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Royal 22nd (Van Doos) Soldier Injured

tomahawk6

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A Van Doos soldier was wounded in a landmine explosion while operating with the ANA. Prayers out for a speedy recovery.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2006/12/17/pf-2841108.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A Canadian soldier was seriously injured in a landmine explosion outside a military base here in Panjwayi District yesterday.

Around 11:45 a.m. local time, according to officials at Kandahar Airfield, the soldier was walking with Afghan troops near the town of Pashmul, outside the Canadian forward operating base Ma'sum Ghar, 25 km west of Kandahar City, when he stepped on a buried anti-personnel mine.

The soldier, identified as Pte. Frederic Couture of the Royal 22nd (Van Doos) regiment based in Val Cartier, Que., was airlifted to the Canadian-run hospital at Kandahar Airfield.

After surgery, he was said to be in serious but stable condition. His age and hometown in Canada were not immediately available.

Couture was working with the Operational Mentoring Liaison Team, the unit training the Afghan army to fight alongside coalition soldiers.

He was moving on foot with Afghan soldiers to a village east of Route Summit, a road being built by Canadians near Pashmul.

Couture was going to plan a shura (council meeting) with village elders to discuss the delivery of coalition supplies to villagers.

A NATO operation against the Taliban currently building in the area, Operation Baaz Tsuka, includes plans to deliver aid to villages in the Panjwayi District to help them get ready for the winter.

When completed, Route Summit is intended to be a vital economic link between Panjwayi District and Highway One in the north, the east-west artery linking Kandahar and Kabul.

The Canadian engineers are working just beyond the perimeter of the Canadian forward operating base Ma'sum Ghar, in an area notorious for suicide attacks and hidden explosives.
 
Hmmm.... as a Pte, not sure he was going to plan a shura.
He was prolly part of the protection for the team going to do the planning .... but I guess I'm splitting hairs again :(

Get well soon!
 
Best wishes on a speedy recovery to the soldier and strength to the family as he recovers :salute:
 
Was speaking with a friend about this earlier today.  Seems odd that the name was released as it's not normally standard procedure when a fatality is not involved.  Suggest that if anyone knows further about this young man wrt his home town and such they keep it quiet and let the papers pass on the info.  I find it suspect that the name was released w/o this extra info.

Still, prayers go out to him for a speedy recovery.  Stay safe.
 
Best wishes for a speedy recovery....
 
He is currently in a German hospital with an amputated feet.  The doctors are going to decide next week if he is sent back to Canada or he is going back to Afghanistan.

http://lcn.canoe.com/lcn/infos/lemonde/archives/2006/12/20061218-101842.html
 
:rage:

Again the media are messing things up!!!! They talk about his best friend from his platoon who went with h
him in germany to support. !!!!! He will not returned in the theatre.

For the name of the patient, i was also surprise to see it in the news. The nok asked to keep the media away.

I wish him  a fast recovery.

:salute:
 
Based on the PA release he specifically asked that they release his name, but not where he calls home.
 
A sad update.

Que. coroner examining death of soldier amputee
Updated Fri. Nov. 16 2007 5:34 PM ET
The Canadian Press
QUEBEC -- The Quebec coroner's office is investigating the death of a young soldier who returned from Afghanistan an amputee.
Frederic Couture died on Wednesday at home in Roxton Pond, Que., Anne-Marie-Lessard, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office, said Friday.
Couture was 21 last Dec. 16, when he was out on patrol with a contingent of Canadian and Afghan soldiers in the dangerous Panjwaii district of Afghanistan.
It was the first day of Operation Falcon's Summit, and the soldiers were headed out to a nearby village to determine what kind of help villagers would need to get through the winter.
At least a half dozen others passed by the landmine ahead of Couture but the young Quebecer's foot came into contact with it as it lay buried in the desert sand.
Couture's left foot had to be amputated.
A soldier with the Van Doos regiment based at CFB Valcartier, near Quebec City, Couture was recuperating at his parents' home in Roxton Pond, approximately 90 kilometres southeast of Montreal.
Couture was philosophical in an interview shortly after the blast.
"It's war over there,'' he told Le Journal de Montreal in January. "I was injured and that's part of the risk of my job.
"You can get killed crossing the street.''
A recent military survey of returned soldiers found that nearly 400 of 2,700 who had served in Kandahar may have come home with mental health problems.
The survey found problems ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to suicidal tendencies, although high-risk drinking was the predominant problem.
Speaking in Quebec City, Heritage Minister Josee Verner offered her condolences to Couture's family.
She said the Canadian military offers all possible support to soldiers returning from Afghanistan.  :salute:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071116/que_soldier_071116/20071116?hub=TopStories
 
This summer before my son deployed to Afghanistan there was an information meeting for the family members. One of the subjects covered was the media. As an example the Lt.Col brought up an unfortunate incident involving Pte Couture. Some members of the media were able to track him down. One day his mother received a call from someone asking for Pte Couture using his first name. She thought that it was one of his friends so she passed the phone to her son. Soon after he started the conversion, he was shocked to find himself on live talk radio. Needless to say he was not happy, his family was not happy and the army was not happy.
 
A sad story

Rest now, you are at peace

My condolences to family, friends and comrades
My thoughts are with you

Chimo!
 
Tragic, at more than one level.....

Condolences to colleagues, family and friends during this doubly horrible time.

:salute:
 
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