Most of the world doesn’t realise it, but Canada is also engaged in the ‘War on Terror’. Why doesn’t the most of the rest of the world know it? Because Canada is a modest nation; that’s why. The article that follows this one makes the ‘modesty’ point very clear.

Well, I’m Canadian, but I’m not known for my modesty. Now that I’ve prepared you, I just want to brag about my daughter Brenda and her ‘significant other’ Rick for a bit. My daughter Brenda joined the Canadian Forces (the Army) in 1999. In fact she was a trailblazer of sorts back then as she was one of the first females in Canadian history to be admitted into Combat Arms (the infantry). She joined at the rank of Private. Since joining she has served in Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan, while climbing to the rank of Master Corporal. She was deployed to Kandahar in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force on or around the first of August 2006.

She and Rick saw combat in Operation MEDUCA, which began on 02 September. The operation aimed to establish government control over an area of Kandahar Province centred on the town of Panjwayi some 30 km west of Kandahar City. During one stage of the fighting, two USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft providing support regrettably engaged friendly Canadian forces during a strafing run, using cannons. Rick was on the receiving end of those cannons, but fortunately, he only received minor head wounds – he was back to work in a week after having them ‘stapled up’ (his words) in the hospital on the base. One of his comrades was killed in the incident and 29 others were wounded – many seriously enough to be flown to Germany for treatment and then back to Canada. Some will never fight again.

Brenda and Rick arrived in Kandahar with their regiment (1RCR) in early August 2006; their six-month deployment ended in early February 2007. While they were there, 31 of their Canadian comrades were killed and about 50 were wounded. Incidentally, since the Canadians arrived in Afghanistan back in 2002, fifty-five have lost their lives (at the time of writing this on 15 May ’07) including one diplomat and 129 have been injured. These numbers are not as high as the Americans in the War on Terror at about 90 per month in Iraq alone, or the British at a total of around 150, but Canada chose not to enter Iraq without a UN mandate.

I hope that it is obvious that by writing this short piece, I’m proud of my country; and I’m extremely proud of Brenda and Rick, and all of their Brothers and Sisters in Arms of all nations who are fighting the War on Terror.

At the start of this brief bout of bragging about Brenda and Rick I mentioned that Canadians were modest. The next article – written by a Britton – will bear witness to the fact.