Military Family Day

There was a Family Day celebration in Petawawa today, with Governor General Michaelle Jean and General Rick Hillier in attendence. It was a great way to celebrate the sendoff for the men and women heading to Afghanistan in August.

If anyone in who was there got pictures, please drop me an email and I'll post your photos.

Totebags of love from home

Paul & Kathy of Newfoundland have sent totebags over to Landstuhl hospital in Germany for injured Canadian soldiers.

Contents include:

Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Deodorant, old spice
Canada teddy bear
2 bags Purity candy ( made in St.John's, NL )
Canada T-Shirt
Boxer shorts
socks
Word puzzle book
Writing note book
Canada writing pen
Ball cap ( Newfoundland )
Car magnet of Newfoundland
Key chain holder
Key chain
Brochures of Newfoundland ( reading material )
Letter to Hero
Newfoundland tote bag ( to hold all the goodies )

Paul and Kathy have enormous hearts, and their generosity will surely be appreciated by a sick and scared soldeir on his way home. They truly are Angels.

If anyone else would like to contribute, please drop me an email and I'll tell you how.

Badly wounded soldier makes remarkable recovery

Cpl. Jeffrey Bailey was riding in a convoy last January when a car bomb exploded. The attack killed a Canadian diplomat and wounded two fellow soldiers.

Bailey's head injury was so bad he wasn't expected to live. But Bailey beat those odds.

His words come slower and it bothers him that he can't work out the way he used to, but he says he's getting better every day.

"I'm out of hospital now and just want to get on with things now," he told reporters in Edmonton. "That's the way I've always been, [I] just want to help myself. This is getting old for me now."

Wonderful news! Our thoughts and prayers are with Cpl. Bailey as he recovers.

What our troops are up to

Lest you think it's all about the shooting, it's not. It's also about the healing. For example, a VMO - Village Medical Outreach.

Check out pics at Far From Canadahar.

No, I'm not ignoring you

I thought I'd better check in, let everyone know what the latest news is.

Currently, Canadian Angels is running on an extremely high Angel-to-soldier ration (which is great - it means every soldier who applies will get an Angel right away). This means that I don't have enough soldiers to go around as yet, but it also means that the ones I do have are spoiled rotten. Which was the whole point of the exercise.

So if you've applied to adopt a soldier, please do not despair. As soon as I have one for you, I will send the info along, and you can commence letting him or her know how appreciated they truly are.

New Base in Taliban Country

Canadian troops open base in Taliban territory

Forward Operating Base Martello is a bleak, dusty fortress gouged deep into the top of rocky ridges that command the El Bak valley about 200 kilometres north of Kandahar.

Protected by a cordon of Canadian soldiers and Afghan troops brandishing AK-47 assault rifles, army and police officers held a Shura with village leaders within the razor-wired bastion.

Brig.-Gen. David Fraser said the fort will help coalition forces root out Taliban in the area and set the stage for development projects, such as schools and health facilities.

"We are going into the traditional areas where the Taliban live and operate," said Fraser, commander of the multinational brigade in southern Afghanistan.

This is frightening territory, but I don't think our troops are afraid. It's the best way to root out the evil that lives there, get the job done, and get home.

Best of luck to our Forces at FOB Martello!

CDs for our troops!!!

I heard via my new friend Angeie at Married to the Canadian Forces that she has received a lovely surprise for our troops overseas.

Barenaked Ladies: Donated 3700 copies of their Christmas CD for our troops

Shawn Hlookoff: Donated 3700 copies of his single Soldier

Brothers Creeggan: Also donated 3700 CDs

Items will be shipped to Afghanistan closer to Christmastime.

Red on Friday

I know I'm a little late jumping onto this bandwagon, but I finally went out and bought myself a red t-shirt for use on Fridays.

Married to the Canadian Forces brought the program to Canada as a way for civilians like me to show support for our troops.

Are you wearing red today?

What the Military does for its Members

I was cruising the DND Amenities site last night, to see what kind of goodies our troops can count on receiving, just so that the Angels are not doubling up with what they send over. It's an excellent site. Check out the Canada Day section!