Posted on 01/19/2004 10:00:32 PM PST by ETERNAL WARMING
THE CITIZEN Latest News
Secret army unit gets robbed Joint Task Force 2 has truck, counter-terrorism gear stolen during stop at store
David Pugliese The Ottawa Citizen
January 17, 2004
Canada's commandos may have tested their mettle against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, but they appear to be no match for homegrown car thieves.
A Joint Task Force 2 pickup truck containing counter-terrorism gear was stolen last May after personnel from the unit made a quick stop at a store, the military has confirmed.
Although police recovered the Ford S350 pickup two days later, the thieves had made off with two empty gun magazines, a barrel for a pistol, clothing and a computer laptop. Other equipment, which the military refuses to discuss for security reasons, was recovered in the vehicle.
Canadian Forces officials also declined to name the location from where the truck was stolen as that would reveal details about the unit's activities. They would only confirm that the theft took place somewhere in Canada.
Navy Lieut. Kent Penney said investigators were able to determine that the stolen laptop did not contain information that would compromise national security. But the thieves might have realized the gear inside the truck was the property of the commando team.
"The items in the vehicle could be attributed to the unit," said Lieut. Penney, a spokesman for the military's Counter-terrorism and Special Operations branch. "Certain clothing items would have been attributed to the unit itself."
Asked whether the thieves would be able to determine the identities of members of the unit, he replied: "We don't know that."
JTF2 is considered one of the most secret organizations in the Canadian Forces. The military acknowledges that the special operations unit exists and is based in Ottawa, but releases few other details. JTF2 has gone on missions in Afghanistan, Nepal, and the former Yugoslavia, among other countries.
In Canada, it has conducted training missions in many large Canadian cities and has been on hand at major international events such as the G8 summit meeting in Alberta in 2002.
Lieut. Penney said in the unit's 10-year history this is the first time one of its vehicles has been stolen. The JTF2 members who were operating the truck faced administrative action and were required to partly pay for the missing gear. The JTF2 members, who are from the unit's support branch, had locked the truck before going into the store.
No arrests have been made in the case. But Lieut. Penney said as a result of the incident the unit reviewed its security policies, in particular those relating to vehicles, and has made some changes. At the time of the theft no ammunition, explosives or complete weapons were in the truck, he added.
According to police, young people, mostly looking to go joy riding, are behind four out of 10 vehicle thefts.
It's not the first time, however, that criminals have made off with counter-terrorism gear. In 1987, thieves stole pistols, submachine-guns, hand grenades, uniforms and an identity card from three marked RCMP trucks
in the north end of Montreal. Also taken was a counter-terrorism manual. The RCMP tactical officers were in Montreal on a training mission at the time.
The theft wasn't the only vehicle incident involving JTF2 members last year. In June, a JTF2 pickup truck was driving down a steep hill when the driver swerved to avoid a small animal. The truck rolled into a ditch and JTF2 personnel inside the vehicle suffered minor injuries. The military did not identify where the accident took place because of security reasons.
Quite true. Vancouver is bursting with muslim terrorist organizations from every corner of the terrorist world.
If UBL is coming to America for a Major Kong, he's coming in through Al-Qanada.
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