Airborne pride lives on

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This article was published 25/03/2002 (8710 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canada’s disbanded airborne regiment is alive and well and living in Afghanistan.

And far from being ashamed of the scandal that brought down the elite group of Canadian fighters seven years ago, ex-airborne troops are proud of their military heritage and more than willing to talk about it.

“They were a different breed of soldiers,” says Warrant Officer Billy Bolen, a 43-year-old Edmonton native who served with the airborne for 11 years.

“They didn’t have to be told; they just did it. You’d see privates doing things you’d never see privates do anywhere else.”

The eight years Master Cpl. Ian Wadleigh of Ottawa was with the airborne were the best of his 21-year career, he says.

“The morale was incredible,” says Wadleigh who, like Bolen and about 170 other former airborne troops, is now with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and stationed in Kandahar.

“The cohesiveness was really good. There was an esprit de corps.”

Canadian peacekeeping efforts during the UN Somalia mission were tainted by charges of torture and murder. On March 4, 1993, Canadian sentries at Belet Huen shot two Somali infiltrators, one fatally, while stationed on a UN famine relief mission.

Almost two weeks later, troops captured, tortured and killed 16-year-old Shidane Arone, who was caught sneaking into the compound by Canadians. Pte. Elvin Kyle Brown was convicted in 1993 for the beating death.

Allegations of a military coverup prompted a formal public inquiry in 1995. Later that year, in a precedent-setting move, former defence minister David Collenette disbanded the regiment, saying the troops had irretrievably lost the public’s trust.

Still, ex-airborne troops walk with pride among the Princess Patricia’s and Canada’s other regiments, each of which has its own paratroop company. Members of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division who served in Somalia say the Canadians were the best.

“They didn’t have any more problems on their perimeter after those incidents, I can tell you that,” said one.

“Some of our best soldiers are from the airborne regiment,” says Lt.-Col. Pat Stogran, commander of the Canadian forces in Afghanistan.

“I would also say that some of our best soldiers aspire to be paratroopers because there’s that element of danger and risk, just like this mission, that brings out the true combat-oriented soldier. And paratroopers, every time they step out the door they’re facing that danger, a danger that the average (foot) soldier doesn’t face.”

The ex-airborne troops do stick out. They’re veterans. They’re confident. They’re proficient.

The regiment’s demise was crushing for some, says Maj. Sean Hackett of Brighton, Ont., who served with the regiment just one year before it was disbanded. A few left the military, but the vast majority stayed, he said. Its demise left a hole in the Canadian military system, added Hackett.

The airborne was a natural stepping stone to pathfinder and then Joint Task Force 2, Canada’s secretive special forces unit which was created in 1991.

“It’s harder now,” said Hackett. “There’s no carrot in front of the aspiring young soldier.”

The bitterness has subsided, but not the pride and the desire.

“I’d take a demotion to go back there,” said Bolen.

— Canadian Press