Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands | Marinka Peschmann

"Upon learning that this journalist is Canadian, the young, handsome warrior’s eyes brightly lit up and he told me how Canadians saved his life, then described how during the critical life and death hour, called the “golden hour,” after the deadly IED blast, he was aided by Canadian forces in Afghanistan, “I want to thank the Canadians who saved my life,” he said. Canada has been one of the few allies who have fought with Americans to defeat the terrorists and extremists in Afghanistan."


Laptops for Wounded Warriors Project Expands Marinka Peschmann:

The uneasy ride of Canada's tankers in Afghanistan

"The dust, the dirt, the attacks, the roadside bombs just part of a day's work for Edmontonbased Lord Strathcona's Horse as they go about their duties"
By Ryan Cormier, Edmonton JournalNovember 8, 2009

In the land of guns that is Afghanistan, members of the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse have the biggest ones around.
For six sweltering months, the 82 Edmontonbased soldiers of C Squadron operated the only tanks in southern Afghanistan. On bomb-littered roads absent of any traffic rules, the Strathcona's drove their 70-tonne machines on nearly 250 missions.
Their tanks were damaged with hidden bombs numerous times, with three major incidents, severely injuring two soldiers, but they suffered no casualties during the entire tour."

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Two units’ Afghanistan deployments extended

"ARLINGTON, Va. – Two units’ deployments in Afghanistan have been extended, the Defense Department announced Thursday night.
The 82nd Airborne Division Headquarters will spend about 50 extra days in Afghanistan, and the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade will be extended for about two weeks, a Defense Department news release said.
“The process will be managed to avoid stop-loss for personnel,” the news release said."

Two units’ Afghanistan deployments extended Stars and Stripes:

Soldier killed, 5 injured in roadside bomb blast

"A Canadian soldier travelling in a convoy carrying the senior commander in Kandahar province was killed Friday when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, 30, was a member of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton."

..."Canadians expected an uptick in hostilities as the U.S. surge began, Frayer said. "For the most part the U.S. military has reported been meeting very little resistance... But this is keeping in line with the usual Taliban tactics of laying low during a push and then returning."Bulger is the third Canadian death in Afghanistan in less than a month. He leaves behind a wife named Rebeka and two daughters."

..."The Lakefield Herald also states that Bulger started basic military training in November of 2000 in Saint Jean, Quebec, underwent trades training for the infantry in Wainwright, Alberta, and then in 2001 became the rifleman and armoured vehicle driver for the First Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton. He took a break from the forces and returned in January 2008.The death of Bulger brings to 121 the total number of Canadian soldiers have died as part of the Afghan mission since it began in 2002. "

More...CTV.ca Soldier killed, 5 injured in roadside bomb blast:

Brigade of 82nd Airborne Division get Afghan order

"A brigade of the North Carolina-based 82nd Airborne Division that had been ordered to Iraq instead will be sent to Afghanistan as part of a mission to train that country's forces, the military said Friday.
The Department of Defense said 3,300 paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Bragg will deploy in the spring and through the summer. The announcement said 700 other members of the military also will be deployed.
The troops will be assigned 'to the ongoing training and mentoring mission in Afghanistan,' the Pentagon statement said.
The 82nd brigade had been scheduled to deploy to Iraq this summer and currently is at the military's Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La., preparing for deployment."

Brigade of 82nd Airborne Division get Afghan order Associated Press Times Leader:

82nd announces return to Afghanistan for year

By Henry CuninghamMilitary editor

"The 82nd Airborne Division headquarters has received orders to deploy to Afghanistan this spring, the Pentagon announced Monday.
“We’ve anticipated the announcement of this deployment, obviously,” said Maj. Gen. Mike Scaparrotti, commander of the division at Fort Bragg. “It was in the planning, and so we’ve been doing some very specific training.”
About 800 soldiers will deploy for about a year, division officials said.
The division headquarters will replace the 101st Airborne Division headquarters in Regional Command East in Bagram as part of a normal rotation of forces, 82nd officials said. The 101st is from Fort Campbell, Ky."

The 82nd Airborne Division headquarters includes Division Special Troops Battalion and will form the core of the Combined Joint Task Force 82.

On Dec. 22, the Pentagon said about 2,800 Fort Bragg aviation soldiers will
deploy to Afghanistan in late spring, several months earlier than expected. The
aviation brigade will be based in Regional Command South, which has headquarters
in Kandahar and is commanded by a Dutch major general.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team returned from its 15-month deployment to Afghanistan in April.

About 3,500 paratroopers from the division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team are deployed to Baghdad through the end of the year.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team returned from a 14-month deployment in Iraq in July.

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team returned one year ago from its 15-month deployment to Iraq. Beginning in the summer, the brigade will spend a year as the Army element of the Global Response Force, which is prepared to respond on short notice to emergencies worldwide. The brigade is conducting exercises to regain its capability to parachute into hostile areas.


Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayobserver.com or 486-3585.
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Servicemembers Volunteer to Convoy Supplies to Needy Afghans

Members of the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan unload a truck full of donations from the U.S. at a refugee camp outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Air Force Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi

"By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein, USAF
Special to American Forces Press Service


CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan , Aug. 4, 2007 – Every other week, servicemembers from all branches of the military conduct convoys from this base to deliver clothing and supplies to needy Afghans in the surrounding areas. But they're not doing it because they have to. They're doing it because they want to help."


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A Soldier's Poem to Jack Layton

A Step in the Right Direction: A Soldier's Poem to Jack Layton: "A Soldier's Poem to Jack Layton

Ole Jack Layton ~ Thoughts From A Soldier
written by Josh Forbes, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Dear Jack Layton,

You sit there in your quiet home
No fear is in your heart,
You sleep soundly certain that
It won't be blown apart.

Your children they can go to school
And play out in the park,
They've never seen a bomb explode
Heard air raids in the dark.

They've never seen dead bodies
Piled up on the street,
Your wife, she won't be beaten
Treated like a piece of meat

You are free to form opinions
Read any news print you can see,
You enjoy your rights and privileges
In this country wide and free.

The reason you can live like that
Is because I fight your wars
I fight and push the enemy back
I keep them off our shores."

Read the entire poem:

Afghanistan

A little boy sits and holds the hand of U.S. Army Sgt. Resolve Savage, from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, Arizona National Guard, while he pulls security outside of a hospital during a medical capabilities program and humanitarian assistance supply hand out in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan June 28, 2007. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Isaac A. Graham) http://www.army.mil/