God bless Canada's Heroes.
RIP Capt. Goddard.
Posted on 05/20/2006 5:49:34 AM PDT by Clive
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The man who led Canadian troops into one of the biggest battles they've faced yet described Friday how hundreds of coalition and Afghan troops foiled insurgent fighters massing for an assault on the governor of Kandahar province, and how Capt. Nichola Goddard met her death in a Taliban ambush.
"We were in the process of doing final searches in the village when one of our call signs came in 'ambush,' " said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of Task Force Orion's battle group.
"A well co-ordinated Taliban ambush which unfortunately resulted in the death of one of our soldiers."
"She was our eyes and ears," Hope said of Goddard, who was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade while riding in a light armoured vehicle, or LAV.
Goddard's vehicle took fire from two sides and was hit by at least two rocket-propelled grenades, one of which hit the turret. As crew commander, Goddard was exposed from the shoulders up. Although her vehicle survived the explosion, Goddard did not.
The Canadians returned fire from LAVs and 155-millimetre M777 howitzers. Hope then called in an air strike from a U.S. B-1B bomber, which dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on the compound sheltering enemy forces.
"That ended the engagement," he said.
The flag-draped coffin of Goddard, 26, of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery based in Shilo, Man., was loaded onto a military aircraft for the flight home during a ramp ceremony on the tarmac of Kandahar Airfield early Friday. Troops from the United States, Britain, Romania, France, Holland, Estonia, Afghanistan joined the Canadian Forces in saluting her.
Her remains are to arrive Saturday afternoon in Trenton, Ont. The funeral is planned for next Friday in Calgary.
In Ottawa, Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, said Goddard was enthusiastic and dedicated to the men she led. "This young lady was a true Canadian, wearing the uniform of Canada, serving her country and accepting the risk that went with that service," said Hillier.
The Memorial Cross will be awarded to her husband Jason Beam, the first male spouse to receive the silver medal previously reserved for widows and mothers. Goddard was the first female Canadian soldier killed in battle while serving in a combat role.
In Kandahar, Hope told reporters about the hide-seek nature of the operation in which Goddard was killed.
It involved about 200 Canadian soldiers and the same number from the Afghan army and police, moving against a large group of Taliban fighters. Afghan intelligence said the insurgents were planning to attack government offices in Kandahar, the provincial capital and second-largest city in Afghanistan.
"We have detailed reports that there were as many as 300 Taliban fighters from three different provinces concentrating in the Panjwai area with the intent of operating in Kandahar city against the Afghan government, against the provincial governor himself," Hope said.
After two days of planning, the Canadians and the Afghans moved into the series of interconnected villages in the area, about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar, on Wednesday morning.
In the first village they entered, Afghan army soldiers captured 15 armed Taliban who had hidden in a mosque.
"The local nationals wished us to get rid of them," said Hope.
Shortly after, the battle was joined as a Canadian platoon on the flank began taking fire from assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades from a complex of farm buildings near the mosque.
The Canadians returned fire with howitzers and the cannons of their LAVs. After about 45 minutes, the Afghan forces were able to go in and clear out the area.
For the rest of the day, coalition forces worked their way through the villages and mud-walled compounds of the area, searching carefully through their narrow lanes and ditches.
The troops were finishing up searches for the day and moving toward setting up a defensive position for the night when Hope got word just, before 7 p.m., that Goddard's group had been ambushed.
"It was very canalized terrain - a series of connected compounds and villages with orchards," said Hope. "You can't see behind every wall and into every compound."
"We were sustaining fire from the compound and walls adjacent to the compound. We believe (there were) 20, 30, 40 Taliban in there firing rocket fire and machine-gun fire at our vehicles for over 40 minutes."
Afghan and Canadian troops completed searching the area on Thursday. By the end of the two-day engagement, about 40 Taliban had been killed, an equal number wounded and 17 captured, military officials said.
Aside from Goddard, one Afghan soldier was killed.
Hope praised the co-operation of Afghan villagers in the operation.
"The local nationals gave us unprecedented support. People came out of the villages pointing to mosques and to schools saying: 'This is where they've been hiding. They've been taking our food, they don't want our children to go to school'. "
"The people gave us information where they are and (the Taliban) were probably a long way from home. So they chose to stand and fight."
Hope rejected suggestions that plans to attack government buildings in Afghanistan's second-largest city were a sign of increasing Taliban boldness. He said the growing presence of Afghan and foreign troops was squeezing Taliban forces out of areas where they used to operate.
"I believe we're seeing a displacement of Taliban fighters, wherever coalition forces are going, and they're trying to concentrate displaced forces in one place."
The fighting in the area may not be over. Hope acknowledged that Taliban fighters may be creeping into the villages they recently abandoned.
"They will go where we are not. We were getting the clear feeling that as we moved through villages, they were moving into other villages. We were trying to get them into pockets and capture them, they were doing the avoiding. Occasionally, we came into contact."
"That's the kind of battle it was."
A huge THANK YOU to all who are united with us, and who are sacrificing, and dedicating themselves to defending freedom around the world.
We know you are there, and you are held close in hearts and prayers - no matter what the detractors may say.
God bless from an American.
Canadian Hero ping
Canada ping.
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
Right now security for half the country (north & west)is being provided by a NATO HQ with contributions from 36 countries including the USA. The other half in the east and south is under a US-led coalition with 21 countries represented. Many of the countries have elements under both HQs. This summer, NATO assumes control over the south and then sometime later this year they take the east and the US HQ will be disbanded. We will still have US units here, but they will be part of the NATO force. Some of our people training the Afghans as well as our "special" guys will remain under direct US control. However, the main effort is a very large coalition led by an alliance HQ comprised mostly of Europeans and currently commanded by a Brit. And yes you are right--very few people seem to know all that.
A beautiful and sad epitaph.
The Soldier It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
By Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
I was fine until I saw this.
God rest her soul.
This is SOP for Canadians.
God, she was beautiful.
Because they are willing to serve and capable of doing the job. Don't dishonor her sacrifice by turning this into a no-women-in-the-military thread.
IMO, there is not the least shred of disrespect for her sacrifice in saying that women should not be in combat roles.
A man's foremost duty is to protect the women and the children. That's the way the Good Lord made us, and I'm not afraid to say it.
What is that flag?
Bump for Canadian heros.
Calgary
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