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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Oct 2, 2003 11:59:14 GMT -5
Sometimes you can do everything right and still something will go wrong. This happened on a routine patrol in Kabul. Two soldiers were killed and five wounded. www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/10/02/landmine031002The two who died are Sgt. Robert Allan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Barrenfinger.
The three men injured are M/Cpl. Jason Cory Hamilton, Cpl. Thomas Jarret Stirling and Cpl. Cameron Lee Laidlaw. I'm sure there will be more to come out as the story progresses. This brings Canada's war dead total to six since operations started in Afghanistan. God bless all of guys and gals from every country who are fighting terrorism. RIP |
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Post by BadCompany on Oct 2, 2003 12:10:15 GMT -5
The jeeps used by Canadian soldiers on patrols in Afghanistan are older vehicles and are not protected against landmines.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again; if you are going to send Canadian soldiers into every god-forsaken piece of hell on earth, then for the love of god, give them the proper equipment to do their job.
If it is in fact true that the deaths of these soldiers could have been prevented with better, more modern, more expensive equipment, then I hold the Canadian Government personally accountable.
Its one thing to cut budget, its another to cost lives.
Rest in peace.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Oct 2, 2003 13:07:20 GMT -5
Excellent point BC. I wish more people would take an active interest in these issues. Thanks.
I remember my Regiment was preparing for Rwanda back in '94. We still had the same vehicles the CF is using today. However, in an attempt to lower the damage from landmines, we discussed using sandbags on the floors and seats, similarily to what the Regiment had to do in Lebanon in '78. Uncomfortable, but it would've lessened the effects of a mine.I never got to Rwanda as I was posted to Ottawa shortly before the deployment. But, the guys and gals who went, went with the equipment they had and performed extremely well. They had no war-related fatalities, but an Airborne augmentee did commit suicide on Christmas-day.
In short, the average Canadian soldier is very well out-fitted with arms and body armour. But the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) or Coyote as it's called, is about the only real piece of modern armoured vehicle in the system. The rest are allocated monies for maintenance and even then, they often have to canabalize one vehicle to put another on the road. That practice happens on a daily basis because there aren't enough monies in the system to purchace proper replacement parts.
Conversely, the American supply system has the ability to swap entire helicopter engines to meet the mission; from European theatre of ops to desert ops let's say. However, our Sea King choppers are death traps. They, along with other pieces of equipment in our system, are canablized in order to make others serviceable. Our navy and search and air rescue (SAR) teams deserve more.
The Leopard I main battle tank (MBT) is outdated beyond belief. Make no mistake, the crews who man them are some of the best professionals you'll ever seen; I have first-hand knowledge of that, buds. But, the equipment they are using is continually being modified. If only someone, somewhere could do the figures I'm sure they'll see that the mods they've continually done over the years are probably costing more to do, than it would be for purchasing the Leopard II MBT outright.
The airforce is in trouble also. They are using the ancient CF 18 Hornet and, like the Leopard, it's outdated. And, like the Leopard crews, the pilots are some of the best in the world as well. When I was in Germany, Canadian pilots were known for "pushing the envelope." And, I remember a fatal accident occuring over the city of Karlesrue because of it. However, what many people don't know is that other countries have to compromise the NATO and/or UN mission in order to let the CF 18 participate. The problem is, the radio in the CF 18 has the capcity to use only one frequency at a time, while other NATO countries have state of the art communications for their air fleets.
And for the navy, well, they have the City Class firgates now and they are excellent war ships. However, they were fleeced on their recent submarine acquisitions. The Trafalgar Class submarines are little more than death traps and the politicians who negotiated for the deal should be made to cruise in one of them in order to appreciate the magnitude of waste. And, of course, the naval helicopters are no different. Death traps with brave crews.
It's hard to say whether updated equipment would have prevented these deaths (sometimes landmines are doubled and even trippled on top of each other), but it certainly would've lessened the chances for sure. The soldiers, seamen and airmen who are fighting for us deserve nothing less than the very best.
THANKS AGAIN!
Rick
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Post by Cranky on Oct 3, 2003 2:42:15 GMT -5
Why do we need ANY weapons when everybody knows that Canadians are loved around the world? In fact, why give them modern weapons when all they have to do is say "We are Canadian eh" and carry a small beaver on their heads.
One day, when some fanatics decide to kill a few hundred Canadians, that will be the day when we "get it" and arm the boys with what they need to live and fight for CANADA.
God bless our boys and girls.
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