# CBC Radio News: Ten injured in Rocket attack at KAF



## vonGarvin (30 Jun 2006)

Just as I was listening, they broke in and said that ten Coalition forces members were injured just recently in a rocket attack at KAF (I believe it was KAF).  Two injured are Canadian, one lightly injured, the other was injured more seriously and according to the news, possibly life-threatening.  They gave a name, but I can't remember what it was.  I assume NOK have been notified.


To all over there, keep the faith.  To the injured, Canadian or otherwise, Get Well Soon


----------



## GAP (30 Jun 2006)

Canadians among 10 soldiers hurt in Afghan attack
Updated Fri. Jun. 30 2006 5:05 PM ET

CTV.ca News

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060629/afghanistan_folo_060630/20060630?hub=TopStories

Very little news, except CBC news at 6 (Moncton) says there was only 1 rocket, but shrapnel wounds to about 10 coalition soldiers, 2 Canadians.


----------



## Hot Lips (30 Jun 2006)

God's speed to those injured for a quick recovery

HL


----------



## Centurian1985 (30 Jun 2006)

Bastards!

Speedy recovery to our boys.


----------



## pbi (30 Jun 2006)

Here's wishing for the seriously injured to pull through, and strength and comfort to their families.

Cheers


----------



## Michael OLeary (30 Jun 2006)

2 Canadians hurt in Kandahar rocket attack
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/06/30/kandahar-attack.html



> 2 Canadians hurt in Kandahar rocket attack
> Last Updated Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:30:36 EDT
> CBC News
> 
> ...


----------



## Haggis (30 Jun 2006)

More on CANOE.CA: (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/15/1580845-cp.html)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A Taliban rocket exploded inside the main coalition base in Kandahar Friday night, wounding 10 people including two Canadians soldiers - one of them critically. 

More than 20 rockets have been fired at the base since February but this is the first time such an attack has caused casualties. 

The critically wounded Canadian was identified as Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak of 30 Field Regiment Ottawa. He was expected to be airlifted to hospital in Germany. The other injured Canadian soldier was not identified. 

The rocket blew up inside a tent complex around 8:30 p.m., showering soldiers and civilian employees with shrapnel that tore ragged holes in the tents and knocked over tables and chairs. 

As sirens wailed, rescue teams rushed to the scene, carrying the wounded on stretchers into ambulances as smoke billowed from the scene in the darkness. 

Shocked soldiers helped tend the wounded as civilian employees hugged each other and cried. Others quickly scurried from the tents, used by coalition forces including Canadian and American soldiers, along with civilians and base employees. 

"Two Canadian soldiers were wounded in tonight's rocket attack," said Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Mark Theriault. "While one is in good condition, the other one is in critical condition. Both of them are receiving top-level medical care at the coalition hospital in Kandahar." 

A second rocket also struck the base but did not cause any casualties. 

Military officials were restricting what can be reported on the explosion for security reasons. 

The Taliban generally use old Soviet-era 107 mm rockets, which pack a big punch but are usually inaccurate. In some cases, the Taliban fire them using a crude timing-delay device that allows them to be far away when the rockets actually launch. 

Coalition forces patrol a security perimeter around the sprawling base. But the rockets have such a range that the firing sites could cover a wide area, said Major Quentin Innis, another military spokesman. 

"It is several hundred square kilometres," he said. "The nature of terrain is broken, lots of approaches, lots of places to hide. It is difficult to do this." 

Innis said the base will review its security because of the attack. The review will include tracing the trajectory of the rocket to try to determine where it was fired. 

Soldiers on the base routinely fire illumination rounds outside the razor-wired perimeter at night to scare off would-be attackers. 

The explosion came as the 2,300 Canadian soldiers were enjoying some down time in preparation for Canada Day festivities on the base, which are to include sports competitions and a barbecue. 

Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian commander of the multinational brigade, was expected to speak to the soldiers. 

Innis praised how the troops in the tent facility responded to the explosion. 

"They did an outstanding job performing first aid," he said. "It is a testament to their training and their coolness under stress."


----------



## Dissident (30 Jun 2006)

Kudos to those who kept their head and provided first aid. 

I hope Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak makes it out allright.


----------



## Bomber (30 Jun 2006)

Stay strong Mak


----------



## 3rd Horseman (30 Jun 2006)

Keep up the good fight all, swift recover to the wounded.


----------



## mpitts (30 Jun 2006)

speedy recovery to Mak and the rest.....stay strong buds


----------



## fourninerzero (1 Jul 2006)

Here's wishing a speedy recovery to all wounded.


----------



## patrd44 (1 Jul 2006)

Get well soon Mak


----------



## Link (1 Jul 2006)

Good Luck Mak, we're all praying for you.


----------



## BKells (1 Jul 2006)

Speedy recovery Mak.


----------



## CdnArtyWife (1 Jul 2006)

May a speedy recovery come to the wounded.

Happy Canada Day to all our troops, deployed and home. Thank you for what you do.


----------



## boots (1 Jul 2006)

Get better soon.I'm glad it wasn't worse 
It's not how I'd want to spend Canada Day...


----------



## Guardian (1 Jul 2006)

Prayers for a speedy recovery.

Watching the news, I'm impressed (but not surprised) at the professionalism and composure of the troops at KAF despite the situation. They're doing us proud.


----------



## beltron (2 Jul 2006)

Speedy recovery Mak and we'll see you home soon

       UBIQUE


----------



## Bomber (8 Jul 2006)

Went and saw Mak today, he looks really good.  Firm handshake and a huge grin.


----------



## military granny (8 Jul 2006)

Good to hear Bomber


----------



## vonGarvin (9 Jul 2006)

Bomber said:
			
		

> Went and saw Mak today, he looks really good.  Firm handshake and a huge grin.


OUTSTANDING news.  I saw a wee clip of him getting off the plane at Ottawa.  If I recall correctly, he did have a bit of a grin on.  Probably glad to be home AND glad to be able to witness his own homecoming.  Well done, Mak, and get well!


----------



## Bruce Monkhouse (13 Jul 2006)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/afghanistan_mak_060712/20060712?hub=TopStories
Canadian soldier enjoying miraculous recovery
Updated Wed. Jul. 12 2006 11:24 PM ET

CTV.ca News

Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tahaphon Makthepharak knows he's luck to be alive, and has the scars to prove it. 
"The shrapnel exploded somewhere behind my back and went through my lungs and heart," he told CTV News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, showing the stitches that mark his chest and stomach.

Known best as Mak, Makthepharak was one of 10 people injured in a tent at the Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan when a Taliban rocket struck on the evening of June 30. 
"Everything is so smoky, I remember," he said. "I think I remember saying I was hit."

Because of the severity of his injuries, doctors had him flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany. While on the operating table, the 30-year-old reservist almost died.  
"I was clinically dead for a while," he said. "They had to open up my ribs and massage my heart to get me stabilized." 

However, his recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. "Yeah, I was very happy to come back alive, for sure," he said.
Makthepharak flew home last week and is now out of hospital and walking again -- albeit slowly. 

The 30 Field Regiment Ottawa, his home unit, welcomed him back as a hero. "Glad to see you in ...," one soldier tells him. "One piece?" Makthepharak says, finishing the sentence. "Yeah, it's pretty cool."
Long before he was scarred by conflict in Afghanistan, Mak got was scarred by war in his native Laos. 

His father, Boutone Makthepharak,  was the commander-in-chief of the Laotian army in the 1970s.
The communists jailed Boutone Makthepharak, and eventually executed him in 1980. In the early 1980s, Makthepharak escaped with his mother to a refugee camp in Thailand when he was 10.

There, Mak met the men who would become his role models: UN peacekeepers. "The boys in the blue helmet, so on, stuff like that, serving, helping other people who need. I thought that was a cool thing to do," he said. 
They came to Canada in 1986 after being accepted as political refugees. Makthepharak joined the reserves in 1997 and served three missions abroad. "It's something small to give to humanity, I guess I would say, but I like doing what I do," he said. 

Despite his brush with death, Makthepharak is thinking about going back to Afghanistan.  

With a report from CTV's Roger Smith


----------



## The Bread Guy (13 Jul 2006)

Sounds like he's doing at least a bit better - shared  in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/afghanistan_mak_060712/20060712?hub=Canada

Canadian soldier enjoying miraculous recovery
Updated Thu. Jul. 13 2006 9:14 AM ET

CTV.ca News

Master Bombardier Bounyarat Tahaphon Makthepharak knows he's lucky to be alive, and has the scars to prove it. 

"The shrapnel exploded somewhere behind my back and went through my lungs and heart," he told CTV News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, showing the stitches that mark his chest and stomach.

Known best as Mak, Makthepharak was one of 10 people injured in a tent at the Kandahar airbase in Afghanistan when a Taliban rocket struck on the evening of June 30. 

"Everything is so smoky, I remember," he said. "I think I remember saying I was hit."

Makthepharak underwent surgery by a medical team at Kandahar airfield and was later flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany for further treatment. While on the operating table, the 30-year-old reservist almost died. 

"I was clinically dead for a while," he said. "They had to open up my ribs and massage my heart to get me stabilized."

When he woke up, he had no memory of the incident and asked the American nurse what had happened.

The nurse told him 'you got hit by a rocket,'" Makthpharak recounted to Canada AM Thursday.

However, his recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. "I was very happy to come back alive, for sure," he said.

Makthepharak flew home last week and is now out of hospital and walking again -- albeit slowly. 

"Hopefully within a month I should be able to do a light jog or maybe just like a pushup here and there."

The 30 Field Regiment Ottawa, his home unit, welcomed him back as a hero. "Glad to see you in ...," one soldier tells him. "One piece?" Makthepharak says, finishing the sentence. "Yeah, it's pretty cool."

Long before he was scarred by conflict in Afghanistan, Mak was scarred by war in his native Laos. 

His father, Boutone Makthepharak, was the commander-in-chief of the Laotian army in the 1970s.

The communists jailed Boutone Makthepharak, and eventually executed him in 1980. In the early 1980s, Makthepharak escaped with his mother to a refugee camp in Thailand when he was 10.

There, Mak met the men who would become his role models: UN peacekeepers. "The boys in the blue helmet, so on, stuff like that, serving, helping other people who need. I thought that was a cool thing to do," he said. 

They came to Canada in 1986 after being accepted as political refugees. Makthepharak joined the reserves in 1997 and served three missions abroad. "It's something small to give to humanity, I guess I would say, but I like doing what I do," he said. 

Despite his brush with death -- and protests from his friends -- Makthepharak is thinking about going back to Afghanistan. 

"I just told them it's something that I always wanted to do."


----------

