahar hospital in southern Afghanistan. Military officials say the soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and rocket-propelled grenades on Saturday. The troops were travelling in a RG31 light-armoured vehicle when they were ambushed about 13 kilometres west of Kandahar. CTV's Danelle Balfour told CTV Newsnet on Sunday that the wounded soldiers belonged to the National Support Element, who generally remain on the base unless supplies and soldiers are needed elsewhere. The soldiers had just supplied the Ma'sum Ghar base and were halfway back to the base at Kandahar when they were attacked. Four soldiers -- three of them part of the U.S.-led coalition, one of them NATO -- were killed Sunday in separate combat incidents in eastern Afghanistan, according to coalition and NATO statements. A total of 37 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have died in bombings in Afghanistan. With files from the Associated Press and the Canadian Press http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories Afghan army waiting for promised arms from Canada Updated Sun. Aug. 12 2007 8:12 AM ET Canadian Press KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Toting obsolete equipment and an arsenal dating back to the Soviet era, the Afghan National Army says it's waiting for modern weapons promised by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor. The Afghan army, which Canada is counting on to take over fighting against the Taliban in coming months, still has yet to receive C-7 assault rifles and ammunition the Canadian government pledged to deliver, said Lt.-Col. Sherinshaw Khobandi. In Ottawa, a Defence Ministry spokesman confirmed that supplies for the Afghan National Army are planned, but declined to specify a date when they will be delivered. Khobandi said O'Connor should have replenished the arsenal, at least in part, during his last visit. O'Connor's last public trip to Afghanistan was in March. "We had a good talk with him," he said through an interpreter during a visit to the Kandahar multinational base on Saturday. "I suggested that he could help us with some weapons and some ammunition. His recommendation was that within the next few months, he'll supply us with brand new equipment from(the) Canadian Forces." The C-7 delivery delay has slowed the preparation of Afghan recruits and stalled their takeover of combat operations against the Taliban. For now, Afghan soldiers must rely on Soviet-era weapons, such as the Kalashnikov AK-47. At best, the AK-47s are not as precise and have a shorter range than the C-7, which is the Canadian version of the American M-16. Khobandi is waiting for the weapons with impatience. "I'm hoping and waiting for that day (to) come," he said. "So that we can work together with the Canadian Forces, with their new equipment and then we'll be trained with the new Canadian equipment for future operations." In the meantime, the Afghan military has a lot of work to do before it can match the firepower and challenge insurgents in place of Canadian troops. In Kandahar province, less than 500 men are sufficiently trained and ready for combat. Canada's new tactical group commander in the Kandahar province, Lt.-Col. Alain Gauthier, remains optimistic. Gauthier said Afghan soldiers will have sufficient numbers and will be adequately trained to secure districts around Kandahar City. "This will permit us (the Canadian military) to enlarge our field of action farther into the province," said Gauthier, who replaced Lt.-Col. Rob Walker. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew..._name=&no_ads= |
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Two injured Canadian soldiers leave hospital
Updated Sun. Aug. 12 2007 12:23 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Five Canadian soldiers were injured when their convoy rolled over a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Sunday. Military officials say the soldiers suffered non-life threatening injuries when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and rocket-propelled grenades on Sunday. Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, who visited the wounded soldiers, said their injuries were not serious. Two of the soldiers have already left the hospital and returned to their units, Laroche said. Four of the soldiers are from Quebec, including one from Montreal, two from Laval and another one from Valcartier. The fifth one is from Moncton, N.B. The troops were travelling in a RG31 light-armoured vehicle when they were ambushed about 13 kilometres west of Kandahar. CTV's Danelle Balfour told CTV Newsnet on Sunday that the wounded soldiers belonged to the National Support Element, who generally remain on the base unless supplies and soldiers are needed elsewhere. The soldiers had just supplied the Ma'sum Ghar base and were halfway back to the base at Kandahar when they were attacked. Three U.S. soldiers died Sunday in roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan, bringing the number of international soldiers killed over the weekend to six. The soldiers were engaged in combat in the Nangarhar province when their vehicle struck an explosive device. A civilian interpreter was also killed. Of the 66 military personnel and one diplomat killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002, 37 have died in bombings. With files from the Associated Press and the Canadian Press http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories |
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DAMMIT!!
Goddam media just CAN'T leave that alone! They wouldn't have said "Four of the soldiers are from Alberta, including one from Edmonton...." etc.
I'm going to write CTV a nastygram giving them Royal Shite this afternoon AND cnews (it's on there too)... I don't give a damn whether they get their feeds from CP or the News Fairy, this is JUST...NOT...RIGHT!
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SUNRAY SENDS AND ENDS :remember :support |
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Hi
The one from Moncton is an 8th Canadian Hussar (the unit I'm RSS to) and he's OK. Just a little shook up and even less bruised. He's a good troop and let's say that John's Son should know him. Oh, and I'm home!!!! regards Darrell |
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welcome back Darrell
Are you any relation to Roy "Head-Like-A-Forty-Pound-Smartie, Big-Like-Locomotive, Smart-Like-Dump Truck" Zinck. Ex of 1Bn NSHighrs(N)? Just wondering.
Glad to hear the Trooper from your locale will be OK, in fact, it's good news that all of those involved in the latest brew-up were'nt more seriously hurt. Hopefully this ends the "Backstage Jitters" stage and the BG can move forward with a little more confidence. Anyways, welcome home, kick back, have a couple of wobbly-pops, and then get ready for another action packed training year. Cheers
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