Canada in Afghanistan

[John McGillivray]

Roadside bomb kills two Canadian soldiers
Updated Sat. Nov. 17 2007 9:38 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Two Canadian soldiers and their Afghan interpreter are dead after a roadside bomb detonated.
Three other Canadian soldiers were wounded in Saturday's incident and were transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The dead have been identified as Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier and Pte. Michel Levesque of the Royal 22nd Regiment, popularly known as the Van Doos.
Their ages and home towns have not yet been released by the military.
The incident occurred in Zhari District, about 40 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
The soldiers were north of a Canadian forward operating base near the village of Bhazar-e Panjawaii when the blast occurred shortly after midnight.
They were inside a LAV-III armoured vehicle.
Today's deaths bring Canada's toll to 73 military personnel and one diplomat since 2002.
Canadian troops haven't suffered any fatalities since Sept. 24, when Cpl. Nathan Hornburg died. A mortar shell killed him as he was out on patrol.
Retired brigadier general Lew MacKenzie told Newsnet the incident took place more than 12 hours ago.
While information is sketchy, MacKenzie said roadside bombs -- more formally known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs -- work in two main ways: The IED is fired at the vehicle, or is detonated as the vehicle drives over the device.
"I must give the forces a lot of credit, because they intercept the vast majority of these things -- some while they're being built, some while they're being set up, and some before they explode," he said.
"But regrettably, in a volatile situation, one or two of them every once in a while actually work, and tragedy in this case is it actually did."
Zhari has been an active area of operations in recent days, MacKenzie said.
That was echoed by Col. Christian Juneau at the Kandahar Air Field.
He told reporters that the Taliban were desperate to end their fall combat season on a high note.

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Coroner probing suicide of Quebec soldier wounded in Afghanistan
Last Updated: Friday, November 16, 2007 | 10:45 PM ET
CBC News

A Canadian soldier who lost part of his leg after being wounded in Afghanistan has taken his own life in his Quebec apartment.
The Quebec coroner's office is investigating the death of Frederic Couture, who shot himself earlier this week at home in Roxton Pond, Que.
Couture was 21 when he stepped on a landmine while on patrol in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar in December 2006.
He was the first soldier from CFB Valcartier to be wounded there. Couture's left leg had to be amputated below the knee.
But he drew media attention for his positive attitude and determination to move forward despite his injury.
In an interview with CBC News in January, Couture appeared optimistic about his future.
A Canadian soldier who lost part of his leg after being wounded in Afghanistan has taken his own life in his Quebec apartment.
The Quebec coroner's office is investigating the death of Frederic Couture, who shot himself earlier this week at home in Roxton Pond, Que.
Couture was 21 when he stepped on a landmine while on patrol in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar in December 2006.
He was the first soldier from CFB Valcartier to be wounded there. Couture's left leg had to be amputated below the knee.
But he drew media attention for his positive attitude and determination to move forward despite his injury.
In an interview with CBC News in January, Couture appeared optimistic about his future.
“My life is not finished. I'm going to have a prosthesis," he said. "And all the things that I was doing, I'm going to do it in the future. It's not because I lost a foot that I can't do anything."
In his home town of Roxton Pond, neighbors said they were shocked to hear about Couture's death, although some said he appeared to be having a hard time and hadn't left his home in a while.
Retired Brigadier General Gaston Cote of the Canadian Forces said Couture seemed to be recovering well both mentally and physically and that help was available.
"From what I know about the system, everything was probably done," Cote said. But he said you can't make a person talk about their problems if they don't want to.
"So it's difficult to make sure the mental health of our soldiers is up to par."
A recent military survey of returned soldiers found that nearly 400 of the 2,700 who had served in Kandahar may have come home with mental health problems.
The survey found problems ranged from post-traumatic stress disorder to suicidal tendencies, although high-risk drinking was the predominant problem.
Rob Tyler, a former infantry captain and psychotherapist, said soldiers often mask their true feelings.
"A lot of these people are having night terrors, wake up sweating as they went back to whatever it was and relived it again," he said. "Flashbacks during the day. A car backfires and to them it sounds like small arms fire."
George Dumont, a former soldier recovering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, said many soldiers try to deny their psychological suffering.
"We are supposed to be somewhat invulnerable, invincible. And when you come to terms with yourself, realizing you're just a human being like everybody else, it's pretty hard to swallow knowing that all your friends will shun you and put you aside because you are sick."
Dumont also said there is little the military could have done to help Couture if he didn't ask for help.
Speaking in Quebec City on Friday, Heritage Minister Josée Verner offered her condolences to Couture's family and said the Canadian military offers all possible support to soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/st...ure-death.html