Letters to the Editor on Coverage of Boneca Death

Various Papers, 17 Jul 06

 

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Spinning Anthony Boneca

Ann Mc Donald, National Post, 17 Jul 06

 

Re: A Soldier's Duty, Editorial, July 12.

 

I am appalled at the media coverage of the death of Canadian

Corporal Anthony Boneca, a 21-year-old reservist killed in a

firefight west of Kandahar this month. Many reporters have taken the

opportunity to suggest that Cpl. Boneca had somehow been duped into

fighting for his country.

 

I have read Cpl. Boneca's e-mails. What comes through in his

messages is someone who is trying to paint a picture in the reader's

mind of what life is like as a soldier in Afghanistan. At no time

does he state that he did not want to fight, or that he felt

"misled," or that he disagreed with the Afghan mission. Those were

words put in his mouth by others after his death, and then

irresponsibly promoted by the media.

 

As a soldier's wife, and a former soldier myself, I can tell you

that it would have been impossible for Cpl. Boneca to have been

"misled."

 

Here is how the deployment process works for reservists: First, a

message is received at unit level, from higher up. This message

states that there is a rotation available, and that anyone

interested may sign up. Then, there is a selection process involving

those who indicate an interest. Then, the selected individuals are

sent for mission-specific training with the regular force unit they

will be deployed with. This training usually takes place in

Petawawa, Ont. or Wainwright, Alta., or a combination of both.

 

At any time prior to deployment, a soldier may be RTU'd (returned

to unit) if they underperform in training, or for medical or

compassionate reasons, or if they have changed their minds about the

deployment and wish to return home (and, believe me, there are many

reservists waiting in line, hoping someone goes home, so they can

take their place).

 

I am quite angry about the fact that most media are focusing on

Cpl. Boneca's "reserve" status. Cpl Boneca is the 3rd reservist to

die in Afghanistan. Yet the media didn't play up this angle with the

other deaths. Remember, too, that about 40% of the soldiers who

served in Bosnia in the '90s were reservists.

 

Among those who would make a martyr out of Cpl. Boneca, there is a

fairytale view that our Afghanistan deployment is a departure from a

pacifist stance that Canada has maintained since the Korean War.

This is nonsense. Our "peacekeeping missions" in the Balkans were

not nearly as peaceful as many in Canada believe. In addition to the

"Battle of the Medak Pocket," which is celebrated only in military

circles, Canadian soldiers often had to secure the peace at the end

of the gun.

 

Whether in the first Gulf War, Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans or

Afghanistan, our soldiers have deployed in full knowledge that they

were entering a war zone. A soldier's life is sometimes difficult.

Like Cpl. Boneca, sometimes they complain -- just like anyone

complains about their job. But in the end they beat the odds and

"soldier on." Lest We Forget.

 

Ann Mc Donald, Ont.

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A dream world

A. Sean Henry, Ottawa Citizen, 17 Jul 06

 

Re: You can't fight this myth, July 14.

 

As someone who has been fighting over the past decade (with meagre

success) to demolish the "myth of peacekeeping," I salute columnist

Dan Gardner for his lucid contribution to the cause.

 

I also noted with great concern the alleged comments of the late

Cpl. Anthony Boneca regarding peacekeeping being the sole mandate of

the Canadian Forces. He is not the first serving member to have said

that, and it is the most chilling reminder of the corrosive

influence of the myth -- that when applied to the Canadian public as

a whole weakens the will to defend the nation and its interests.

 

More than most people, Canadians live in a dream world, and

peacekeeping is the most salient sign of that condition. As far as

the campaign in Afghanistan is concerned, the government is to blame

for not stating clearly that Canada is at war, and that ultimately

our well-being is at stake -- not the well-being of the Afghans in

the first instance.

 

It was former prime minister Paul Martin who stated a year ago that

"we are at war with the terrorists, and they will not win." He

obviously understood that soldiers and civilians will fight and die

to maintain their own vital interests. It is doubtful that the same

resolve can be generated in support of peacekeeping.

 

A. Sean Henry,

Ottawa, Col. (ret'd)

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Disrespectful

Donna Lynch, Ottawa Citizen, 17 Jul 06''

 

Re: You just can't quit once you're in, and Reservist hated

life in Afghanistan, July 11.

 

I accept Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's statements that our

soldiers are well trained and not misled about the hazards of

Canada's dangerous mission in Afghanistan. But I hesitate to agree

with our defence minister's use of the word "fantastic"regarding

morale both in Afghanistan and here.

 

And I do believe that Mr. O'Connor should have been more respectful

to the family of the late Cpl. Anthony Boneca regarding this young

soldier's emotional state and the "real feelings" he expressed

regarding the actual mission in his personal e-mails and phone calls

to his family and friends back home.

 

In his media interview, Mr. O'Connor should have shown some

sympathy instead of brushing off and rejecting this young soldier's

comments. Our soldiers are still individuals -- not robots, not

cloned perfect soldiers. Training in Canada and "living the

training" in Afghanistan are two different stories. At the end of

Cpl. Boneca's six-month mission, danger and intense combat escalated

day by day, the combat forays "outside the wire" lengthened, and

carrying combat gear for long periods of time in extreme heat and

with limited sleep and rationed meals posed endless physical daily

challenges. All these factors, and even fear, most likely played

important roles in contributing to the emotional, mental and

physical well-being of Cpl. Boneca.

 

Mr. O'Connor needs to walk a mile in a Canadian soldier's military

boots in Afghanistan to fully understand and appreciate Cpl. Boneca

and the actual reality of today's mission. Perhaps then Mr. O'Connor

might not be so dismissive when a soldier expresses some real

feelings and fears, as did Cpl. Boneca. As the mother of a soldier

heading to Afghanistan in the upcoming August rotation, I extend my

deepest sympathy to Cpl. Boneca's military unit and to his grieving

family, his girlfriend and friends.

 

Donna Lynch,

Almonte

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