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October 26, 2007

Veterans in Canadian Forces revelling in chance of serving in Afghanistan

By Bill Graveland, THE CANADIAN PRESS

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WILSON, Afghanistan - War may be hell but for some Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan, getting a chance to do some actual soldiering in a war zone is a dream come true.

This is especially so for longtime career soldiers who felt they missed out on combat experience during the decades when the Canadian Forces were more involved in peacekeeping around the world.

Traditionally, it's often been young people, those just entering the first blush of adulthood, who have rushed out and enlisted for an opportunity to go to war.

But with Canada largely performing a peacekeeping role in the past 30 years, many soldiers had gone their entire careers without firing a shot at an enemy.

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canoe

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Soldier charged in comrade’s shooting

By ALISON AULD The Canadian Press
Fri. Oct 26 - 6:17 AM

The mother of a Canadian soldier who was shot to death by a fellow reservist in Afghanistan said Thursday she feels "very bad" for the young man who was charged by the military with manslaughter.

Officials with the National Investigation Service said Cpl. Matthew Wilcox, a 22-year-old soldier from Glace Bay, was also charged with criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty.

Wilcox, who had been in Afghanistan since late last year, was alone in a tent with Cpl. Kevin Megeney of Stellarton on March 6 when a single shot was fired from Wilcox’s 9-mm army-issued handgun at the Kandahar Airfield.

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chronicleherald

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RMC named top research university in Canada
RMC earns honour for research in the undergraduate category
Posted By Whig-Standard

Royal Military College was named research university of the year in the undergraduate category by Research Infosource Inc.

The announcement came as the organization released Canada's Top 50 Research Universities List 2007.

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thewhig

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Opposition parties slam PM on Hillier's Afghan assessment
Top general says Afghans '10 years or so' away from taking care of own security
Last Updated: Friday, October 26, 2007 | 1:45 PM ET
CBC News

Opposition MPs assailed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives on Friday over the apparent discrepancy between the blunt assessment by Canada's chief of defence staff on the Afghanistan mission and the position taken by the government in its recent throne speech.

Speaking to reporters Thursday at Kandahar airfield, Gen. Rick Hillier said the training of the Afghan army to a point where the forces could take charge of the country's security would take "10 years or so."

The Conservatives' throne speech — which survived a vote of confidence in the House of Commons after the Liberals abstained — stated that the objective of training the Afghan army and police "should be achievable by 2011."

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cbc

[ 27 October 2007: Message edited by: AMSabourin ]