W5 tonight

[William Webb Ellis]

I think CTV's W5 is doing a feature tonight on Afghanistan.  Can anyone confirm this?

Cheers

 

[Hoover]

Yes, called "Outside the wire". About the troops patrolling the mountains in search of Taliban forces, in fact I think it might be Charlie Coy that the reporter is attached to. Anyways, its on at 7pm here in Ontario..

 

[William Webb Ellis]

Thanks

 

[Big Foot]

Saturday Apr. 15 at 7pm ET and Sunday Apr. 16 at 1pm ET
An exclusive glimpse into the reality facing Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan with unprecedented access into Operation Peacemaker, the largest combat mission for Canadian infantry since the Korean War. In a special W-FIVE documentary airing Saturday, April 15 at 7 pm on CTV (in all markets), correspondent Lisa LaFlamme joins Canadian Forces on a grueling 12-day mission to track the Taliban.

 

[Armymedic]

VCR is set...

I wanna tape it so I can show the RSM all the non issued kit being worn over there... ;D

 

[17thRecceSgt]

I looked for this but didn't find it...hopefully be able to catch it Sunday.  How long is/was it?? 

 

[Franko]

About a half hour or so....

The largest operation since Korea 'eh?

So I guess Op Apollo's missions weren't that big then    :

What's next? The biggest PX sale since Korea?

Regards

 

[rormson]

Yes it was on CTV at 19:00 tonight and wasn't bad. I don't think that Lisa Laflamme emphasized how difficult is it for our guys to be living in the field; however, when the viewers see her without her studio hair doo and make-up they'll get the idea.

Was good of CTV to attempt something like this. Far better than the CBC & Mansbridge's BS.

Chimo!

 

[Quag]

I thought it was great.  Really shed light on what Canadian soldiers are doing in Afghanistan and the dangers they face every day.  Just a quick question, I noticed a lot of the troops had several days beard growth.  What is the policy for shaving while on operation?

 

[csura2]

I wondered when she mentioned the soldiers carried 25 lbs of weight on their backs and several frames later the camera pans across and shows several soldiers clearly carrying more than 25 lbs!  I think the number seems pretty low. 
I really enjoyed the show though, wish it was longer.  I liked the emphasis on the soldiers rather than the politics. 

 

[Franko]

Rationing water....why waste it on shaving?

Regards

 

[Patrolman]

Just to clartify, she actually said 25 kg's. One part that will probably upset all of the arty guys was when she referred to the new 155's as the infantry's big guns. A pretty good piece overall.

 

[LJ15]

Available on-line at:
http://www.ctv.ca/wfive

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

VCR is set...

I wanna tape it so I can show the RSM all the non issued kit being worn over there... ;D

And you will see a lot of non issued kit. The people who I watched it with kept making comments on the kit.


Edit: this post was made by 9nr domestic not CFL.

 

[George Wallace]

And you will see a lot of non issued kit. The people are watched it with kept making comments on the kit.


Edit: this post was made by 9nr domestic not CFL.

OK

Both of you back to SCHOOL!    (The people are watched it with kept making comments on the kit.  ?????)

 

[9nr Domestic]

Sorry, I will make sure I am more careful when posting.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

I must admit.. Lisa did quite the job (it seems) of keeping up with the boys.  I am sure she was laden with more than just a makeup kit (at one point you can see the soundmans mic sticking out of her bag) and she was with them the whole way up the mountain.

One pet peeve of mine: is there not a single person around that can educate the media on the correct way to abbreviate Master Corporal??? (MCpl by the way, CTV people)

I enjoyed the show, will be PVRing it tomorrow when it reairs at lunch (Atlantic time).  It's good to see people using the kit I hear about so often in the forum.

 

[Hoover]

Yes. MCpl and WO were both abbreviated wrong. Warrant Officer was abbreviated to W.O. instead of WO.

Overall a good program, but me tinks that they were humping more than 25 kilos with bullets water and food accounted in..

 

[Armymedic]

Just a quick question, I noticed a lot of the troops had several days beard growth.  What is the policy for shaving while on operation?

Depending on the unit, during dismounted ops, shaving is usually frowned upon as to takes up water that is better used for drinking. Unless of course, you do not mind shaving dry. But then again, why carry anything extra you are not going to use...like a razor.

If you notice, when they all leave camp, everyone is clean shaven. Its not until later you see stubble.

 

[TangoTwoBravo]

I look forward to seeing it.  I went up there for about a week and spent some time chatting with Lisa and her cameraman.  It is good that the press are coming along and investing the time to get the story instead of some 30 second sound bite.

It is now quite routine for the troops here to spend three weeks deployed far from camp, and shaving rules are relaxed a bit (one week's growth is pretty much the norm right now).  In my patrol I was the only one wearing the tac vest (cue Mr Burns singing voice "see my vest, see my vest, it is different from the rest..."), but then again I was a guest.  As to the weight of the kit I did not have a scale.  The kit was, however, very heavy and climbing mountains with all that was a feat in itself (especially for the guys with radios).  Food and water is remarkably heavy.

Again, I look forward to seeing it.

Cheers,

2B