Canadian soldier dies on night foot patrol

[daleo]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A Canadian soldier died Saturday after tumbling into a deep well during a night foot patrol in the Zhari district, a restive area southwest of Kandahar.

Capt. Jonathan Sutherland Snyder, a member of the First Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, Alta., is the second officer to die while on duty in the war-ravaged country in less than a week.

“This tragic accident has deeply impacted us all,” Brigadier-General Denis Thompson, commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, said in a prepared statement Sunday morning.

While soldiers are equipped with infra-red technology at night, the military is releasing few details surrounding Capt. Snyder's death. However, the well, which was part of a larger irrigation system of wells that Afghans call a “kariz”, was at least 20 metres deep.
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080608.wafghandeath0608/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
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Quite a metaphor for the Afghanistan operation. Despite all the high tech equipment, this officer drowns after falling into a well in the darkness.


On edit - the story also mentions that a Canadian major had both legs blown off last week. That's two captains and a major in two weeks. I don't think armies the size of Canada's can sustain that rate of loss in the officer corps very well.

[TaffyMoon]

1. What the hell are we doing there?

Really.