a Brave Canadian woman
hailing from Nova Scotia.
To her
and other Women of the British Army!
Official 
"I luv Brits!" BUMP!!!!
Long may she wave!
Posted on 03/30/2003 4:50:01 AM PST by Asher
Female soldier 'will go in and do the job'
In Basra: Angie Little serves with British 7th Armoured Brigade
Anne Marie Owens, with files from Lillian Au, Global Television
National Post, with files from Global Television
CREDIT: Global News
"I prayed something like this would never happen ... but I've always been very supportive of my children's decisions and I'm very proud of her," says Janet Little, mother of Angie Little of Nova Scotia, who is a Second Lieutenant with Britain's 7th Armoured Brigade in Basra.
When Angie Little graduated from high school, she was given her own private graduation ceremony several days before the rest of her classmates because she had to rush off to start her studies at Royal Military College.
The Nova Scotia honours student, who received a full scholarship at the Kingston military college, was singled out again last year, when she graduated from RMC with a mechanical engineering degree and was publicly commended in the House of Commons for an academic career that combined stellar grades, varsity sports, tutoring in prisons and a stint as a choirmaster.
Because of her penchant for showing up in unexpected places, it was not entirely surprising for those who know the energetic 23-year-old woman to learn she is one of only a handful of Canadian soldiers now on the front lines of the conflict in Iraq.
Opposition parties have repeatedly criticized the Liberal government for allowing a small number of Canadian military exchange troops to remain with coalition forces when Canada is not backing the war itself.
Angie Little is in Basra as a second lieutenant with Britain's 7th Armoured Brigade, the legendary tank force known as the Desert Rats.
The brigade has been fighting rain and mud against roaming bands of Saddam loyalists ever since its troops entered the outskirts of Iraq's second-largest city.
The unit's primary focus is operational work such as clearing landmines from the desert and dealing with explosives. It is the gritty kind of work that 2nd Lt. Little, who is with the British brigade as part of a two-year military exchange, would likely approach with gusto, say those who know her well.
"She will go in and do the job and do it well," says Edouard Doucet, who teaches French at Sir John A. Macdonald High School in Hubley, not far from the Littles' home town of White's Lake. "She is not afraid of taking risks. She wouldn't think twice about it. She would just do it. That's the kind of girl she is."
He said that she was a popular, dedicated student in the high school, and the kind of girl that, "when you gave a project, people always wanted to be in her group because they knew she would get it done and do it well."
At school, she defied the stereotype of a military recruit, since she was as comfortable walking down the catwalk in the school's fashion show as she was playing on school teams or attending to her regular cadet duties.
"It wouldn't phase her a bit, being the only woman in engineering or in this unit in Iraq," Mr. Doucet said.
Janet Little says her daughter was very proud when she left for Iraq earlier this month, knowing she was doing important work with the British Army.
"She felt really confident with the unit that she's with and she was very proud to be going," Mrs. Little said in an interview with Global Television.
The last time she spoke to her daughter was the day before the conflict broke out.
Mrs. Little sends e-mails every day and has strung yellow ribbons of hope outside her house and has appealed to others in the community to pray for her daughter and all the fighting soldiers.
"I prayed something like this would never happen as I'm sure we all have, but I've always been very supportive of my children's decisions and I'm very proud of her," she said.
"I certainly don't want her in the middle of a war situation -- What mother would want their child there? I just have to have faith that she'll be back soon."
aowens@nationalpost.com
That "person" was absolutly correct.
However, Angie Little seems to be the "bright shining star" for Canada, at this moment, though I'm sure we'll read of others.
a Brave Canadian woman hailing from Nova Scotia.
To her and other Women of the British Army!
Official "I luv Brits!" BUMP!!!! Long may she wave!
With all due respect, I didn't see the word ALL used at all in that prior quote.
Without the word ALL it, therefore, becomes a generalization, no?
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