Death in Afghanistan: The media scent blood
The killing of Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca gives some in the media a chance to pile on. I wonder why.
1) "Slain soldier 'disillusioned' by Afghanistan duty"
2) "Reservist was disillusioned with military: family"
Only one family member is quoted, an uncle. A girlfriend's father is not family.
3) "Slain soldier felt `misled': Patrols ran long, rations fell short, friend's dad says; Man considered talking of suicide to get discharged"
At least the Star does not call him "family".
Video of Minister O'Connor speaking in Winnipeg.
And a generally outraged thread at Army.ca; followed by this editorial. Please read it. In particular this comment.
1) "Slain soldier 'disillusioned' by Afghanistan duty"
Cpl. Anthony Boneca had recently become "disillusioned" with Canada's role in the conflict, his girlfriend's father Larry DeCorte said Monday.The same story reports what National Defence Minister O'Connor said today at 17 Wing, Winnipeg:
Boneca, a reservist, didn't have the proper training to serve on the front lines where he died Sunday, DeCorte told The Canadian Press.
O'Connor said reservists who travel to Afghanistan get the same training as other military personnel but that once they are in the region, they cannot choose to opt out.I watched the minister on TV. The CF members present cheered him several times, especially when recalled what a sergeant had told him when he was a young lieutenant in the army: "You only volunteer once". Actually this was the first time I have been impressed by Mr O'Connor; he handled himself well (except for saying our troops are in Helmand province vice Kandahar).
2) "Reservist was disillusioned with military: family"
Only one family member is quoted, an uncle. A girlfriend's father is not family.
3) "Slain soldier felt `misled': Patrols ran long, rations fell short, friend's dad says; Man considered talking of suicide to get discharged"
At least the Star does not call him "family".
Video of Minister O'Connor speaking in Winnipeg.
And a generally outraged thread at Army.ca; followed by this editorial. Please read it. In particular this comment.
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 5:43 p.m.
2 Comments:
O'Connor hints at it, but primary reservists on foreign deployment have to volunteer for the privilege (unless an obligatory call-up is ordered by the Governor-in-Council). So Cpl Boneca chose to go where the action is, so to speak, and would have received appropriate operational training (as well as the opportunity to bow out) before deploying.
This isn't to say he would not have changed his mind once in-theater, but it's not as if he thought he was going to the corner store for a carton of milk and somehow ended up fighting George Bush's War on Terror(tm).
Nice editorialising by our Allied home front media. =(
The girlfriend is toeing the same line as her dad and Boneca's uncle:
"He hated it there," Megan DeCorte told reporters Monday.
"They were told they were going to go out for seven days and they were out for 22 days. All they had were little ration packages and they ran out of food, he lost about 50 pounds."
I'm not going to argue that the girlfriend didn't know his mind, so it's at least possible that he was less than pleased about his second trip to Afstan. Especially if he was used to light duty like gate guard the first time.
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