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US seeks to recognize Canadians...
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20020423/3932.html
Wait due to 'Canadian protocol'
A kill from 2,430 metres
Michael Smith and Chris Wattie
National Post
Michael Smith, National Post
OTTAWA BLOCKS U.S. EFFORT TO HONOUR OUR SNIPERS: Canadian snipers pose with their 50-calibre rifle at base camp in Kandahar. Five of the men, whose names the military withheld for security reasons, were nominated for Bronze Stars by the U.S. for their prowess in fighting near Gardez. The sixth joined the unit later in the war.
The United States wants to give two teams of Canadian snipers the Bronze Star, a decoration for bravery, for their work in rooting out Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts in eastern Afghanistan, but Canadian defence officials put the medals on hold, the National Post has learned.
The five snipers spent 19 days fighting alongside the scout platoon of the United States Army's 187th "Rakkasan" brigade last month, clearing out diehard fighters from the mountains near Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.
The Americans were so impressed by the Canadian snipers that they recommended them for medals after the battle...
Many of the U.S. scouts who worked directly with the Canadian snipers were incensed that the Canadians did not get the Bronze Star, the medal for bravery the U.S. military usually gives foreign soldiers serving alongside its troops.
The snipers themselves, all of whom spoke on condition their names not be printed, have said they would prefer to receive a medal from their peers in the field rather than from National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.
[ 25-04-2002: Message edited by: Thanatos...AGAIN ]
Wait due to 'Canadian protocol'
A kill from 2,430 metres
Michael Smith and Chris Wattie
National Post
Michael Smith, National Post
OTTAWA BLOCKS U.S. EFFORT TO HONOUR OUR SNIPERS: Canadian snipers pose with their 50-calibre rifle at base camp in Kandahar. Five of the men, whose names the military withheld for security reasons, were nominated for Bronze Stars by the U.S. for their prowess in fighting near Gardez. The sixth joined the unit later in the war.
The United States wants to give two teams of Canadian snipers the Bronze Star, a decoration for bravery, for their work in rooting out Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts in eastern Afghanistan, but Canadian defence officials put the medals on hold, the National Post has learned.
The five snipers spent 19 days fighting alongside the scout platoon of the United States Army's 187th "Rakkasan" brigade last month, clearing out diehard fighters from the mountains near Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.
The Americans were so impressed by the Canadian snipers that they recommended them for medals after the battle...
Many of the U.S. scouts who worked directly with the Canadian snipers were incensed that the Canadians did not get the Bronze Star, the medal for bravery the U.S. military usually gives foreign soldiers serving alongside its troops.
The snipers themselves, all of whom spoke on condition their names not be printed, have said they would prefer to receive a medal from their peers in the field rather than from National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa.
[ 25-04-2002: Message edited by: Thanatos...AGAIN ]
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Comments
The story line gets deeper, and more bizarre...
Combined with the current upset that American soldiers have just killed four Canadian soldiers and injured six in the "friendly fire" incident, I think it's going to take a while for the officials to decide what to do about it.
As for the one soldier who has been sent home, I'm not surprised. The Canadian military (like most countries) has a strict set of rules of behaviour, and if he has threatened a chaplain and is possibly involved in this photograph incident, then he should go through the proper disciplinary procedures, even if he was involved in something the Americans believe deserves a bronze star.
As has been stated previously, WAR IS A PLACE FOR WARRIORS, and the mindset of a warrior is not "politically correct", the setting is not a place to be visited by "sensitive" people. The humor is macabre, twisted, and barbaric. Ask MoK about "hospital humor"... can't imagine it much different in UK than US. It is a defense mechanism to de-sensitize ones self so that they can just get the requisite job done.
As for the "threat"? Could have been nothing more than the chaplain touching a button that should not be touched, and being told to "GET THE F#CK OUTTA MY FACE!"
Many times here, I have made the attempt to stress that civilians cannot comprehend warriors. Many of my brothers walked away from everybody and everything after their tours in combat, to deal with unresolved "issues" within them. Some NEVER came back in. A close friend was a "scooter tramp" - or Harley Davidson motorcycle hobo - for years (most of you would just see an outlaw biker. Hell's Angels started as a motocycle club for WW2 veterans, btw). I raced motorcycles for fifteen years. Others coped in their individual way. Most of us just wanted to be left alone.
Such is the individual personal cost of fighting for your country, the sacrifice of the individual for those he defended... and the sacrifice that continues to be paid long after the combat ended.
And I never denied that. What I said was that the reasons why it's been put on hold aren't known to us. Yes, someone inside may have said something, but it's not official and therefore I don't believe that it can be trusted.
Do I know what it's like to be in the mind of a "warrior"? no. Did I grow up on countless military bases? yes.
And what that taught me was that the military had a strict set of rules that had to be followed regardless of the situation.