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Canadian female 16th soldier killed in Afghanistan

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  • Canadian female 16th soldier killed in Afghanistan

    C B C . C A N e w s - F u l l S t o r y :
    Canadian female 16th soldier killed in Afghanistan
    Last Updated Wed, 17 May 2006 15:45:26 EDT
    CBC News

    A female soldier from Canada was killed while fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan on Wednesday, said military officials.
    Capt. Nichola Goddard, who was serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan, died in a military operation against Taliban forces. (Department of National Defence)

    * INDEPTH: Canada in Afghanistan

    Capt. Nichola Goddard, 26, had been serving in Afghanistan with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. She was a member of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Manitoba.

    She is the first Canadian female combat soldier to be killed in action since the Second World War.

    * RELATED: BQ, NDP to oppose extending Afghan mission

    Goddard died around 6:55 p.m. local time (10:25 a.m. EDT) in a military operation against Taliban forces near Kandahar, where the majority of the country's 2,300 soldiers in Afghanistan are serving.

    Canadian soldiers had been called in to support Afghan troops fighting in the Panjwai region, about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar.

    * RELATED: FROM CBC ARCHIVES: Women in Second World War

    Goddard was from Calgary and lived with her husband, Jason Beam, at the Canadian Forces Base in Shilo. She had no children.

    Bean, whom she had been married to since 2002, was also a soldier. He told CBC News that Goddard joined the forces eight years ago, enlisting in the military right out of high school.

    He said he last spoke with her Tuesday, and she was excited about the mission that, in the end, claimed her life.

    Goddard was serving as a forward artillery observer, helping to target the artillery guns by observing where the shells fell. She was supposed to be home in September.

    'It's a hard day'

    Maj. Liam McGarrey said that Goddard was marked for rapid advancement.

    Word of Goddard's death slowly filtered through the base as soldiers attended a morale-boosting concert featuring Canadian musicians.

    Goddard's remains are to be sent by plane to Canada on Friday during a ramp ceremony at the main Kandahar base.

    Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who commands Canadian and coalition forces in Kandahar, offered his sympathies to Goddard's family.

    "It's a hard day, but it's also a day of achievements here," said Fraser, who stood in front of a Canadian flag at half-mast. "The government of Afghanistan and the Afghan national security forces have had a good successful day. There was significant Taliban casualties both killed and captured.

    "Unfortunately, the cost today was the life of Nichola."

    PM salutes soldier's contribution

    In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged Goddard's contribution.

    "Capt. Goddard died while helping to bring peace, stability and democracy to a troubled region of the world. She, and the other men and women who serve in Afghanistan, are involved in a difficult and dangerous mission."

    Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the province will fly its flag at half-mast in Goddard's honour.

    "I just want to say, on behalf of the people of Manitoba, we respect her life of bravery and honour on behalf of Canada, and we offer our condolences to the family and to the community of Shilo," he said.

    Goddard's death raises Canada's toll in Afghanistan to 16 soldiers and one diplomat since the mission started in 2002.

    Dozens of Canadian women have died while serving in the First and Second World Wars, says the Department of National Defence:

    * Forty-three females in the Canadian military died in the First World War – 29 in enemy action on the Western Front.
    * Seventy-one female members of the Canadian Forces died in the Second World War, including five combat-related deaths – four during the bombing of London and one when a German U-boat sunk the SS Caribou.
    * There were no women military casualties in the Korean War.

  • #2
    Even though I fully expected days like this when we sent more troops to afganistan, it doesn't get any easier to hear the news that another soldier has died.

    Thank you Capt. Nichola Goddard for making the ultimate sacrifice for Canada.
    Facts to a liberal is like Kryptonite to Superman.

    -- Larry Elder

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by smilingassassin
      Thank you Capt. Nichola Goddard for making the ultimate sacrifice for Canada.
      For us all... :(
      No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
      I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
      even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
      He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

      Comment


      • #4
        Thy Glory Shall Not be Blotted Out

        Rest in Peace Capt. Nichola Goddard

        Cheers!...on the rocks!!

        Comment


        • #5
          My deepest respect to the Captain, and my condolence to her family, friends and members of her unit.
          When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow. - Anais Nin

          Comment


          • #6
            Rest in peace Cpt....
            Present Arms....
            Seek Save Serve Medic

            Comment


            • #7
              RIP
              A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

              Comment


              • #8
                God be with you. You will not be forgotten.
                "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes." G-Man

                Comment


                • #9
                  Rest in Peace Redleg.

                  I'd feel honored to share a drink with her in Fiddlers Green.

                  I also hope that the Canadian Artilley branch see fit to induct her into the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara.

                  Comment

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