Kip Powick Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Stand down, soldier There is a banner someone brings to the fence of Canadian Forces Base Trenton whenever there is a repatriation of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. It reads: "Stand down, soldier. Your job is done. You can go home." People line up along the fence surrounding CFB Trenton waiting for the aircraft from Afghanistan to touch down, open its cargo door, and offer up its burden. Some of the onlookers are civilians, some are retired service men and women, some are on leave from active service and dress in uniform for the occasion. Some of them even bring young children. There's a large contingent of bikers, the Blue Knights, wearing distinctive blue vests. One couple is visiting from Nova Scotia. Another man has just come home from Europe. The gathering spreads farther and farther along the fence. Soon, a drone is heard overhead and the CC-150 Polaris transport plane comes into view. A hush falls over the people standing at the fence. The aircraft circles into position near the hangar where a family stands in the wind and cold to receive their loved one. The silhouettes, especially the shoulders, speak of their exquisite pain. Their eyes are fixed on the wooden box that is now being hoisted onto strong shoulders and carried in measured steps toward the hearse. The only colour in the whole scenario is the Canadian flag draped in its somber duty like a blanket over the fallen comrade. It seems to speak the words from the banner: "Stand down, soldier. Your job is done. You can go home." After a 20-minute repatriation service, the casket is loaded into the black hearse. The family members board a limousine. Slowly the convoy exits the gates of 8 Wing-Canadian Forces Base Trenton. The black vehicles are escorted front and back by two police cars as they drive out of Trenton and onto the celebrated Highway of Heroes. A signal is sent to a police car waiting on the ramp of the next overpass along the way to Toronto: "Cortege en route. ETA 15 minutes." Messages are radioed to the firefighters and ambulance workers in commuter parking lots all along the way to Toronto who have been anticipating the final good-bye. Each firetruck and ambulance rides to the top of its respective overpass where the crowd welcomes the shelter from the wind. The police car drives down the ramp to block traffic from entering Highway 401. The crowd on the overpass is watching for that space of several minutes when there is no traffic in the westbound lanes. Then a whisper is telegraphed from one person to another: "They're coming. They're coming." By this time, not one space is left unoccupied along the railing. I stand on the side of the hill by the sign that welcomes drivers to Brighton. I want to be as near as possible to the cortege. My student will be passing by. His sister, also a former student at my school, will be sitting in the limo with her mom and dad behind the dark glass. The last time I saw these siblings they were sitting innocently in a classroom. On my one side is a member of the Legion, a retired Sergeant-major dressed in khaki. He is the first to sight the cortege and barks instinctively, "Heads up!" to everyone on the overpass. I am frozen in place, steeling myself against an onslaught of emotion, tears burning behind my glasses. The Sergeant-major snaps a salute and, even though he is a complete stranger, I feel supported by his experience and professionalism. Behind me, the people who have come to the overpass for just this moment wave their flags. The dark glass of the limo opens and a long arm in a black coat ending in a black glove answers in silent acknowledgment. In less than a moment the cortege is gone. Only now do I notice how many young people have also been standing vigils at the overpass. They look to me like students skipping school. Who are all these other people? Does each of them have a connection, as I do, to the fallen soldier? Some of them are relaying messages by cell phone -- to other overpasses down the line. Are all the on-lookers on all the overpasses along the Highway of Heroes connected, like a web that stretches from Trenton to Toronto cradling the casket of the fallen at its centre? What a strange experience our presence creates. A unique made-in-Canada ad hoc ritual that leaves participants feeling richer, and sadder, and more connected for having spent this one moment in the wind. Patricia Calder Colborne, ON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 God Bless those who have fallen in Canada's name. Damn the Politicians who killed them for no legitimate cause...(Afghanistan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thank goodness Al-Quada and the people who would harbour them and their chemical and biological warfare ambitions are weak enough to be considered not a legitimate cause any more. Woxof says......Good decisions, Mr. Martin, Harper and Obama for deciding on the most legitimate cause of our generation and longer. Ignore the bleeding hearts. That is called......leadership. Just like Churchill had and Chamberlain had not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thank goodness Al-Quada and the people who would harbour them and their chemical and biological warfare ambitions are weak enough to be considered not a legitimate cause any more. Woxof says......Good decisions, Mr. Martin, Harper and Obama for deciding on the most legitimate cause of our generation and longer. Ignore the bleeding hearts. That is called......leadership. Just like Churchill had and Chamberlain had not. Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes surprise visit to Afghanistan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- at 9:35 on May 7, 2009, EDT. By Terry Pedwell, THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Stephen Harper says an injection of thousands of U.S. soldiers into Afghanistan will help Canada refocus on reconstruction and other aid projects in the war-ravaged country. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - An injection of thousands of U.S. soldiers into Afghanistan will help Canada refocus on reconstruction and other aid projects, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said during a surprise visit to the war-ravaged country. But the bolstering of NATO troop levels will also lead to more violence, said Canada's top soldier. Harper left Afghanistan after paying a surprise visit there Thursday, where he greeted Canadian troops and toured one of Canada's signature Afghan rehabilitation projects. The 17,000 American soldiers expected to bolster troop levels in Afghanistan will allow Canada to be more effective with the troops it currently has on the ground, Harper said. "The addition of American troops will allow us to do everything we're doing now but on a much bigger scale and able to multi-task more effectively," he said. It will also ultimately lead to more bloodshed, said Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk. "When you bring in a lot more forces with the purpose of interdicting the Taliban roots coming in out of the country, and you block that, there will be activity," Natynczyk predicted. "There will be violence in those areas." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Mr. Martin, Harper ........ That is called......leadership. Just like Churchill had Woxof--- a man out of touch with reality as demonstrated by puting Harper/Martin in the same catagory as Churchill....and who equates WWII to an unwinable, as demonstrated by the USSR, conflict where we have no reason to expect anything other than more deaths of our troops...all to no avail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Woxof--- a man out of touch with reality as demonstrated by puting Harper/Martin in the same catagory as Churchill....and who equates WWII to an unwinable, as demonstrated by the USSR, conflict where we have no reason to expect anything other than more deaths of our troops...all to no avail. Hmmm...so we leave and Al-Quada/Taliban are in power again and therefore we are saving on occasional deaths of our troops. And you say that it is me who is out of touch with reality. When will people realize that we are in a war for the long haul. Why? Because we will be attacked and attacked again and again no matter how fast and far some want to run. We can fight it there or we can fight it here but we will fight it because the religious freaks over there are bent on confrontation. It would appear that the one leader that you didn't criticize me about for supposedly comparing to Churchill understands this. When will the rest of us. Woxof....That is reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 It would appear that the one leader that you didn't criticize me about for supposedly comparing to Churchill understands this I chose to omit Obama as he is a "newbie" in this conflict and has not had time to see the that this is a no win situation...this is not Iraq. As far as I know we have not been attacked in Canada and if there was an attack then I agree that we should retaliate .........and as much as you scoff at mini-nukes..I say use them, or is your idea of war to only have minute surgical attacks and not have any collateral damage? Get a grip...do you think Hiroshima and Nagasaki were worth while? The war ended rather abruptly didn't it? .......but oh no, in your small world you want us to keep sending our troops over to the rock pile in search of the bad guys that the Russians couldn't dislodge with weaponary just short of nukes....what a bad joke.....at the expense of our young kids. The only way the radical threat will be eliminated is with complete ethnic cleansing, and we know that will not happen. As long as there is one or two of the bad guys left there will always be a threat...get used to the fact that you can not defeat them.......but you can make them think twice about ever coming over here. Afghanistan...Canada's Vietnam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 As far as I know we have not been attacked in Canada and if there was an attack then I agree that we should retaliate Kip; England has been attacked, Spain has been attacked, the US has been attacked, Australian tourists targeted and attacked (Philipines?, Indonesia? I forget where) and plans have been made to attack Canadian aircraft and Canadian citizens so I don't think you can really say that just since the terrorists/religious whackos haven't been successful yet we can choose not to participate in this conflict. I sure don't claim to know the answers but as far as I'm concerned we have been attacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 if there was an attack then I agree that we should retaliate .........and as much as you scoff at mini-nukes..I say use them, or is your idea of war to only have minute surgical attacks and not have any collateral damage? Get a grip...do you think Hiroshima and Nagasaki were worth while? The war ended rather abruptly didn't it? .......but oh no, in your small world you want us to keep sending our troops over to the rock pile in search of the bad guys that the Russians couldn't dislodge with weaponary just short of nukes....what a bad joke.....at the expense of our young kids. The only way the radical threat will be eliminated is with complete ethnic cleansing, and we know that will not happen. As long as there is one or two of the bad guys left there will always be a threat...get used to the fact that you can not defeat them.......but you can make them think twice about ever coming over here. Hmmm...nuclear response to a terrorist attack. Then I am the one told to "get a grip". I'll stick with the surgical strikes with minimal collateral damage thank you. Young kids die in war. That is not about to change, whether your proposed nuclear retaliatory response(if we are successfully attacked) or the present "minute surgical response" is used. Thoughtful analysis should make one easily realize that a nuclear response would not slow down the desire of these enemies to attack us and would likely garner them increased support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Seeker Alright..I will concede that plans were out there. If all are passionate enough about the issue then we should use a specific deterrent NOW.. My point is, and always will be ...... we are wasting are young troop's lives doing what we are doing NOW...we can not win. You know we all talk about the fact that the laws in this country have no teeth, the justice system sucks, etc but when the well being of ALL citizens is being threatened we merely send a few kids to the rock pile and hope they win the hearts and minds of the citizens of another country, most of whom have no idea where Canada is. Want to eradicate the threat ?.... then stand up and do something worthwhile..this country should show some fortitude and do what everyone is afraid to do....but oh no we'll all sit by and make overtures about humanity and when a nuke or bio attacks us, or the US ,or Aust etc...we'll all hold hands and lament about what could have been.... Committees will be formed, Hearings arranged and a humane course of action will be discussed......what a crock of bovine excretement Anyhow, it should be very obvious how I feel about the whole issue and I won't waste any more bandwidth voicing my opinion about this entire Afghan debacle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 England has been attacked, Spain has been attacked, the US has been attacked, Australian tourists targeted and attacked (Philipines?, Indonesia? I forget where) and plans have been made to attack Canadian aircraft and Canadian citizens so I don't think you can really say that just since the terrorists/religious whackos haven't been successful yet we can choose not to participate in this conflict. I sure don't claim to know the answers but as far as I'm concerned we have been attacked. Shocking turnaround as accused pleads guilty in Toronto bombing plot. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_34335.aspx "Some of the accused allegedly participated in a terrorist training camp in 2005, where they received weapons training and heard incendiary speeches. The Crown says some also took steps to obtain explosive material and construct truck bombs meant to target the CN Tower, the Toronto Stock Exchange, CSIS offices in Toronto and a military base, among other sites." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest woxof Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I chose to omit Obama as he is a "newbie" in this conflict and has not had time to see the that this is a no win situation...this is not Iraq. Obama has been around for years in U.S. politics. I'm sure he had opinions well before then as well. He is no newbie as anyone can easily see. From todays news.... "WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama expressed renewed confidence Wednesday in the commitment of Afghan and Pakistani leaders to battle Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents, pledging the United States “will not waver” in its efforts to support their fight against the extremist groups." http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/will+wav...0228/story.html Woxof....Obama knows. Do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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