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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/canadian_soldiers_afghanistan_051212/20051212?hub=CTVNewsAt11
G-Wagon praised as life-saving in Kandahar blast
CTV.ca News Staff
An armour-plated vehicle is being credited with saving the lives of three Canadian soldiers and a foreign journalist who were injured in an explosion near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Military sources said the four suffered non life-threatening injuries when a roadside bomb exploded under their vehicle as they drove near the town of Maywand, about 90 kilometres west of Kandahar.
The bomb, believed to be an improvised explosive device, went off at about 11 a.m. local time, or about 1:30 a.m. ET.
Colonel Steve Bowes, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) commander in Kandahar, said the soldiers -- members of the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry -- were "obviously banged up."
"One soldier had a fractured leg, a second soldier had a fractured ankle and a fractured foot," he told CTV Newsnet Monday, describing the injuries sustained by the two soldiers who had been sitting in the front seats. "They are both obviously in pain but they will be okay."
Col. Bowes said a forensic investigation into the incident was ongoing, but was still "very much in the preliminary stages."
Officials said the injuries could have been serious, even fatal, if the soldiers and the journalist hadn't been travelling in one of the army's new, 'G-Wagon' vehicles.
The vehicle -- an enclosed model specially equipped with armour plating and shock-resistant windows -- had its front end crushed by the explosion. The windows and passenger compartment were left largely intact, however.
G-Wagon Praised
Jae Malana, of the Department of National Defence, told CTV Newsnet that the G-Wagon was "highly regarded in the military."
"Our soldiers have some of the best equipment in the world and are well-trained," Malana said Monday. "The G-Wagon is a very reliable vehicle and will continue to be used by the Canadian forces."
"If it was an old Iltis jeep these men would probably all be dead right now," military expert Scott Taylor told CTV News, referring to the light-duty, open-top transport vehicles the G-Wagons have now replaced in active service.
For soldier Ryan Siebold, who's in Edmonton training for his own deployment to Afghanistan, it's easy to have confidence in the new vehicles.
"It makes our job a little bit easier, you know, when we actually get the opportunity to go overseas and do our tours -- it's nice to know we have some decent equipment," he said.
"We've heard they're actually quite incredible compared to the old ones."
An American helicopter flew two of the soldiers to an American field hospital at Kandahar. They and the other two injured were all treated at the facility and are listed in stable condition.
The military has not released the names of the soldiers, although next of kin have been informed. The journalist injured in the blast has been identified as Tim Albone -- a freelancer working for The Globe and Mail and a British newspaper.
"I'm convinced that is what, and in fact that is what the soldiers say, saved our lives," Albone told The Canadian Press, echoing the praise being heaped on the G-Wagon.
Track Record
The blast Monday was the third incident involving Canadians in just three weeks.
Last week, three members of Canada's secretive commando unit, Joint Task Force 2, were injured in an operation against insurgents in Afghanistan.
And on Nov. 24, Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield was killed in Afghanistan when the armoured G-Wagon he was riding in rolled over near the city of Kandahar. Pte. Woodfield, 24, was the eighth Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.
When Sgt. Robert Short and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger were killed while patrolling in Afghanistan's Jowz Valley back in Oct. 2, 2003, the Iltis they were in was widely criticized for having done little to protect them.
After that incident, the Defence Department awarded a $130-million contract to Mercedes-Benz Canada for 802 G-Wagons -- 150 of which were equipped with Armour Protection Systems.
The military later bought more of the vehicles and armour kits, bringing the total to 1,159 by late last year.
Canada has about 250 soldiers running a PRT based in Kandahar. As many as 1,250 Canadian soldiers will be serving in Afghanistan by February 2006.
G-Wagon praised as life-saving in Kandahar blast
CTV.ca News Staff
An armour-plated vehicle is being credited with saving the lives of three Canadian soldiers and a foreign journalist who were injured in an explosion near Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Military sources said the four suffered non life-threatening injuries when a roadside bomb exploded under their vehicle as they drove near the town of Maywand, about 90 kilometres west of Kandahar.
The bomb, believed to be an improvised explosive device, went off at about 11 a.m. local time, or about 1:30 a.m. ET.
Colonel Steve Bowes, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) commander in Kandahar, said the soldiers -- members of the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry -- were "obviously banged up."
"One soldier had a fractured leg, a second soldier had a fractured ankle and a fractured foot," he told CTV Newsnet Monday, describing the injuries sustained by the two soldiers who had been sitting in the front seats. "They are both obviously in pain but they will be okay."
Col. Bowes said a forensic investigation into the incident was ongoing, but was still "very much in the preliminary stages."
Officials said the injuries could have been serious, even fatal, if the soldiers and the journalist hadn't been travelling in one of the army's new, 'G-Wagon' vehicles.
The vehicle -- an enclosed model specially equipped with armour plating and shock-resistant windows -- had its front end crushed by the explosion. The windows and passenger compartment were left largely intact, however.
G-Wagon Praised
Jae Malana, of the Department of National Defence, told CTV Newsnet that the G-Wagon was "highly regarded in the military."
"Our soldiers have some of the best equipment in the world and are well-trained," Malana said Monday. "The G-Wagon is a very reliable vehicle and will continue to be used by the Canadian forces."
"If it was an old Iltis jeep these men would probably all be dead right now," military expert Scott Taylor told CTV News, referring to the light-duty, open-top transport vehicles the G-Wagons have now replaced in active service.
For soldier Ryan Siebold, who's in Edmonton training for his own deployment to Afghanistan, it's easy to have confidence in the new vehicles.
"It makes our job a little bit easier, you know, when we actually get the opportunity to go overseas and do our tours -- it's nice to know we have some decent equipment," he said.
"We've heard they're actually quite incredible compared to the old ones."
An American helicopter flew two of the soldiers to an American field hospital at Kandahar. They and the other two injured were all treated at the facility and are listed in stable condition.
The military has not released the names of the soldiers, although next of kin have been informed. The journalist injured in the blast has been identified as Tim Albone -- a freelancer working for The Globe and Mail and a British newspaper.
"I'm convinced that is what, and in fact that is what the soldiers say, saved our lives," Albone told The Canadian Press, echoing the praise being heaped on the G-Wagon.
Track Record
The blast Monday was the third incident involving Canadians in just three weeks.
Last week, three members of Canada's secretive commando unit, Joint Task Force 2, were injured in an operation against insurgents in Afghanistan.
And on Nov. 24, Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield was killed in Afghanistan when the armoured G-Wagon he was riding in rolled over near the city of Kandahar. Pte. Woodfield, 24, was the eighth Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.
When Sgt. Robert Short and Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger were killed while patrolling in Afghanistan's Jowz Valley back in Oct. 2, 2003, the Iltis they were in was widely criticized for having done little to protect them.
After that incident, the Defence Department awarded a $130-million contract to Mercedes-Benz Canada for 802 G-Wagons -- 150 of which were equipped with Armour Protection Systems.
The military later bought more of the vehicles and armour kits, bringing the total to 1,159 by late last year.
Canada has about 250 soldiers running a PRT based in Kandahar. As many as 1,250 Canadian soldiers will be serving in Afghanistan by February 2006.
