Faith kept with honor

Following the September 2001 attacks on the United States, Canada committed its military to combat in Afghanistan. It pulled back those combat troops this past July, having fulfilled the nation's moral and legal obligations. They lost 158 service members along the way, one of the highest loss rates per capita among Allied forces. [Source: 18 April WSJ]

I appreciate the assistance the Canadian Army has rendered over the years, and reflect positively on my encounters with them in Kandahar. Soon after I arrived, I attended IED recognition training courtesy of a Canadian warrant officer. He told of an attack on that area of the base by insurgents some time before, and how it was a Canadian mobile gun platform that helped repulse the attack.

The details of the aftermath were a bit gruesome, but the story seemed like a microcosm of Canada's involvement in our War on Terror. The U.S. was attacked, and Canada came in to help.

Like in the U.S., veterans have become more respected because of what they've sacrificed for their country, and it has shaped the way Canada sees its role in the world. Though in the past, "soft power" was the weapon of choice, the advantages of having a "harder" balance have become evident.

The Wall Street Journal's article concluded with a quote from Army Brig. Gen. Dean Milner, the last commander of Canada's combat mission: "We are a far better army from what we were ... when we entered the conflict."

Around this part of Texas, that's a familiar name -- under an officer exchange program BG Milner is now the Deputy Commanding Officer for all of Fort Hood. And according to my buddies who once played a mean game of contact floor hockey with him, he's got some incredible stick handling skills.