Cruelbreed
08-03-2009, 06:06 PM
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian military officials have identified the second soldier killed in Afghanistan on Saturday as Sapper Matthieu Allard, of the 5th Combat Engineers Regiment.
Allard, 21, was killed alongside his friend, Cpl. Christian Bobbitt, in a roadside bomb attack in the Zhari district, west of Kandahar.
Allard's name was not immediately released while military officials contacted next of kin
The two combat engineers had dismounted from their vehicle to secure the area after an initial blast near the town of Senjaray, when they were killed by a second explosion.
Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, commander of Task Force Kandahar, said that while Allard was small in stature, he was a leader among his squad who used his humour to keep up their morale.
Maj. Yannick Pepin, commander of the 51 Field Engineering squadron, said Allard and Bobbitt, 23, were good friends.
"They were always together," he said following a ramp ceremony honouring the men at the NATO airbase in Kandahar.
He described Allard as a hard-working team leader.
"If you didn't say stop, he's always continue working."
The men were in Afghanistan with the 2e Batallion of the Royal 22e Regiment, based in Valcartier, Que.
"The loss of these two is very difficult," Pepin said, but the work will continue.
Combat engineers are on the forefront of the deadliest aspect of the war in Afghanistan -- clearing roads of deadly improvised explosive devices.
"The roads in Kandahar are heavily travelled by Afghans and soldiers like Christian and Matthieu work tirelessly under extremely hazardous conditions to try and prevent restrictions to the freedom of movement of Afghans, so that they can begin to live more normal lives," Vance said.
He said there has been a lot of media attention on the coalition death toll this summer, but appealed to the public not to "succumb to the temptation" to see it as a failure of the mission.
Vance announced that soldiers had disrupted two bomb-making factories the same day Allard and Bobbitt died.
"I assure you that hundreds of thousands of Kandahar citizens are deeply grateful for the work of soldiers like Christian and Matthieu."
Vance said Allard and Bobbitt were likely involved in defusing half of the IEDs found in Kandahar last month, saving dozens of innocent lives in July alone.
Allard is survived by his parents, Rene and Christine
http://www.military-world.net/Afghanistan/2140.html
Allard, 21, was killed alongside his friend, Cpl. Christian Bobbitt, in a roadside bomb attack in the Zhari district, west of Kandahar.
Allard's name was not immediately released while military officials contacted next of kin
The two combat engineers had dismounted from their vehicle to secure the area after an initial blast near the town of Senjaray, when they were killed by a second explosion.
Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, commander of Task Force Kandahar, said that while Allard was small in stature, he was a leader among his squad who used his humour to keep up their morale.
Maj. Yannick Pepin, commander of the 51 Field Engineering squadron, said Allard and Bobbitt, 23, were good friends.
"They were always together," he said following a ramp ceremony honouring the men at the NATO airbase in Kandahar.
He described Allard as a hard-working team leader.
"If you didn't say stop, he's always continue working."
The men were in Afghanistan with the 2e Batallion of the Royal 22e Regiment, based in Valcartier, Que.
"The loss of these two is very difficult," Pepin said, but the work will continue.
Combat engineers are on the forefront of the deadliest aspect of the war in Afghanistan -- clearing roads of deadly improvised explosive devices.
"The roads in Kandahar are heavily travelled by Afghans and soldiers like Christian and Matthieu work tirelessly under extremely hazardous conditions to try and prevent restrictions to the freedom of movement of Afghans, so that they can begin to live more normal lives," Vance said.
He said there has been a lot of media attention on the coalition death toll this summer, but appealed to the public not to "succumb to the temptation" to see it as a failure of the mission.
Vance announced that soldiers had disrupted two bomb-making factories the same day Allard and Bobbitt died.
"I assure you that hundreds of thousands of Kandahar citizens are deeply grateful for the work of soldiers like Christian and Matthieu."
Vance said Allard and Bobbitt were likely involved in defusing half of the IEDs found in Kandahar last month, saving dozens of innocent lives in July alone.
Allard is survived by his parents, Rene and Christine
http://www.military-world.net/Afghanistan/2140.html