Losing the PR war at home and abroad

Christie Blatchford, Globe & Mail, 30 Oct 06

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TORONTO — If the Taliban are clobbering the Canadian Forces in the Afghan public relations war, as some fear, then bloody hell if the same thing isn't happening here at home.

Over the weekend, modestly attended and utterly banal peace marches held in cities across the country led Saturday radio and TV newscasts and print websites (including The Globe and Mail's) and Sunday newspapers, but barely a scintilla of attention was paid to the awarding of prestigious Canadian military decorations and honours.

The awards were announced midafternoon on Friday -- in plenty of time for newspaper deadlines -- but rated only a mention in some major Saturday papers, including The Globe (which ran only a brief, as we call minuscule stories, and then in only some editions) and the National Post. In Toronto, for instance, the only daily to run a proper story on Saturday was the Sun.

In a world where the word "hero" has all but lost its meaning -- attached as it is to almost anyone who endures a mild trauma without mental collapse or meets the now low threshold of nominal good citizenship -- about 40 gallant Canadian soldiers went almost entirely unrecognized by the press, and thus by their countrymen.

It is little short of disgraceful, and I have to say, when I saw my own newspaper on Saturday -- we managed to run four other Canadian Forces-related stories that day, including one which suggested that soldiers are low-achieving losers in flight from dead-end jobs -- I was ashamed.

Virtually all those honoured are members of 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry or those support and reserve units attached to them; they were the Canadian Battle Group in Kandahar during what the military calls Roto 1, the period from January-February this year through the end of August.

Many of them are soldiers I got to know during my two tours as an embedded reporter in Afghanistan; a couple, including Sergeant Patrick Tower, the big dog among them all, I know well.

Two of the awards -- for Captain Nichola Goddard, a 26-year-old from the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Shilo, Man., who was given the Meritorious Service Medal, and 22-year-old Private Kevin Dallaire, who was mentioned in dispatches -- were made posthumously. Capt. Goddard and Pte. Dallaire were both killed in action, respectively, on May 17 and Aug. 3.

Four of the decorations, including Sgt. Tower's, were awarded for the first time since 1993, when Canada created its own military honours, including a Victoria Cross, separate and distinct from the traditional British awards. So the announcement was momentous for two reasons -- first, the remarkable courage of those honoured, and second, because in four cases, the awards were historic.

Sgt. Tower won the Star of Military Valour, in prestige behind only the Victoria Cross, which has never been awarded.

The official citation reads as follows: "Sgt. Tower is recognized for valiant actions taken on Aug. 3, 2006, in the Pashmul region of Afghanistan.

"Following an enemy strike against an outlying friendly position that resulted in numerous casualties, Sgt. Tower assembled the platoon medic and a third soldier and led them across 150 metres of open terrain, under heavy enemy fire, to render assistance. On learning that the acting platoon commander had perished, Sgt. Tower assumed command and led the successful extraction of the force under continuous small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Sgt. Tower's courage and selfless devotion to duty contributed directly to the survival of the remaining platoon members."

Three other soldiers were awarded the Medal of Military Valour.

Sergeant Michael Denine's citation reads as follows: ". . . on May 17, while sustaining concentrated rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and small arms fire, the main cannon and the machine gun on his light armoured vehicle malfunctioned. Under intense enemy fire, he recognized the immediate need to suppress the enemy fire and exited the air sentry hatch to man the pintle-mounted machine gun.

"Completely exposed to enemy fire, he laid down a high volume of suppressive fire, forcing the enemy to withdraw. Sgt. Denine's valiant action ensured mission success and likely saved the lives of his crew."

Master-Corporal Collin Fitzgerald, with B Company 1PPCLI out of Shilo, won his MMV for "outstanding selfless and valiant actions carried out on May 24, 2006, during an ongoing enemy ambush involving intense, accurate enemy fire.

"MC Fitzgerald repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire by entering and re-entering a burning platoon vehicle and successfully driving it off the roadway, permitting the remaining vehicles trapped in the enemy zone to break free. MC Fitzgerald's courageous and completely selfless actions were instrumental to his platoon's successful egress and undoubtedly contributed to saving the lives of his fellow platoon members."

Private Jason Lamont, a medic, earned his MMV on July 13, when "an element of the reconnaissance platoon came under heavy enemy fire from a compound located in Helmand Province, and was isolated from the rest of the platoon.

"During the firefight, another soldier was shot while attempting to withdraw back to the firing line and was unable to continue. Without regard for his personal safety, Pte. Lamont, under concentrated enemy fire and with no organized suppression by friendly forces, sprinted through open terrain to administer first aid. Pte. Lamont's actions demonstrated tremendous courage, selflessness and devotion to duty."

On the day that Sgt. Tower performed so nobly, Aug. 3, four young Canadians were killed in combat -- first, Corporal Chris Reid, and shortly afterward, Sergeant Vaughn Ingram, Corporal Bryce Jeffrey Keller and Pte. Dallaire -- a number of others were badly wounded, and still more felled by the devastating summer heat.

The scene, as it's been described for me in detail by participants from many corners of the battle, was nightmarish and horrific. Sgt. Tower was not only courageous, he remained calm enough to take care of his troops in ways great and small, and sufficiently devoted that once having led his men to safety, he was ready to go back out into the thick of the danger. As he told Commanding Officer Ian Hope and Regimental Sergeant-Major Randy Northrup, who themselves were awarded the Meritorious Service Cross, "Good to go, sir."

Oh, and Sgt. Ingram was Sgt. Tower's best friend.

The key to the SMV and MMV is a phrase I love, because it is so soldierly, so understated: The awards are given for an act of valour, self-sacrifice or devotion to duty "in the presence of the enemy."

Well, the boys are back home now, minus their friends and mates killed in action or accident, and not all of the living have their limbs or their eyes, and all are changed. There are many days when they must wonder if somehow, they aren't still in the presence of some enemy even less readily identifiable than the Taliban.