Early warning

When this blog started receiving a fair bit of traffic yesterday from Google searches for CWO Robert Girouard, I figured there was only one possible reason. I hoped I was wrong, but that hope has now been extinguished.

“Two professional, dedicated Canadian soldiers, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard and Corporal Albert Storm, made the ultimate sacrifice yesterday in Afghanistan. Our hearts and thoughts go out to their families and friends during this difficult time.

Chief Warrant Officer Girouard and Corporal Storm were killed when their armoured vehicle was attacked by a suicide bomber as they traveled on the highway to the Panjwayi area of Afghanistan. Chief Warrant Officer Girouard was a very senior Non-Commissioned Officer and a proven leader. Corporal Storm was a brave, dedicated and professional soldier. Both served valiantly against an enemy that uses arbitrary attacks to thwart any progress for the Afghan people to achieve their freedom and stability.

There are risks involved in this selfless work. However, the sacrifice of these soldiers will not be forgotten and this event will not deter us from helping Afghans reclaim their lives and build a free and democratic society.”

My condolences to CWO Girouard's family, especially his daughter Jocelyn, who dropped by and commented at this site when her father was mentioned in a previous post. Although I cannot fathom her grief, I hope she may take some solace in the admiration, respect, and pride many of us feel for her father. Their sacrifice will be remembered.

Also killed in the blast was Cpl Albert Storm, and the sacrifices made by him and his family are no less significant. He too will be remembered.

Note: Much as this information was all over the media yesterday, I have held off with this post until the names were released officially. There's a damned good reason that convention is in place, and I wish it would be respected.

I don't see the point of publishing names before their official release. Those who didn't know the deceased don't particularly care about the names, and those who do deserve to learn of their loss from a source other than the media. If the entire point of publishing early is to sell more online ads or push more pounds of newsprint out the door...well, a man's dignity and his family's feelings should be worth a lot more than that. That includes his military family, not just the blood relations who get a visit from the padre.

I won't tar all journalists with the same brush, since some are obviously better than others, but I wish as an industry they would show a bit more class than rushing to see who can blurt a dead man's name out to the world the fastest, all other considerations be damned.