No Lack of Courage (27 page)

8
.    Major Greg Ivey, interview with author, 17 October 2006.

9
.    Major Matthew Sprague, interview with author, 19 November 2007.

10
.  Christie Blatchford, “Did He Abandon His Troops?”
Globe and Mail
, 29 December 2006,
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061229.wxafghan-blatch29B
, accessed 30 December 2006.

11
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

12
.  Major Matthew Sprague, interview with author, 19 November 2007.

13
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

14
.  Adam Day, “Operation Medusa: The Battle For Panjwai, Part 2; Death in a Free Fire Zone,”
Legion Magazine
, 1 November 2007,
www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2007/11/operation-medusa-the-battle-for-panjwai-2
, accessed 8 July 2008.

15
.  Mitch Potter, “The Story of C Company,”
Toronto Star
, 30 September 2006,
www.thestar.com/afghanistan/article/106992
, accessed 27 October 2006.

16
.  Corporal Justin Young, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

17
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

18
.  Potter, “The Story of C Company.”

19
.  Master-Corporal J. O'Neil, interview with author, 18 October 2006.

20
.  Corporal Sean Teal, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

21
.  Potter, “The Story of C Company.”

22
.  Day, “Death in a Free Fire Zone.”

23
.  Private Mike O'Rourke, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

24
.  Corporal Gary Reid, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

25
.  Private Mike O'Rourke, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

26
.  
Ibid
.

27
.  Niefer was later awarded the Military Medal of Valour.

28
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

29
.  Sergeant Donovan Crawford, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

30
.  Lieutenant Ray Corby, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

31
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

32
.  Day, “Death in a Free Fire Zone.”

33
.  Private Mike O'Rourke, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

34
.  Potter, “The Story of C Company.”

35
.  To this date there is no explanation. Two theories exist. One: it was a dud. Two: once the bomb fell off its GPS (global positioning system) track the arming device shut-off. Sprague opined, “We had lots of bad luck that day, but we also had lots of good luck as well.” The aircraft has also been both described as a French Mirage and an American aircraft of unknown type.

36
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

37
.  Lieutenant J. Bules, interview with author, 20 October 2006.

38
.  Confidential interview, 8 July 2008.

39
.  
Ibid
.

40
.  Major Matthew Sprague, interview with author, 19 November 2007.

41
.  Captain Rob Carey, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

42
.  
Ibid
.

43
.  Sergeant Jamie Walsh, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

44
.  Confidential interview, 8 July 2008.

45
.  Sergeant Jamie Walsh, interview with author, 14 October 2006.

46
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

47
.  Lieutenant J. Bules, interview with author, 20 October 2006.

48
.  
Ibid
.

49
.  Major Greg Ivey, interview with author, 17 October 2006. Ivey praised the FOO, “And kudos to them because they did an outstanding job. They were able to pull back. They leaguered up on the Arghandab River to consolidate and do their casualty evacuation. So it was quite a day.”

50
.  Master-Corporal J. O'Neil, interview with author, 18 October 2006.

51
.  Major Matthew Sprague, interview with author, 19 November 2007.

52
.  Quoted in Blatchford, 256.

53
.  Potter, “The Story of C Company.”

54
.  Major Greg Ivey, interview with author, 17 October 2006.

55
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Shane Schreiber, interview with author, 18 October 2006.

56
.  Lieutenant Jeremy Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

57
.  
Ibid
.

Chapter Six

1
.    Captain Ryan Jurkoskie, from TF Orion, saw the problem in a different light. He stated, “I felt that we left an unresolved situation for other people to deal with . . . Op Medusa should have been our battle group, we knew the battle space, we knew the fucking area,
we'd been patrolling through there day in and day out, decisions were made again for all the right reasons but tactically I think, anyways in my opinion, we were too dogmatic in the ingress and egress of our troops and the timelines associated with it rather than tactical fighting and where we had a two month learning curve prior to our fist firefight, we had two months to shake ourselves out. Their first firefight was in their RIP [relief in place], like holy fuck.” Interview with author, 24 January 2007.

2
.    Interview with members of 7 Platoon, 14 October 2006.

3
.    Christie Blatchford, “Did He Abandon His Troops?”
Globe and Mail
, 29 December 2006,
www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061229.wxafghan-blatch29B
, accessed 30 December 2006.

4
.    Quoted in Adam Day, “Operation Medusa: The Battle For Panjwai, Part 2; Death in a Free Fire Zone,”
Legion Magazine
, 1 November 2007,
www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2007/11/operation-medusa-the-battle-for-panjwai-2
, accessed 8 July 2008.

5
.    Master Warrant Officer Keith Olstad, interview with author, 11 January 2009.

6
.    Captain C. Purdy, interview with author, 17 October 2006.

7
.    
Ibid
.

8
.    Quoted in Adam Day,
Witness to War
(Ottawa: CDA Press/Magic Light Publishing, in press 2009), draft manuscript. Quote is based on a confidential interview.

9
.    Chief Warrant Officer Bob Girouard, interview with author, 15 October 2006. RSM Girouard was killed by a suicide vehicle EID on 27 November 2006. One sergeant revealed, “I knew that was going to happen that way. People did not take the enemy as serious as they should have. They went in too cocky.” One of the SOF members who manned an OP on Ma'SÅ«m Ghar noted, “On 3 September when the RCR guys were going in, we radioed to our headquarters and told them we didn't think it was a good idea. The AC-130 overhead was reporting lots of guys [enemy] in the area. Also, we hadn't hit all the objectives effectively.” He stated that it was no surprise that the Taliban was not fighting back. As he explained, “You can't fight LAVs and aircraft at a distance with RPGs.” Confidential interviews, 8 July 2008.

10
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Omer Lavoie, interview with author, 8 October 2006.

11
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Omer Lavoie, letter to author, 25 May 2007.

12
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Omer Lavoie, interview with author, 8 October 2006.

13
.  Brigadier-General David Fraser, interview with author, 21 October 2006.

14
.  
Ibid
. “Those soldiers who criticize, they're seeing this much of the battle space,” stated Fraser, holding his hands close together. “My battle space is 220,000 square kilometres. And I tell you, this is about hearts and minds. This is about winning with an idea. Our fight is not with the people of Afghanistan—they're looking at both the Taliban and their government and wondering who to side with;” Mitch Potter, “General Frets About Home Front,” Middle East Bureau, 1 October 2006.

15
.  As quoted in Adam Day, “Operation Medusa: The Battle for Panjwai. Part I, The Charge of Charles Company,”
Legion Magazine
, September/October 2007.

16
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Omer Lavoie, interview with author, 8 October 2006.

17
.  Lieutenant J. Hiltz, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

18
.  
Ibid
.

19
.  Major Matthew Sprague, interview with author, 19 November 2007.

20
.  One of the wounded described: “When I close my eyes, I also see the morning after Panjwayi. Sparks, smoke, fire . . . then the burp of the main gun of the A-10. I remember the feeling of panic as I crawled for my weapon and PPE, thinking we were under attack. I can still feel the burning on my legs and back, the shock of thinking my legs were gone. I can see the faces of the injured . . . the twice wounded soldiers of Charles. I see the face of the soldier who saved my life by applying tourniquets to my legs and stopping the bleeding from my back and arm.” Anonymous Post,
Army.ca
, “Dealing With Being Home From Kandahar,” TF 3-06 BG Notable News, 22 October 2006.

21
.  Brian Hutchinson, “C Company Shoulders Heavy Burden Fighting Taliban,”
Times Colonist
(Victoria), 12 November 2006, A8.

22
.  Mitch Potter, “The Story of C Company,”
Toronto Star
, 30 September 2006.

23
.  Captain Rob Carey, interview with author, 16 October 2006.

24
.  Major Greg Ivey, interview with author, 17 October 2006.

25
.  
Ibid
.

26
.  Brigadier-General David Fraser, presentation, Canadian Infantry Association Annual General Meeting, 25 May 2007.

27
.  The Dutch refused to provide forces for the combat component of the operation but did agree to relieve the garrison at FOB Martello so that “B” Coy could go fight. Recriminations from the RCR later surfaced that while at FOB Martello the Dutch refused to leave the compound, allowing the Taliban to regain ascendancy in the area, which the RCR had to deal with on their return.

28
.  Quoted in Adam Day, “Operation Medusa: The Battle For Panjwai, Part 3: The Fall of Objective Rugby,”
Legion Magazine
, 26 January 2008,
www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2007/11/operation-medusa-the-battle-for-panjwai-2
, accessed 8 July 2008.

29
.  
Ibid
.

30
.  
Ibid
.

31
.  
Ibid
.

32
.  
Ibid
.

33
.  
Ibid
.

34
.  
Ibid
.

35
.  
Ibid
.

36
.  Captain Piers Pappin, interview with author, 14 July 2008.

37
.  
Ibid
. On 5 September, “B” Coy took its first casualties (four wounded) when a group of insurgents attempted to flank their position and attacked a LAV with RPGs and recoilless rifle.

38
.  
Ibid
.

39
.  
Ibid
.

40
.  The unit had arrived in theatre on 22 August 2006.

41
.  Kenneth Finylayson and Alan D. Meyer, “Operation Medusa: Regaining Control of Afghanistan's Panjwayi Valley,”
Veritas: Journal of Army Special Operations History
, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2007, 4. It must be noted that this article, with regard to the events of the Canadian Battle
Group during Operation Medusa, as well as its overall contribution, is wildly inaccurate. In addition, the dates given in the article do not correspond with the Canadian record of events.

42
.  
Ibid
., 4.

43
.  General Rick Hillier, speech at Conference of Defence Associates Seminar, Ottawa, 15 February 2007.

44
.  Donald McArthur, “Canadian Troops Pressed Ahead on Operation Medusa,”
Canada.com
, 6 September 2006,
www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id+5e781f24-dd05-4e6-88c1-bbd5e09251f8&ck=50060
, accessed 16 October 2006.

45
.  
Ibid
.

46
.  Lieutenant-Colonel Shane Schreiber interview with author, 18 October 2006.

47
.  
Ibid
.

48
.  
Ibid
.

Chapter Seven

1
.    VCDS, NDHQ briefing, 8 May 2007. The first tanks arrived 3 October 2006.

2
.    Brigadier-General Dave Fraser, interview with author, 21 October 2006.

3
.    
Ibid
.

4
.    
Ibid
.

5
.    Commander's Entry, TF Kandahar War Diary, period 1–30 September 2006.

6
.    Captain Piers Pappin, interview with author, 14 July 2008.

7
.    Quoted in Kenneth Finylayson and Alan D. Meyer, “Operation Medusa: Regaining Control of Afghanistan's Panjwayi Valley,”
Veritas: Journal of Army Special Operations History
, Vol 3, No. 4, 2007, 4.

8
.    Lieutenant-Colonel Shane Schreiber, interview with author, 18 October 2006.

9
.    
Ibid
.

10
.  
Ibid
.