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Bulletin des Artilleurs de Montréal
Sheldrake's Log
Montreal Gunners Newsletter
Printemps / Spring 2008 Vol. 40 No. 1
CLOSING THE GAP REFERMER LE CERCLE
In this issue of Sheldrake we bring you the Nous vous proposons dans ce numéro les écrits
writings of Bombardier Charles Hunter. du Bombardier Charles Hunter. Charles était
Charles was a Royal Canadian Artillery un artilleur de l’Artillerie Royale Canadienne
Gunner during World War II. He served his lors de la deuxième guerre mondiale. Il a très
country and the guns extremely well and you bien servi son pays et les canons et vous
will enjoy his recollection of some rather aimerez ses souvenirs d’intéressants
interesting events. événements.
It is worth noting that, as we publish Part I of Il faut bien noter qu’alors que nous publions la
Bombardier Hunter’s stories, 8 members of 2nd première partie des textes de Charles, 8
Field Artillery Regiment are just returning membres du 2ième Régiment d’artillerie de
from Afghanistan having completed their tour campagne rentrent d’Afghanistan ayant
of duty. No casualties. About 65 years after complété leur mission. Sans blessure. Environ
Charles Hunter’s participation in Europe. 65 ans après l’intervention de Charles Hunter
The members coming home are: en Europe.
Padré (Capt) Doiron Bienvenu à la maison, merci. Good shooting!
Capt Gendron Votre observateur
WO Moloughney
Sgt Derbridge Sheldrake
Bdr/C Pinssonneault
Bdr Coté
Bdr Turcotte
Gnr Moreau.
Welcome back, thank you. Good shooting!
Your Observer
Sheldrake
Summary/Sommaire
Message from the President .................................. 2
Rencontre d’artilleurs à Chicago........................... 3
Charles Hunter’s Story ......................................... 5
NATO is in crisis. So what?................................. 15
40ème ANNIVERSAIRE - 5eRALC ...................... 16
Aujourd'hui, l'OTAN ............................................ 17
How Stephen Harper snookered Stéphane Dion 18
Granting UBIQUE to JTF 2............................... 19 Photo of Charles Hunter, taken on his
US Marine Corps Humour ................................. 19 enlistment in September 1939
PAGE 2 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
A Word from the President/Le Mot du Président
The activities of the year 2007`2008 are L’année d’activité arrive à ça fin pour la saison
drawing to a close with the holding of our 2007/2008 pour votre Association avec la tenu
Association’s General Annual Meeting on the de notre assemblée générale annuelle le 29
29th of April 2008. In this year of 2008, we are avril 2008. En cette année 2008 ou nous
celebrating the 400th anniversary of the célébrons le 400ième anniversaire de la
foundation of Quebec and also the 40th fondation de Québec et aussi le 40ième
anniversary of the formation of the 5th RALC anniversaire de la formation du 5ième RALC de
from Valcartier. Our attention at this moment Valcartier, notre attention ce tourne à ce
is focused on the preparations that will mark moment aux préparations des festivités qui
those two anniversaries for all the gunners of marqueront ces deux évènements par tous les
Quebec and of Canada. The special dates to artilleurs du Québec et du Canada entier. Les
retain are the 11th to the 13th of September dates à retenir sont la fin de semaine du 11
2008 when will be held the joint activities of au 13 septembre quand sera tenu
the AGM of the RCAA and the closing ball of conjointement l’Assemblé Annuelle de
the 5th RALC. All the gunners in Quebec and l’Association National de l’Artillerie Royal
Canada are invited to participate in those Canadienne et le bal de clôture des festivités
activities and the detail information is du 5ième RALC.
available by contacting your respective units. Tous les Artilleurs du Québec sont invités à
I take this opportunity to wish a happy participer et peuvent s’informer des détails
anniversary to all the gunners who have auprès de leur unité respective.
served or are serving in the 5th RALC since 40 Je prends cette opportunité pour souhaiter un
years. joyeux anniversaire à tous le Québec et à tous
I would also like to underline that since my les Artilleurs du 5ième RALC qui servent ou qui
last message to you, two of our dearest ont servi dans le 5ième depuis 40 ans.
members of our executive have met with some Je voudrais aussi souligner que depuis mon
very serious health problems and that our dernier message deux de nos vaillants
thoughts and prayers are with them while membres ont connu des difficultés de maladie
they are battling to recover their health. importantes et que nous pensons à eux
I wish you and your families good summer pendant leurs moments de difficultés.
holidays and that we will get together again in Je vous souhaite à vous et vos proches de
September. bonne vacances d’été et ont se revoient en
Ubique septembre.
Donald Dussault(Maj.ret) Ubique
President MAA Donald Dussault(Maj.ret)
Président AAM
Warning Order Cadet Corps Parade
Spring Mess Dinner May 18
The annual inspection and parade of the three Cadet
The Spring Mess Dinner will be held on Corps affiliated to Second Field Regiment will be
May 9 at the Officers Mess. held on Mount Royal Park on Saturday, May 18 in
the afternoon.
Invitations will be mailed shortly.
In the event of inclement weather, the event will be
held in the Riding Ring of the Armoury.
PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 3
Rencontre d’artilleurs à Gunners meet in the
Chicago windy city
par le Major Charles de Kovachich CD (Ret). By Maj Charles de Kovachich CD (ret’d)
En mai 2007, la Financière Banque Nationale In May 2007 National Bank Financial held its
tenait sa conférence du Club du Président annual President’s club conference in the city
annuelle à Chicago. Le Club du Président of Chicago. The President’s club could be
peut-être vue comme une convention ou defined also as a convention or gathering
rassemblement ou les dirigeants de la société where the management of the firm meet with
rencontrent les conseillers financiers ayant le their top investment advisors in order to
plus de succès afin de discuter des tendances discuss the current and future trends in the
courantes et futures des marchés financiers. financial markets.
Comme le veut la tradition, une personne de As is tradition, a keynote speaker is selected
marque est sélectionnée afin de donner le ton to give the tone to the four day gathering. In
au rassemblement qui dure quatre jours. Au the past, personalities such as Jean Chretien,
cours des années précédentes, des Brian Mulroney and sports celebrities have
personnalités telles que Jean Chrétien, Brian been chosen to inspire the crowd. Last May,
Mulroney et des célébrités sportives avaient the president of National Bank Financial, Luc
été choisies afin d’inspirer la foule. En mai Paiement, selected the Honourable Senator
dernier, le président de la FBN, Luc Paiement, Romeo Dallaire as speaker because he had
a choisi l’Honorable Sénateur Romeo D’Allaire seen him during a conference earlier that year
a titre d’invite parce qu’il l’avait entendu lors and had been greatly moved by his
d’une conférence plus tôt cette année-la et presentation about his experiences in Rwanda.
avait été ému par la présentation ou il avait Throughout my career I have always made a
faite sur son expérience au Rwanda.
point to my civilian colleagues that I had
Tout au long de ma carrière, j’ai régulièrement served in the reserves. The top management of
mentionne a mes collègues que j’avais servi NB Financial is reminded frequently that I
dans la réserve. Les dirigeants haut-placées de have served with the Montreal Gunners and
la FBN sont mis au courant régulièrement que one of them contacted me to see if I would
j’ai fait partie des artilleurs de Montréal et un agree to make a presentation to our guest
d’eux a communiqué directement avec moi speaker. This is the gift offered by our firm as
pour demander si je serais disposé a remettre a thank you for speaking to our group.
un cadeau a notre invite de marque en However, without telling who the presenter
remerciement pour s’être adressé a notre was, the management wanted to know if I
groupe. Cependant, sans même m’indiquer de knew this former soldier. “Who is it“ I asked
qui il s’agissait, on voulait savoir si je “It is possible that I have heard of him at
connaissais cet ancien soldat. least”. When I was told who it was, I
«De qui s’agit-il? » ai-je demandé, Est-ce responded that not only I had heard of him, he
possible que j’en aie entendu parler au moins ? also knows me.
Lorsqu’on m’a dit que c’était le General Of course the tone of the conversation changed
D’Allaire, j’ai répondu que non seulement and then I was asked to be part of the
j’avais entendu parler de lui, mais qu’il me welcoming committee upon his arrival in
connaissait ! Chicago. It was great to see the General arrive
Sur ce, le ton de la conversation a changé et on late at night, from another engagement.
me demanda de faire partie d’un comite de Immediately he impressed everyone with his
bienvenue lors de son arrivé a Chicago. Ce fut trademark enthusiasm and energy. His speech
très plaisant de voir le General arriver d’un was early next morning and after discussing
autre rendez-vous tard en soirée. Il a some technological issues with the support
(Suite à la page 4) (Continued on page 4)
PAGE 4 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Rencontre d’artilleurs à Chicago (Suite) Gunners meet in the windy city
(Suite de la page 3)
(Cont’d)
immédiatement impressionne tout le monde (Continued from page 3)
avec son enthousiasme qu’on connait bien et staff he bid us goodnight at 1 am! The same
son énergie. morning he was up before 7 am to work with
Son adresse avait lieu tôt le lendemain matin the technology specialist to fine tune the
et après avoir discute quelques points visual part of his presentation.
technologiques avec l’équipe de soutien, il nous General Dallaire’s presentation was
souhaita une bonne nuit a 1:00 Am. predictably outstanding. He informed and
Le même matin, il était debout avant 7:00 Am engaged the crowd with concepts and details
pour travailler avec les spécialistes en that shocked and surprised them. His
technologie afin de mettre au point sa recounting of his Rwandan experience caused
présentation audio-visuelle. hushed silence in the audience and one would
La présentation faite par le General D’Allaire have heard a pin drop on the carpet.
était comme on s’y attendait, exceptionnelle. Il At the end of the presentation and after
renseignait et suscitait l’intérêt de la foule questions I was asked to thank the General for
avec des concepts et des détails croquants et sharing his views with us. The General then
surprenants. Lorsqu’il raconta son expérience said that he would place the gift, which is a
au Rwanda, le silence qui envahit la salle était desk size statue called “The Protector”, in his
tel qu’on aurait pu entendre une mouche Senate office as a reminder of his time with
volée. our firm. This was truly a remarkable
J’avais reçu mandat de remercier le Générale experience that demonstrates the necessity for
d’avoir partages ses opinions avec nous a la fin all serving and former militia soldiers to
de la présentation et de la période de disclose to their civilian employers and friends
questions et de lui remettre la statuette their militia service. We are all ambassadors
traditionnelle appelée « le Protecteur ». Le of the reserve culture and we must make
General nous a mentionne qu’il la placerait every effort to share it with our civilian
dans son bureau au Senat en souvenir de son counter part.
séjour parmi nous.
Ceci fut une expérience remarquable, laquelle
démontre la nécessité pour tous les anciens
soldats de réserves de divulguer à leurs
employeurs civils et à leurs amis leur service
militaire.
Nous sommes tous ambassadeurs de cette
culture réserviste et nous devons faire l’effort
de la partager avec nos homologues civils.
Charles de Kovachich presenting “The Protector”
statue to Gen Roméo Dallaire
PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 5
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian
Artillery, at War
as set down by Bombardier Charles Hunter in 2008
I gave my name to the 7th Battery on Sept.3, My all time favorite story. At a crossroad
'39 and was sworn in on Sept.10. Foot drill, shortly after landing in Sicily, there were a
gun drill on Champs de Mars. Hauling the number of women with big baskets of grapes.
guns and limbers up and down that hill was We wondered about the price. Nick, of Greek
quite a chore. The army had an arrangement descent, said “Let me, I can speak their
with a restaurant on the Main to feed us. As language.”... “quanta costa (short hesitation)
you may know this was the center of the red buncha grape o”.
light district in those days. Marching up de So back to Leipzig. The four batteries are now
Bullion Street, with the girls hanging out the together as a regiment, but shortly after we
windows, was quite a temptation. Needless to are organized into two batteries, the 7/35th
say, some men decided to forego lunch. We and the 8/10th and again, after another short
knew that it was getting close to leaving and time, into three, the 7th, 8th and 10th. The 35th
in December I committed my first crime. On was made into an ack ack battery. This
morning parade all married men were told to served one good purpose by mixing everyone
fall out and were dismissed. Single men were together. Training continued until May.
returned to barracks. I fell out with the
married men and went home to say goodbye to Now the powers that be decided that the 1st
my parents. Cdn and the 51st Highland Divs. should be
sent to France to knock the hell out of the
On to Halifax and the Empress of Britain. Germans to save the Brits at Dunkirk. We got
She had been sitting there since Sept. and was as far as Plymouth when the stevedores
fully loaded for the tourist trade, waiters and loading our guns stopped. We asked why?
stateroom attendants along with the best of “Gotta have our tea, mate”.
food. There were five large passenger liners
with the only visible escort, an aircraft carrier, Meanwhile, the 1st Brigade was on its way to
in the middle. When we reached the Clyde Paris. The train was stopped and sent back to
river, the destroyers and cruisers had to close Brest. Someone had a little sense. The Brit in
in and we then realized what an escort we charge told the Colonel of the RCHA to spike
really had all the way over. his guns and drive them off a cliff, then get his
men aboard (this part is hearsay but from
Offloaded and entrained for Aldershot and more than one source). The Col. replied “The
Leipzig barracks. This was the hell- hole of Canadian artillery has never abandoned a
England. Built pre WW1, it had only been serviceable gun even in WW 1 and we are not
used as a punishment barracks. From inside going to start now. None of my men get on
you could see outside through the boards, no until the guns are loaded”. He won his point.
insulation. My dad served in the 27th in WW 1 and he
One morning, as per custom, the Orderly confirmed this.
Officer and Sergeant asked if there were any Now we were on primary defense against
complaints and got the surprise of their lives. airborne landings. Stand to at dawn and
Yells of “this food stinks”, plates with food dusk, ready to give all for king and country. I
turned upside down smashed on the floor and am afraid we would have if they had come.
some thrown like a discus in the general Then coastal defense at Eastbourne and
direction of the officer who quickly vacated the stringing barbed wire at Deal/Dover, firing
premises. I believe the regiment was charged range in Wales, kept us on our toes.
with mutiny and a few of the ringleaders sent
to the glasshouse. But better food and more Crossing the border into Wales we stopped for
coal resulted. the night and lo and behold, there was a pub
(Continued on page 6)
PAGE 6 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, at War (Cont’d)
(Continued from page 5) Filling in some gaps. Like all artillery
on the first corner. So, as good Canadians, the regiments, we had our tours on Salisbury
first two ordered two beers, the next ordered plains. As this was a British establishment, it
three, the next four and so on, until “Time was staffed by their cooks. This included food
gentlemen please”. The following morning we and mess times (breakfast, lunch, tea and
went back for a hair of the dog and the owner supper at 8.00 pm). These were quickly
gave us one free. He then said “I have never changed. It would appear that we had gained
served so much beer in all my years in the a reputation.
business”. A visit to Stonehenge was, of course, on the
All units using the range had to work on the menu. Certainly a wonderful site worth
roads. Engineers had measured off sections seeing.
for a six-man crew. When finished you left. When we were returning, we passed through
We were done by noon. Some Tommies the town of Amesbury. Of all the beautiful old
laughed at us saying, “You'll get a bigger towns and villages of England this one sticks
section tomorrow.” But we didn't. out. Ginger bread fronts and thatched roofs
Back to England to a place called Addington. left a lasting impression on me.
Heaven! The blackout. This was a bit of a problem for
In 1939 we were offered a choice of a week me. In some cases it was fine as, for instance,
over Christmas or one week at New Years. As the romantically inclined. One evening, after
we had my mother's brother living in Kent, my a pub- (that most wonderful institution) -
brother and I chose Christmas and paid him a crawl, I was running to catch the truck back to
visit. We took a train to London, stayed camp when I ran full tilt into a steel post. By
overnight and, the following morning, walked the time I recovered the truck had departed.
toward the railway station, in order to catch a Not to worry, there was still the last bus.
train for St. Mary Cray. Two elderly ladies Holding on to a strap there were a few women
came toward us one of them said: “Oh look, sitting in front of me whispering. Every once
there are three Canadians. --Come on Charlie, in a while I heard “Those Canadians”. When I
chest out chin up --”. The second one then got to camp I realized what they were talking
remarked, "Look at the one in the middle. about. My face was covered in blood from
He's just a baby". Instant deflation. where I had hit the post. The MO put three
stitches in it the next morning.
London bombing. If you went to London you
made sure you took your tin lid. Shrapnel
from the a.a. was the worst problem. One
night my brother and I were walking along
when the bombing got particularly intense.
Normally you ignored it but this was so bad
we ducked down to an underground station
full of people, singing, joking, having a good
time. We were made very welcome and spent
about an hour with them. As we were walking
up the stairs a bomb fell quite close so we
stopped for a minute. Then two young girls,
13 or 14, came screaming down the steps. Jim
grabbed one and I the other to try and calm
them. I have never seen anyone, including
soldiers, so terrified. Jim and I sat there with
(Continued on page 7)
Tea Time
PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 7
(Continued from page 6) mine and said “what in f@#$%^&* hell are
them for over an hour until the shaking finally you?” “I'm a Canadian” I replied. “I asked for
stopped. This incident has remained vivid in a soldier not a f*&^%$#@ Canadian. Get back
my memory ever since. there.”
The day we moved to Addington the first stop When Tom told it, with his slow drawl, it was
was at the wagon lines. This was quite a ten times funnier. He would sit and talk
heavily treed area. When backing in I stopped about his trips across Canada for hours and
to see what was behind me so I got out of the never repeat himself.
truck. Someone called that the truck was One night in Devon we were all sitting at the
moving. I turned around and put up my tailgate of a truck, drinking apple cider, when
hands to stop it. A two-ton truck loaded with a runner came to tell Tom the Captain wanted
ammunition. Needless to say, I lost the battle. him. He put his bottle in the truck. When he
It pinned me to a tree and forced all the air came back he said “Where was I?”, reached
out of me. The boys said they never heard such into the truck, took a big swig of cider and
a scream. By the time someone got into the choked. He had picked up a bottle of
truck to drive it forward I was unconscious. camouflage paint.
Lucky, no broken bones.
Even after treatment by the doc, poor Tom
We had one officer who no one seemed to care was spitting pieces of flesh for a month.
for. One day he took us out for a route march.
After 7 or 8 miles some catcalls began to Another one of Tom's stories. He said when
emanate from the rear ranks. The officer he got home he would knock on the front door
stood it for a while then said double time. then run around the back and beat the s---
After a bit we went back to walk march. The out of the guy with his pants in his hands,
catcalls started again so the procedure was then he would go in, bang his wife then take
repeated on and on. Finally after an order to off his pack.
walk every one kept running all the way back, Addington, Palace Green. What a joy after
leaving him in the rear. Of course we all paid being McNaughton's traveling circus. Palace
for it but, what the hell, it was fun. Green was the name given to a group of
The story of Tom Burton. Tom was an old houses surrounding a green space. The center
man to us. He had crossed the country many, green was about 400 ft. long by 50-75 ft. wide.
many times, following crop gathering. He was The two storey houses were allotted to so
a raconteur par excellence. He was also the many soldiers, usually with one NCO. Was
first of us to go to the British glass house. I this to keep an eye on the miscreants? This
am sure the readers will know why the name. area was partially finished with only three
Tom marched as if he was still following the homes occupied by civilians. It was at the foot
plough. of a hill where the town of Addington was
situated. Back of us was another low rise and
But let Tom tell the story of his first morning just beyond that was Biggin Hill. For the
parade. Every one stood around until this big uninitiated this was the main fighter airport
Sergeant came out. He called the parade to for the defense of London.
attention then asked for a marker for the
infantry. A British soldier marched out This led to some very exciting nights. Very
smartly, smacked his heels down and stood at few of us made for the shelters, saying- “What
attention in front of the Sgt. He then called the hell jerry was not the most accurate in his
for a marker from the artillery. I waited and bombing”. But only one house got hit on the
waited, but nobody stepped out. So I walked green and, fortunately it was one of the
toward him. civilian's. Fortunately, they were not at home
at the time.
You should have seen his face. First it was
red then slowly came a look of amazement. I The green was used for calisthenics in the
stopped in front of him, he backed up, looked morning, mounting the guard (ugh) in the
me up and down, then put his face right in (Continued on page 8)
PAGE 8 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, at War (Cont’d)
(Continued from page 7) a shave and a haircut. Ray was the last one
evening and throwing a ball around at night. and after giving him a haircut, the barber
The wagon lines were about a half k away so winked at us, put a bit of water on Ray's face
everything was back to more or less normal. and shaved him. We had a good laugh at
Weekends were free (unless you were on guard Ray's expense, but think of it, old enough to be
ugh). Some of us would get a lift into Croydon, a hero but not to shave.
5 miles away, catch a train for London and As you may well imagine 3.5 years in England
spend the weekend there. Sunday night we in the military became very boring. I am
would catch the last train out and be back for trying not to transfer any of that to this
morning parade, Monday morning. If you narrative.
missed the last train you were in trouble. You One thing changed. I had a difference of
slept on a hard bench in the station and opinion with some one whose seniority
caught the first train in the morning. If lucky outranked me so I requested a transfer to "C"
you could make morning parade. If not??? I Troop which was half 7th and the other half a
got to know the cook very well. He said I was mixture of 8th, 10th and 35th.
the best pot walloper he ever had.
So now it is off to Scotland. The trip north had
We spent around a year and a half there only a number of problems, d.r. accidents, trucks
interrupted by schemes once in a while. going off the road, drivers falling asleep etc.
Canadians were considered a bit of a rough One driver rammed his radiator into the
diamond by the English people. But they did muzzle of a gun. In another incident, a woman
learn to like us. Most of us met nice girls and civilian driving a small car tried to pass the
many, like myself, were invited to meet the column and got caught between the gun and
family. These people made a home away from limber. I heard that she died.
home for both me and my brother. At the time But eventually we arrived in Rothesay, I
I was driving an ammunition truck. It was believe it was named. In the following days
usually unloaded and used for transport. This we were to practice loading and landing off an
would include driving the boys into Croydon LST (landing ship tank). On the first day the
after supper and picking them up again at procedure was as follows; guns one and two
10:30. I would drop over to ma's and tell her would drive onto the rear of the ship, gunners
to put on the kettle. She always got a big would manhandle the gun and limber to the
laugh out of that, saying “What will the opposite side, the quads would then back off,
neighbours think, you Canadians”. She once turn around and back on again. This was then
said, “I saw some of your bad boys today repeated for three and four. I was on the ship
working very hard on a road”. I told her that moving number one over when someone asked
these were not bad but a section of our for a stretcher, saying there had been an
engineers repairing the Caterham bypass. accident. When finished loading we sailed off
But for the deadly game they were playing, to a beach and continued the practice. On
dog fights made a beautiful display in the sky. returning to Rothesay, Lt. Carpenter called
As we were always in their flight path to out, “Charlie, can I speak to you for a minute”.
London, we witnessed most of it. I went over to his side and he put his arm over
Now off to Scotland for landing practice. More my shoulder and said, “I'm sorry to tell you
on this and its tragic consequences in next but Jimmie has died”. He never realized that
letter. I didn't know that it was my brother who had
During the winter at Ortona, the regiment been injured.
were giving leave to Bari. Six of us from "C" To my knowledge there was no court of
Troop went. Among the group was Ray, who inquiry ever called. Two men were very
had just been awarded the MM. The following
(Continued on page 9)
morning we found a barber and all went in forPRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 9
(Continued from page 8) To continue. Of the approximately 650 men
obviously at fault but carried on as usual. who went over with the regiment in 1939
Strangely enough one of these men was later there remains the following; from the 7th
court-martialled for desertion and the other Ralph Willis, Norman Newman and myself:
one sent back as incompetent. the 8th, Gordon Lutes, Mike McCormack, Bob
Along with a friend, I escorted the coffin to the Keiver, Art Boudreau: the10th: Jim Gibb,
military cemetery at Brookwood. I have been Nicholson. I know of no one from the 35th.
back twice since and my sister once to lay There must be a few others around but
flowers on his grave. I must admit to being a obviously, not too many. Most of the above
very lonesome kid for a couple of months. still have a good head on their shoulders. Up
until recently, before failing eyesight, I played
So the regiment came back to England and duplicate bridge as a life master and did the
back to boring. This was interrupted by New York Times crossword puzzle.
schemes, clean up, another scheme, clean up,
etc. So here we are off the coast of Sicily.
In the spring it was back to Kilmarnock, The whole area seemed to be full of ships of
Scotland. Obviously, this was not going to be various types. Our turn finally came to land.
another practice. Everything we had, had to be I am not sure of the time but it was at least
water proofed. It was quite a job covering the late morning. After all our training on an LST
motor without interfering with the moving what do we get? An LCI (landing craft
parts. infantry). It was just large enough to hold one
quad, one limber and one gun. They loaded
So finally on board. It was a Liberty ship. For them first, then we had to go down scrambling
the uninitiated, these were some of the first ropes. Now, normally this would not be a
ships to be welded. Kaiser/Fraser, auto problem, but remember the sea was still
builders, started this and, I believe, eventually running at 6 to 8 feet. If the ship heeled to
reached a production of one a day. We slept in starboard you swung away, if to port, you hit
the hold, in hammocks. Very little space but the side. But this wasn't the worst. When you
we spent most of our time on deck. stepped off, if it was on its way down, it could
South past Africa, then toward land, then be a long step, if coming up, you could get a
north again. Was this to fool jerry that we thump.
were going somewhere else? Up to Gibraltar. On with the invasion. We hit bottom, down
Marvellous sight. Lights on both sides, which ramp, charge into three feet of water, up onto
we hadn't seen in years. the beach, directed to a dirt road, then inland.
Down the Med with the loss of three ships. As Our first sight of the enemy was a group of
you know this included one of our troops. prisoners, escorted by some commandos. They
looked very happy and waved to us.
Now things got rough. The sea I mean.
Waves 10-12 feet high. We had a destroyer All the roads were walled on both sides with
beside us, which would disappear for three or stone. But these roads were made for mule
four minutes at a time, but suddenly pop up drawn wagons and had 90-degree corners. A
again. Waves came up over our ship. Just bulldozer had to knock down all the inside
about everyone was seasick but not me. For corners so we could get around them.
some reason I was a very good sailor. Never Inland for a bit, then taking up a position. We
once being sick. stayed there for the night and were able to see
July 10 off Pachino beach. Beautiful sunny the fire works that night at the beach.
day. A few shells splashing in the water but Beautiful sight if it wasn't such a deadly game
many more inland. Beside our ship is a 15- going on.
inch monitor. Every time it fires our ship The second night we welcomed the American
heels over. invasion. We had watched the plane go over
(Continued on page 10)PAGE 10 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, at War (Cont’d)
(Continued from page 9) fact that we were on solid rock, he still made a
three times and couldn't figure out what he dent.
was up to. A sky full of parachutes soon told Back to a rest area in the middle of an orange
us. grove (not ripe yet). The owner had built a
I don't mind saying I was scared for a moment concrete tank for water to irrigate his orchard.
but I think they were just as frightened. It It was quite large so we emptied it, scrubbed it
seems we got off a lot of shots before they down, then refilled it. There was a small town
landed. not too far away immediately put out of
I felt a lot of sympathy for the infantry at this bounds by the MPs. Nevertheless, the road
time. They had to walk and with tanks, from our camp at the edge of town was
trucks and us stirring up the dust from the interesting, to say the least. Outside of a
dirt roads they were white in no time. Then couple of small shops, bakery, wine etc. It was
they had to do the fighting when they did stop. of no interest. But there was no plumbing, so
PBI was a good term. the street we used was walled on both sides,
one side for ladies, one side for men. It was
When we entered the Catania plain we fired quite common to walk into town and hear
our first shots in anger. We then moved onto squatting citizens say “bonne journo, signor”.
the facing side of a low ridge. Jerry waited Wait. This was not wasted. Every day it was
until we settled then baptized us. No one was picked up for fertilizer. Next time you buy
injured except our crate of rations, which was grapes, think of that.
Before jumping across the Messina straits, I
would like to dwell a little longer in Sicily.
Allow me to show my pride in the Canadian
Army and the work of the artillery, called 5-
mile snipers by the PBI. In 2005 the Hastings
and Prince Edward Regimental Association, of
which I am a member, offered a tour of Sicily
and Italy. Andrew Gregory, his mother Paula
and myself, took advantage of the offer. We
flew into Catania and stayed the night at a
first class hotel. The following morning on our
way to breakfast, we were stopped by a man
who said “Bdr. Hunter I presume”. This was
my introduction to Col. Patterson. It turns
Sicily 1943 out that he was to be our tour guide.
demolished. In our group there were about 50 members of
A quick move forward to the reverse side of the Hasty P's reserve, a dozen vets and the
another ridge. It was from this position that rest were relatives of the vets. Into two buses
we supported the Hastings after they had and away we go. Through orchards and
captured Mt. Assoro. vineyards until suddenly we came to the
On past Leonforte to Agira, again the PBI took Catania plains.
a beating here, and Nissoria. By this time we This was the most vivid sight I had on the
had reached the slopes facing Mt. Etna. It whole trip.
was here that we watched the bombers come Memories came flooding back.
over; one got hit and crashed on headquarters.
The pilot, a South African, chute did not open. The explosion of the ammunition dump (by the
He landed about 25 feet from me. Despite the way this was triggered by one of the men who
(Continued on page 11)PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 11
The second one is of the vets but looking
towards the mountains.
The next shows the group of mountains that
were the division's objective Mt. Assoro in
front, Leonforte to the left, Enna to the left of
that (American 1st Div. objective) with Agira
were killed there), our first experience of being
shelled and the general view of the valley
itself.
I am attaching some pictures that were taken
on this trip so readers can get an idea of what
I am talking about.
and Nissoria to the right. Formidable looking
isn't it? Erik Gregory's model of this is in the
regimental quarters.
The Hasty P's had to walk four miles towards
the mountain, go around the back and then
climb it in the dark. Our contribution would
be very important shortly. 500 men
performed this feat and arrived at the top just
as dawn was breaking. There were two
Germans who were instantly killed. As it
turned out they were artillery observation
officers with the best of equipment. As per
their wont, they counter attacked, were driven
back and then started to shell and mortar the
This is a panoramic view of the valley (plain) position. As it happened Major Kennedy, the
from Mt. Assoro. 2 i/c, was an ex artillery officer. With the aid
of the captured equipment he quickly brought
counter battery fire on them. To quote Col.
Tweedsmuir of the Hasty P's, “slowly now the
tide of battle began to turn. As the enemy's
guns began to fire at us, the muzzle flashes
gave them away and short minutes later,
salvoes from our field and medium guns
rained down on them.” Kennedy kept up the
counter battery work until noon when most of
their batteries had been put out of action or
moved back out of range. This battle was on
the British war college's list of lectures for its
ingenuity.
(Continued on page 12)PAGE 12 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, at War (Cont’d)
(Continued from page 11) This was to be the ride of my life. A bright
sunny day when we took off for the hospital in
So, vacation is over, back to work. Catania before long it clouded up, became
Hook up the nicely cleaned quad, limber and stormy. This was a DC-3 stripped down to
gun. Out to the coast road and up to Messina. some racks for stretchers and everyone else
Now, at long last, we can put all our training sat on the floor. Sitting by the window I could
into practice on how to load on a LST. Across see water very close. A British medical Sgt.
the straits and charge onto the beach at told us that Catania airport was socked in so
Reggio Calabria to a bunch of smiling Italian we were going to Africa. It was black out
prisoners. Not a shot fired in anger but we are there but I could still see the water. How low
the first allied troops to land on continental were we? Thunder and lightning when
Europe. Inland to an assembly area, then suddenly a big swing around and back to Italy.
start to chase Jerry. But then, without even the slightest bump, I
We form battle groups of an infantry company, could see the ground going by. We had
artillery troop, tanks, engineers etc. and away landed.
we go. The only trouble was that Jerry was an They took us to the airport and laid us out on
expert at using explosives. Blown bridges, blankets for the night, a sandwich and a cup
rock slides, and whatever. He had all the of tea. Then the pilot came in. Was he 20
tricks. We were criticised for being too slow years old? He didn’t look it. He went down
but what else can you do on a single road the line and asked everyone if they were all
through the mountains. right. Then he made two announcements.
About this time, during a brief stop, Mr. First, we were very lucky to have come
Carpenter called for me. He said, due to through the night. Then, when the second
accidents and sickness we were short of ambulance had pulled away from the plane, it
NCO’s. Therefore he was putting me in had touched the end of the wing, knocking it
charge of a gun. When we could stop for a rest off its chocks. Then the wind had taken it
right down and off the end of the runway. It
was wrecked.
The following morning we were loaded onto
another DC-3, this one American, for Catania.
What a difference. Bunks for those that
needed them and seats for everyone else.
Orderlies walking up and down making sure
we were all ok. A bright sunny day and we
landed with at least 6 good bumps. Up to now
I had only been a little feverish but by the
time I got to the hospital I was out of my head.
With this disease you can have a very high
temperature > 105 without dying. Liquid
quinine is the cure. Horrible stuff.
A couple of weeks to reinforcement depot, just
Captured German 88mm
in time for a draft from the 2nd.Fd Regt. I
he would put the order in for stripes. So arrived back when they were in Campobasso.
Gunner to Acting Sergeant without pay (they The town was now being used as a leave
really were desperate). center. It was a strange area with inhabitants
As it happened I came down with the scourge being partly pro and partly con to the allied
of Italy, malaria. Back to the MO, then into forces. You had to watch your back.
an ambulance and off to the nearest airport? (Continued on page 13)PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 13
(Continued from page 12)
Shortly after, we moved over to the coast to
relieve the Brit. 78th Div. Oh joy, it was now
the rainy season. Before we arrived at the
Sangro river, we were stopped for quite a
while. An engineer came up and told us they
were still repairing the bridge. As it was
pouring rain at the time, I invited him in to
get a little warmth. Oh yes, I’d got the
promotion. Anyway he asked if any one was
from Montreal. I said I was. Where?
Rosemount. Me too. What's your name?
Charlie Hunter. A laugh and then, I am Ben
Smith. Whom I had known all my life!
Finally, over the Sangro and into action, thus
beginning the most miserable series of months peaceful most of the time. We fired a barrage
possible. Dig a slit trench, washed out. Pull for the 5 Div infantry so that they could get
into a field. Get stuck. Out drag ropes. Pull their feet wet. Total disaster.
boys. We had an artificer who liked a drink. He had
The quad with its winch was very handy, but an assistant who was a teetotaller. They had
it did not always have a place to anchor itself. to share a tent like everybody else. See where
I’m going? Wine got to be too mild for Biz so
Service Corps would bring up the ammunition he built himself a still. He then ran wine
and dump it at the road. All depended how far through the still Brrrr. We christened it
you were from the road was the distance you “steam”. One night he staggered to the tent
then had to lug it. Most of the time through full of “steam”. Needless to say the fight
fields of mud. With some of those 500 round started, during the course of which Biz bit
barrages, you were pretty beat by nightfall. Will's thumb. A few days later his parents got
Not that you got any rest then, because there a telegram saying your son has been wounded
was always Jerry’s counter attack to take care in action.
of. ( tsk tsk ending with a preposition).
Sometimes numbers 5 and 6 would still be at I elected myself cook for the crew, mostly
it while the rest of the crew were firing and because no one else would be bothered.
often enough it was still raining. Following is the recipe for Hunter’s
I hope I have given the readers some idea hamburgers:
what it could be like. And, believe me, these Need -1 mixing bowl, 1 fry pan. Dump one can
were not rare occasions. The Ortona winter of m/v into the bowl. This stood for meat and
was the worst of my six years in the army. vegetables, renamed muzzle velocity. One can
bully beef. Add whatever the crew can supply
We finally moved into a position that we from their parcels. Add whatever is left from a
would hold until Spring. After getting washed borrowed chicken. Mix well. If you can, wash
out of my slit trench at least 6 times I decided your hands first. Take about a dozen hard
to build one above ground. I kept all the tack and crush them, using a 25 pounder as a
ammunition boxes, filled them with dirt, piled rolling pin. Form the mix into patties, roll in
them two high and two deep. A pup tent over the flour from the biscuits. Fry in the fry pan.
that and I was as snug as a bug in a rug. Soon No grease needed, this is well supplied by the
everyone had done the same. It all depends on m / v. It made a change.
a situation, what makes you happy but there
was no doubt that this was our winter of Spring came and also the CRA. He took one
discontent. Some counter battery/mortar horrified look at our wonderful little village
work, harassing fire and aeroplane FOO and said “get rid of it and get back under
shooting. Otherwise things were quite (Continued on page 14)PAGE 14 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
Memories of the 2 Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, at War (Cont’d)
(Continued from page 13) bird's eye view of the American bombing of the
ground“. While he was there it was a monastery.
beautiful sunny day but you know what Promoted to BDR in Part Two Orders. Some
happened shortly after we had dug our new days later demoted again. I didn't even get a
slits. It rained and it rained. chance to wear them.
By one o’clock we were all huddled around Clean up, we were off again. Over into central
with great coats, wet blankets, ground sheets Italy. Slowly pushing Jerry back. We stopped
over our shoulders. At first light the command for a couple of days by a bull farm. It seems
post called to send one man up for a rum all the farmers around would bring their cows
ration. I came back and suggested it was a sip there to be serviced. The wife handled this
for all but a good drink for one. All agreed job. When a cow was still a good distance
believe it or not. I pulled the ace of spades. away you could hear the four bulls start to
After finishing the rum, I felt sorry for the rest argue with each other. Its my turn, no it isn't,
of them, so I said I would go and find some you had the last one. They raised quite a
wine. Back down the road to the first farm. racket. The farmer would pick the bull he
They all had at least one barrel in the shed. I wanted and the woman would lead him over
filled up the bottles to take back, but the and then h mmmm guide him to his target,
trouble was that I started to drink one of shall we say.
them. The next thing Eddie finds me passed
out on a hay stack. He said you better come Till June/July for some reason we were getting
back, they are looking for you. My reply, “No a lot of rain. We would stand 8 shells in a
way. I am resigning from this man's bull s--- shell case so as to keep them out of the mud.
army”. Next comes Van, but I succeeded in One night jerry put on one of his typical
getting him as loaded as I was. Back to the counter attacks in to our right. This meant
troop at 6 p.m. I had been gone all day and we moving the trail around to the left where the
were in action. ammunition was. Two hundred pounds in a
case stuck in the mud. Pull, pull, until I
I was very lucky in that all they did was take pulled my back out. The MO gave me two
my stripes. I think my officers put in a good weeks light duty. What a laugh.
word for me with the Colonel. They had to put
up with the same crap that the rest if us had I had had a few close ones up to then, even
to take. I really believe that “C” Troop had getting buried once, but this was different.
very good and understanding officers (more on We were all in our slit trenches because the
this later). 88's were coming in thick and fast. Then I felt
one hit the ground just in front of me. I felt it
On my trip back in 2005 I mentioned how boring its way in the ground I swear to God it
memories flooded back when we entered was coming in to join me.
Catania plains. This did not occur at Ortona.
The bridge across the Moro was new and 60 I held my breath, but nothing happened. It
years of growth hid the river. Ortona was was a dud. I still jumped out of the trench
rebuilt which was not my memory. From a and ran, just in case.
distance there was some familiarity, but that We were beginning to look really bedraggled.
was all. Which we were. Any way some kind soul said
Soon after this they started to give leave to let's send a few of the worst ones down to the
Bari. I mentioned earlier the hair cut incident beach at Salerno.
on our way back. We stopped for a couple of days by
They stopped all Canadians at Foggia and put Abulcassino and the Liri valley.
us behind wire. From there we were trucked
over to the Tyranian coast. The battery was
positioned on a ridge facing Casino. We had a (Continued on page 15)PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 15
(Continued from page 14) NATO was a sequel. The main act was the
For some reason this period is vague in my Marshall Plan, the best and smartest thing
memory. The night we moved up Jerry sent the United States has done since the Second
over dive bombers and caught us pretty good. World War. The Marshall Plan was not just,
He bombed and strafed the column for a good or even principally, about reviving European
period. He forced us to seek shelter and we economies prostrated by the Second World
ran away from the road. As it happened there War or about preventing the spread of
were a lot of trenches around for protection communism into Western Europe.
but, guess what? They were all full of dead Its real mission, as defined by the Truman
Germans. Some work of the 4th Div I administration, was to force the Europeans to
suppose. It was a tough hour or so. co-operate with each other, to make each
From then on we did an awful lot of moving country lower its tariff barriers against the
and firing, getting very little sleep. The boys others, to make them think in continental
at the point of the sword were going ahead terms.
against our old foes, paras and panzers. The Before the Americans would deliver a single
Americans had finally broken out of Anzio and dollar in aid, they demanded that the
headed for Rome. We were stopped at recipient nations agree among themselves on
Pontecorvo so that they could have the honor. how the money should be spent. Countries
that had just emerged from two devastating
Part 2 of Bdr Hunter’s story will appear in the Fall wars, that had been at war - more on than off -
Issue of the Log. for more than a thousand years, met in Paris
on July 12, 1947, and, out of desperation and
Sheldrake
to their own amazement, worked out a joint
plan for relief: how much each country should
NATO is in crisis. So what? receive, how the money should be spent, what
role their and the American governments
JOHN IBBITSON should play.
From The Globe and Mail This was the true beginning of the European
As North American and European leaders gather Union, America's first great postwar gift to
in Bucharest, the world's most important the continent. The second was NATO.
alliance struggles, once again, for unity of Ernest Bevin, Britain's foreign secretary,
purpose. This is hardly new. realized that his country's days as a great
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has power had ended, and that only the United
endured alarms and setbacks almost from its States could protect Europe from a
inception - the withdrawal of France from the threatening Soviet Union. He convinced his
military command; the mass protests over the fellow Europeans, the Americans (who were
deployment of intermediate-range nuclear already thinking the same thing) and Canada
weapons; the collapse of the Soviet Union; the that a new alliance was essential for the
disintegration of Yugoslavia. West's collective security.
The current challenges - whether to admit With NATO's creation in 1949, the Western
Ukraine and Georgia and what to do about alliance declared to the world that an attack
Afghanistan - have created serious rifts within on one was an attack on all. The democracies,
the alliance. But before we get too pessimistic, or we declared, are united. We have remained
fatalistic, we should remember where NATO united, whenever it has really counted, to this
came from, and what it is. day.
It came from unprecedented statesmanship that
Because things get better over time, a
combined self-interest with generosity of spirit.
prosperous and democratic Russia will join the
And it has proved to be, for nearly 60 years, the
alliance one day. If things keep getting better,
greatest force for good on Earth.
(Continued on page 20)PAGE 16 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008
40ème ANNIVERSAIRE - 5eRALC - 40th
ANNIVERSARY
FIN DE SEMAINE DES ARTILLEURS GUNNER’S WEEK-END QUEBEC 2008
QUÉBEC 2008 The Annual Meeting of the Royal Canadian
L’assemblé annuelle de l’Association de Artillery Association (RCAA) will be held in
l’Artillerie Royale Canadienne (AARC) se beautiful Québec City on the 11, 12 and 13
tiendra dans la belle ville de Québec les 11, 12, September 2008.
13 Septembre prochains. The 40th Anniversary Ball of the 5 RALC, the
Le bal du 40e anniversaire du 5e RALC, gunner weekend’s key event will be held in the
l’événement phare de la fin de semaine des Centre des Congrès de Québec on 13
artilleurs à Québec aura lieu durant la soirée September 2008.
du 13 Septembre 2008 au Centre des Congres
de Québec. Gunners from the Land Force Quebec Area
Les artilleurs du Secteur Québec de la Force and participants to the RCAA Annual Meeting
Terrestre et les congressistes de l’AARC se will join the members of the 5 RALC for this
joindront aux membres du 5e RALC afin de special evening.
souligner cet évènement.
ACTIVITÉS DATE ACTIVITIES
Assemblé Annuel de l’AARC 11, 12 & 13 Sept 2008 RCAA Annual Meeting
Tournoi de golf de la fondation du 11 Sept 2008 Golf tournament of the 5e RALC
5e RALC Foundation
Meet and Greet à la citadelle de 11 Sept 2008 Meet and Greet at the Québec
Québec Citadel
Ball du 40e du 5e RALC et fête 13 Sept 2008 5e RALC 40th Anniversary Ball
des artilleurs secteur Québec
L'HOTEL DELTA HOTEL AU CENTRE-VILLE DELTA HOTEL DOWNTOWN QUEBEC IS WHERE
DE QUEBEC EST L'ENDROIT OÙ LE TOUT SE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING FOR THE RCAA
DÉROULERA POUR LA 132E AGA DE L’AARC ET 132nd AGM AND RESERVATIONS FOR THE EVENT
LES RÉSERVATIONS POUR LES ACTIVITÉS MUST FIRST BE MADE THROUGH 5 RALC AND
DOIVENT ÊTRE FAITES EN PASSANT PAR LE 5 SUBSEQUENTLY CONFIRMED BY PHONING OR
RALC D’ABORD ET ENSUITE FAITES VOTRE E-MAIL THE HOTEL WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD
RÉSERVATION À L’HÔTEL PAR TÉLÉPHONE OU NUMBER.
COURRIEL.
Pour la réunion annuelle (AGA) de l'AARC 2008 et les For the 2008 AGM and the Quebec Area Gunners
célébrations des Artilleurs au Québec du 11 au 13 sept Celebrations 11-13 Sept 2008, please make all
2008, veuillez faire toutes vos réservations d'activités avec reservations for the events using one of these coordinates:
l'une des coordonnées suivantes:
Adresse courriel: E-Mail:
5RALC.artilleursquebec@forces.gc.ca 5RALC.artilleursquebec@forces.gc.ca
Adresse postale: Postal address:
Comité des Artilleurs du Québec Comité des Artilleurs du Québec
5e RÉGIMENT D'ARTILLERIE LÉGERE DU Canada 5e RÉGIMENT D'ARTILLERIE LÉGERE DU Canada
CP 1000 SUCC FORCES CP 1000 SUCC FORCES
COURCELETTE QC G0A 4Z0 COURCELETTE QC G0A 4Z0
Téléphone: (418) 844-5000 poste 4445 ou 5254 Telephone: (418) 844-5000 ext. 4445 or 5254PRINTEMPS / SPRING 2008 SHELDRAKE'S LOG PAGE 17
Aujourd'hui, l'OTAN
Mario Roy, La Presse trompez pas, l'OTAN n'est pas en train de
Le samedi 05 avril 2008 gagner en Afghanistan», prévient l'ex-
commandant en chef de l'organisation, James
Faire débarquer des troupes Jones (dans The Economist). Or, l'OTAN, elle,
supplémentaires en Afghanistan était est-elle en train de gagner en crédibilité, en
important pour le Canada, on le sait: cohésion, en pertinence, s'interroge le général?
c'était la condition posée par le premier
ministre Stephen Harper au maintien de Qu'est aujourd'hui l'OTAN? L'alliance, en
la présence canadienne dans les zones de effet, n'est pas encore remise de la fin de la
combat. Guerre froide, est divisée sur nombre de sujets
et de plus en plus grevée par les contingences
Un millier de soldats américains, remplacés à politiques dans lesquelles elle se meut.
l'Est par un contingent français, se joindront
donc aux 2500 Canadiens actifs dans le Sud Hier, par exemple, cela s'est concrétisé lors de
afghan; c'est ce qu'on a déterminé à Bucarest la présence à Bucarest du président russe,
où a pris fin, hier, le sommet de l'Organisation Vladimir Poutine, hostile à plusieurs points
du traité de l'Atlantique Nord. inscrits à l'agenda de l'OTAN, en particulier
l'élargissement de son membership vers l'Est.
La décision n'a rien d'une surprise. Et elle est (Dans une allusion à la crise existentielle de
au moins aussi importante pour l'OTAN que l'OTAN, Poutine a d'ailleurs cru utile de
pour le Canada. Quelle explication aurait-on rappeler que «l'URSS et le bloc de l'Est
donnée, en effet, si la plus puissante alliance n'existent plus»!) On remarque que, d'une
militaire de l'Histoire, regroupant 26 pays part, la croissance de l'organisation vit un peu
dont les moyens sont presque infinis, s'était les mêmes affres que l'Union européenne; que,
révélée incapable de dénicher 1000 soldats de d'autre part, l'affaire est politique avant d'être
plus pour une mission d'une telle importance? militaire.
Cela dit, ce renfort ne donne pas toutes les Pour l'heure, cela laisse en plan la vaste
solutions aux problèmes que présente la rénovation stratégique et logistique de
situation réelle dans l'ancien fief des talibans l'OTAN, seul projet - terriblement pratico-
et d'Al-Qaeda. pratique- dont l'aboutissement redonnerait à
Sans même revenir aux interrogations l'alliance atlantique sa crédibilité, sa cohésion,
morales et politiques qui pullulent dans ce sa pertinence.
dossier, le contexte dans lequel se poursuivra
la mission canadienne n'a pas atteint la totale
clarté. Comment l'accroissement de la force de
frappe américaine dans cette zone sensible
sera-t-il vécu au sein du commandement local,
des troupes canadiennes et de la population
afghane? Quels sont les plans - on n'a pas eu
de détails - pour rendre rapidement disponible
le matériel nécessaire, notamment les
hélicoptères dont on connaît l'importance
tactique? Comment doit-on interpréter le léger
flou que laisse subsister Stephen Harper
quant à l'après-2011, moment prévu pour le
retrait des forces canadiennes?
Le cas afghan, qui nous concerne directement,
est en outre l'illustration de l'incertaine
période de transition que vit l'OTAN. «Ne vousVous pouvez aussi lire
