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This was in the Victoria Times Colonist today
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=0805f2d4-a5b4-47ea-ad59-d1180fc1b4be&k=67781&p=2
'I know the risk'
Reservist says he's doing his generation's duty from Afghan war zone
Barb Pacholik, CanWest News Service; The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, July 24, 2006
Despite the loss of two more Canadian soldiers on the weekend and his own close brush with a bomb, a Regina area reservist says he has no second thoughts about volunteering to serve in Afghanistan.
"I know the risk," Jim Sinclair said in a telephone interview Sunday from Kandahar, Afghanistan. One day earlier, two Canadian soldiers were killed by a car bomb just west of that city as a convoy of soldiers returned to their base. Sinclair was part of the convoy, but was amongst a group that arrived before the blast.
"If this means the world's going to get better and my life is taken to better my niece's and nephews' lives down the road, then so be it," Sinclair said firmly. "When it's your time, it's your time."
The 36-year-old Regina Beach bachelor said he'd rather die "honourably . . . trying to accomplish something."
"At the end of the day, no soldier wants to go to do this kind of work. But it's got to be done. Every generation has a part to play in global stability. This is my generation," he said.
Sinclair is on his third tour of duty overseas as a member of the Regina Rifles, having also served in Bosnia and Croatia.
He joined the reserves in 1988 and enjoyed it so much, he served in the regular army for 10 years.
Upon leaving the service, he became the owner of the Regina Beach Campground and finds himself longing for a dip in the lake these days.
While Reginans spent Pile of Bones Sunday sweltering under temperatures hovering above 30C, Sinclair has been contending with days when the thermometer easily reaches the high 40s -- and then he's carrying about 45 kilograms of gear. "It feels like somebody's walking around following you with a hair blow dryer," he chuckled.
Sinclair left Regina during the height of winter, arriving in Afghanistan on Jan. 23. "We hit the ground running and have just been going hard ever since," he added.
He's been involved in a number of combat operations, holding every position from weapons detonation to sharpshooter.
The last three weeks have been spent in intense battles with the Taliban. Sinclair has welcomed the opportunity to put his 17 years of training into action. "It's kept us all alive so far," he added.
But it isn't training alone that spared Sinclair and his fellow soldiers from narrowly becoming so-called "friendly fire" casualties.
On July 8 near the start of this latest stint in the field, Sinclair's company came under heavy fire.
Seeing where the shots were coming from, he gave the platoon commander the direction and distance. The information was then relayed for an air strike, but it appears the U.S. plane may have overshot the target.
"I was watching the target, waiting for the bomb to come in. I should have seen it, but I heard it. I could hear it coming in, and I couldn't see the plane. The plane had already taken off. You know something bad is happening, and it just makes this ungodly noise as it comes screaming in. And then, it basically blew up."
Sinclair estimates the 225-kilogram bomb was just five metres away from the nearest soldier -- whose birthday it was that day -- when it exploded.
"It was probably 20 metres from me and my partner. No one got hurt -- it was an act of God, I swear," he said. The nearest soldier escaped with only a concussive head injury and was treated and released from hospital.
"The first thought that came through my brain was to get ahold of the radio guy . . .to get him to make sure they don't drop another one," said Sinclair.
The incident is being investigated by the Canadian military, but some soldiers have suggested soft ground may have kept the bomb from having a greater impact.
Things just got riskier after that incident. "That was just our own guys shooting at us," he joked.
He was part of a platoon that moved in with three light armoured vehicles to assist a group of Americans pinned down by Taliban forces. "We went rolling in there, and sorted it all out. It was just like cavalry -- like watching old Western movies," he said. "It was just pure chaos," he said of the erupting gunfire.
When the combat operations came to an end on Saturday, the soldiers started moving back into Kandahar. Sinclair said the two soldiers killed were in the final group returning. "They had a break down. One bad thing added up to another. It gave the Taliban an opportunity to strike."
Despite such setbacks, Sinclair is confident there is progress. "It took 10 years in Bosnia for things to become normal there," he added.
A proud member of the Regina Rifles, Sinclair spoke of the regiment's success throughout the decades and in this particular operation. He told of two members of the Rifles who went into a cave to chase down a Taliban member making explosive devices.
"Saskatchewan should be proud of them dudes. They did a hell of a good job."
Sinclair was uncertain when he'll be returning to Canada. He expected his platoon would be deployed into the field again after getting re-equipped in Kandahar.
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=0805f2d4-a5b4-47ea-ad59-d1180fc1b4be&k=67781&p=2
'I know the risk'
Reservist says he's doing his generation's duty from Afghan war zone
Barb Pacholik, CanWest News Service; The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, July 24, 2006
Despite the loss of two more Canadian soldiers on the weekend and his own close brush with a bomb, a Regina area reservist says he has no second thoughts about volunteering to serve in Afghanistan.
"I know the risk," Jim Sinclair said in a telephone interview Sunday from Kandahar, Afghanistan. One day earlier, two Canadian soldiers were killed by a car bomb just west of that city as a convoy of soldiers returned to their base. Sinclair was part of the convoy, but was amongst a group that arrived before the blast.
"If this means the world's going to get better and my life is taken to better my niece's and nephews' lives down the road, then so be it," Sinclair said firmly. "When it's your time, it's your time."
The 36-year-old Regina Beach bachelor said he'd rather die "honourably . . . trying to accomplish something."
"At the end of the day, no soldier wants to go to do this kind of work. But it's got to be done. Every generation has a part to play in global stability. This is my generation," he said.
Sinclair is on his third tour of duty overseas as a member of the Regina Rifles, having also served in Bosnia and Croatia.
He joined the reserves in 1988 and enjoyed it so much, he served in the regular army for 10 years.
Upon leaving the service, he became the owner of the Regina Beach Campground and finds himself longing for a dip in the lake these days.
While Reginans spent Pile of Bones Sunday sweltering under temperatures hovering above 30C, Sinclair has been contending with days when the thermometer easily reaches the high 40s -- and then he's carrying about 45 kilograms of gear. "It feels like somebody's walking around following you with a hair blow dryer," he chuckled.
Sinclair left Regina during the height of winter, arriving in Afghanistan on Jan. 23. "We hit the ground running and have just been going hard ever since," he added.
He's been involved in a number of combat operations, holding every position from weapons detonation to sharpshooter.
The last three weeks have been spent in intense battles with the Taliban. Sinclair has welcomed the opportunity to put his 17 years of training into action. "It's kept us all alive so far," he added.
But it isn't training alone that spared Sinclair and his fellow soldiers from narrowly becoming so-called "friendly fire" casualties.
On July 8 near the start of this latest stint in the field, Sinclair's company came under heavy fire.
Seeing where the shots were coming from, he gave the platoon commander the direction and distance. The information was then relayed for an air strike, but it appears the U.S. plane may have overshot the target.
"I was watching the target, waiting for the bomb to come in. I should have seen it, but I heard it. I could hear it coming in, and I couldn't see the plane. The plane had already taken off. You know something bad is happening, and it just makes this ungodly noise as it comes screaming in. And then, it basically blew up."
Sinclair estimates the 225-kilogram bomb was just five metres away from the nearest soldier -- whose birthday it was that day -- when it exploded.
"It was probably 20 metres from me and my partner. No one got hurt -- it was an act of God, I swear," he said. The nearest soldier escaped with only a concussive head injury and was treated and released from hospital.
"The first thought that came through my brain was to get ahold of the radio guy . . .to get him to make sure they don't drop another one," said Sinclair.
The incident is being investigated by the Canadian military, but some soldiers have suggested soft ground may have kept the bomb from having a greater impact.
Things just got riskier after that incident. "That was just our own guys shooting at us," he joked.
He was part of a platoon that moved in with three light armoured vehicles to assist a group of Americans pinned down by Taliban forces. "We went rolling in there, and sorted it all out. It was just like cavalry -- like watching old Western movies," he said. "It was just pure chaos," he said of the erupting gunfire.
When the combat operations came to an end on Saturday, the soldiers started moving back into Kandahar. Sinclair said the two soldiers killed were in the final group returning. "They had a break down. One bad thing added up to another. It gave the Taliban an opportunity to strike."
Despite such setbacks, Sinclair is confident there is progress. "It took 10 years in Bosnia for things to become normal there," he added.
A proud member of the Regina Rifles, Sinclair spoke of the regiment's success throughout the decades and in this particular operation. He told of two members of the Rifles who went into a cave to chase down a Taliban member making explosive devices.
"Saskatchewan should be proud of them dudes. They did a hell of a good job."
Sinclair was uncertain when he'll be returning to Canada. He expected his platoon would be deployed into the field again after getting re-equipped in Kandahar.
