They are Coming Home

Joint Task Force Afghanistan and other soldiers from the ISAF community pay tribute to fallen soldiers during a ramp ceremony held at the Kandahar Air Field. Soldiers slowly carry their fallen comrades, Sergeant Christos Karigiannis, Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane, and Private Joel Vincent Wiebe, to the waiting C130 Hercules transport for the journey back to Canada All three soldiers were members of Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) from CFB Edmonton and at approximately 7:49 am Kandahar time 20 June 2007 the three Canadian soldiers were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in struck an improvised explosive device on the main road, approximately 6 km west of Forward Operating Base Sperwan-Gar. The incident occurred while the soldiers were conducting resupply operations between checkpoints. 3 PPCLI members is part of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR) Battle Group of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg).
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Bless their families and friends ~ here and in Afghanistan.

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Dignity and Tragedy Define Ramp Ceremony
Private Joel Wiebe got a dignified and glorified send-off under a dazzling crescent moon yesterday evening, but a military ramp ceremony was hardly the sort of celebration he deserved on what would have been his 23rd birthday.

He was accompanied at the back of a Hercules departing for Trenton, Ont., by the bodies of quiet Newfoundlander Corporal Stephen Bouzane and fun-loving Sergeant Chris Karigiannis.

The ramp ceremony for those killed by a bomb explosion on an off-road trail on Wednesday has become a dreaded but essential part of the military culture, having ushered 60 bodies aboard Canada-bound Hercules for the trip home in tragically unexpected style.

Yet even the send-off after three deaths this week, with more than 1,200 soldiers bearing silent witness to their sacrifice, probably won't rate the sort of national news attention of a few years ago. The novelty has clearly worn off in Canada, amid the rising volume of ceremonies.

But behind the scenes of grief that spill out across the airport tarmac is a precise military operation that occurs within minutes of casualties being inflicted.

When the phone rang in Sgt. Maj. Jim Young's office on Wednesday morning to alert him to three VSAs -- rather cold military jargon for "vital signs absent" -- it set in motion a strict protocol, complete with checklists, tape measures, scripts and maps for correct military positions.

The U.S. mortuary was alerted to the spectre of incoming bodies, identification teams were called to confirm the names of the deceased, a pastor was summoned and troops from the victims' unit were recalled to base.

"This is not a funeral service. Our priority is to get the individuals out of Kandahar with as much dignity and respect as possible," Sgt. Maj. Young said in an interview.

And that is exactly what he delivered yesterday in flawless stopwatch precision.

Hours earlier, it had been a different story, and there were hints of trouble in the air. Inbound troops from the victims' company called to say they were running late, threatening to run out of time for a shower, haircut and the rehearsal.

Then Sgt. Maj. Young's truck battery died as he was rushing to chalk the tarmac outline for the military lineup. Finally, a British Hercules was intruding on ramp ceremony space and running late for its departure. It was finally ordered to move and load in another location.

Meanwhile, at his office, Padre Malcolm Berry was polishing the address he would deliver, keeping in mind the religious wishes of the victims. He was having a different sort of day after learning he'd driven the wrong vehicle to work, his key somehow starting someone else's car. For a while there, he stood jokingly accused of being a car thief.

Capt. Randy Adams had rushed back from reconstruction duties in Kandahar City to serve as ceremonial bagpiper for the 17th time in two years, after brass discovered the other regulars were on leave.

You wonder how he can still want to play an instrument linked mostly to a pre-funeral ritual. "We're always called upon to do things we don't enjoy. I look at this as the one way I can help out in the process."

Two hours before the event, there was a military visitation for friends and comrades. If the ramp ceremony is a public display of goosebumps and wet eyes, the visitation is all grief and tears in private.

The compound outside the mortuary was draped in white, the better to mask the surrounding piles of containers and trailers.

Soldiers huddled in small groups or slumped beside armoured vehicles after paying their respects at the three aluminum "transfer cases" draped with the flag, each with the soldier's picture on top. It was crushing sadness personified.

The real event started on schedule to the sound of armoured carriers bearing the bodies rumbling toward the airport.

The aluminum "transfer cases" were unloaded in absolute silence. Then the pastor preached (nicely and briefly), the piper piped (well), the pallbearers marched while trying to keep their emotions in check and it was over.

Less than half an hour later, the Hercules left the mourning behind and was winging its way from the base.

Yet another farewell salute was over, completed with gut-wrenching emotion and flawless execution.

But perhaps the saddest part of all is that ramp ceremonies have been perfected through far too much practice. It would be delusional but nice to think this finely tuned military expertise will no longer be required.

Repatriation at CFB Trenton

Fallen soldiers Cpl Stephen Frederick Bouzane of Newfoundland; Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe of Alberta and Sgt. Christos Karigiannis of Quebec, all of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry are scheduled to arrive at CFB Trenton Sunday evening, 24 June, at 5:30 p.m. CFB Trenton personnel have announced. They are coming home.
Throughout Northumberland County, emergency services personnel and civilians will be gathering on bridges spanning the highway to honour the fallen military personnel and their families.

Prayers are With Our Three Fallen Canadian Soldiers

It is with a heavy heart that I write this next piece. I reach out to hold the hand of families and friends of 3 courageous fallen soldiers today - as tears fall and my prayers are said for the families and friends -here and overseas. Today, military families grieve together.

Three Canadian soldiers were killed at approximately 7:49 a.m. Kandahar time today (11:19 pm est Tuesday evening) when the open-top all-terrain military vehicle in which they were traveling struck a suspected improvised explosive device on the main road, approximately 40 kms west of Kandahar City. The incident occurred while the soldiers were conducting resupply operations between checkpoints. The Department of National Defence notes: "The loss of every soldier is significant and is felt by all members of Joint Task Force Afghanistan. Notwithstanding that, we remain committed to the mission and the idea of peace and stability for the people of Afghanistan. We will not be deterred by the efforts of those who would deny the Afghan people a brighter future."

The identities of two of the three Canadian soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on June 20, 2007 are as follows:

Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane,

3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane Charlie Company 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) CFB Edmonton, Garrison Friday 16 Oct 2006 Corporal At approximately 7:49 am Kandahar time today, Corporal Bouzane was one of three Canadian soldiers killed when the vehicle they were traveling in struck an improvised explosive device on the main road, approximately 6 km west of Forward Operating Base Sperwan-Gar. The incident occurred while the soldiers were conducting resupply operations between checkpoints. The Charlie Company, 3 PPCLI members are part of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR) Battle Group of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg).
Cpl. Bouzane was born in Newfoundland and grew up in Scarborough, Ont., east of Toronto. Bouzane's sister, Kelly, described her brother as a quiet and reserved young man who was in Afghanistan "to make a difference."
She told the Canadian Press that her brother went to Afghanistan for his first tour in February. She last saw him at Christmas

Private Joel Vincent Wiebe,

3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Private Joel Vincent Wiebe Charlie Company 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) CFB Edmonton , Garrison Oct 16 2006. At approximately 7:49 am Kandahar time today (11:19 pm EST Tuesday evening), Private Wiebe was one of three Canadian soldiers killed when the vehicle they were traveling in struck an improvised explosive device on the main road, approximately 6 km west of Forward Operating Base Sperwan-Gar. The incident occurred while the soldiers were conducting resupply operations between checkpoints. The Charlie Company, 3 PPCLI members are part of the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR) Battle Group of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg).
Wiebe, 22, had a fiancee in Edmonton where his regiment is based. Anna Thede had been counting the days until she would next see her fiancé, Private Joel Vincent Wiebe.
After months of separation, the young couple were planning to meet next week in Europe for a holiday. Instead, the Edmonton woman received the devastating news yesterday that Pte. Wiebe, had been one of three Canadian soldiers killed while on patrol in Afghanistan. Ms. Thede told reporters that her family and Pte. Wiebe's planned to release a public statement tomorrow.
On Ms. Thede's personal Facebook page, she wrote she is "heartbroken that her Joel is gone." The couple had been planning a winter wedding.

7:24 pm -The identity of the third Canadian soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on June 20, 2007 is as follows:-

Sergeant Christos Karigiannis,

3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

Sgt. Karigiannis, part of 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was killed yesterday along with two others while travelling between military checkpoints, just a few hundred metres apart, about 40 kilometres west of Kandahar city. The three soldiers died when their small all-terrain vehicle hit a roadside bomb that insurgents apparently managed to plant without being detected. Kelly Spence, a captain in the air force's supply reserve, said Karigiannis was truly devoted to being a pilot and being in the military.
"He was a quiet guy with a good sense of humour," said Spence, 48, who supervised Karigiannis's pilot's course in Ste. Anne de Bellevue in 1993 and then worked with him periodically through the late 1990s. "He was a good leader, a real motivator and a great human being. "If you asked who would be a good ambassador for Canada over there (in Afghanistan), Chris would be the one." Karigiannis was a top-notch soldier qualified to parachute into dangerous situations, Spence added. "The whole world could be going to hell around him and he would keep his cool."
He had also been a member of the Eden North Skydive Team in Edmonton, where he had completed more than 750 jumps.

"Through their service they contributed to ensuring a safe and prosperous future for Afghanistan," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Maria Carl, ISAF spokeswoman.

The soldiers were travelling in an M-Gator vehicle (similar to pictured above) that is used to haul small loads, a Department of National Defence spokeswoman said in Ottawa. The six-wheeled M-Gators, manufactured by John Deere Ltd., run on diesel fuel.

Asked whether it was a judgment error to use an unarmoured vehicle in hostile territory, Grant replied: "No. This is an unfortunate accident."
"The vehicle was appropriate to the task at hand and the terrain they were travelling in."
But Grant added: "We will review our procedures and if we determine that we need to change them, then we will do so."

Message from Governor General

Jun 20, 2007 21:31 ET

Message from her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean,

Governor General of Canada, on the Death of Three Canadian Soldiers

"While in Yukon on our official visit, my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I were grieved to learn of the deaths of three Canadian soldiers, when their vehicle struck an explosive device near Kandahar City, Afghanistan.The loss of Sergeant Christos Karigiannis, Corporal Stephen Frederick Bouzane and Private Joel Vincent Wiebe deeply saddens us. All three were members of the Third Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. They served this country with honour and distinction. We owe them our greatest respect.This tragic accident reminds us of the danger our Canadian Forces face every day in Afghanistan. They nonetheless remain committed to bringing peace and security to this country devastated by decades of chaos.All Canadians join me in offering sincerest condolences to the family, friends and comrades of these courageous men."

Michaelle Jean