The Afghanistan conflict has claimed another Canadian life – this time an Edmonton-based soldier who died Monday, during a brief attack by insurgents against a Canadian combat outpost in the middle of Taliban territory.
The soldier was identified as Master Cpl. Erin Doyle, who served with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. His age was not released but his hometown was identified as Kamloops, a city in the B.C. Interior.
A second, unidentified, soldier was wounded during the attack and was reported to be in good condition.
Doyle becomes the 90th Canadian soldier to die in the Afghanistan conflict and the second to be killed within a 48 hour period. Master Cpl. Josh Roberts of Shilo, Man., was killed in a firefight on Saturday that is under investigation by military officials.
Doyle, who leaves behind a wife, Nicole, and daughter, Zarine, was on his third combat tour of Afghanistan and was remembered by his grieving comrades as physically imposing but gentle in nature, earning him the nickname the “Friendly Giant.”
In 2000, Erin and Nicole Doyle travelled to Bosnia to distribute much-needed supplies to children in Drvar. In 2002, Doyle was one of 20 people honoured with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in Kamloops, in recognition of outstanding community service to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
“Erin was a big tough mountain-of-a-man who enjoyed the outdoors,” said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of Task Force Afghanistan. “He was a true warrior and just the person you would want beside you in a firefight.”
Doyle was killed when half a dozen Taliban fighters fired a few shots at the outpost as they do on an almost daily basis before retreating. “What they tend to do is fire a few harassing rounds and then they’ll disappear into the woodwork,” said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of Task Force Afghanistan. “The combat outpost was engaged in a classic shoot and scoot fashion and unfortunately Master Cpl. Doyle was killed by a direct hit on the outpost.”
As soon as the attack began, soldiers returned fire, calling in artillery and air strikes against the insurgents.
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“We killed a number and wounded a number, the precise numbers of which we don’t track because we’re not in the business of body counts,” said Thompson.
The combat outposts are tiny compared to the major Canadian bases in southern Afghanistan, holding between 30 and 100 soldiers, Thompson said. Their size and relative vulnerability make them a favourite target of insurgents but Thompson said the outposts are crucial to help keep a lid on insurgent activity in the volatile rural areas.
“They’re in combat outposts because these are difficult areas where the insurgents have a reasonable grip,” said Thompson who added there is no thought to shutting down the outposts just because they’re a target.
“The only other option is you leave the population completely uncovered and you leave them completely at the mercy of the Taliban and that’s not what we’re here to do. We’re here to bring security to the people. So it’s tough, there’s no question it’s tough, and every time we have a loss like this it has a big effect.”
Chief Warrant Officer Chris White said Doyle “was quite intimidating to look at him but he had a good sense of humour.”
His eyes welling with tears, White remembered Doyle as a good-natured friend who once volunteered to be the Santa Claus at a children’s Christmas party. However, even with a beard and costume, the physically imposing soldier “scared more kids than he cheered up,” said White with a smile.
White said Doyle was “the kind of guy you’d like to sit down and have a beer with.”
“Master Cpl. Doyle was part of a noble mission that is helping create the conditions needed for security, development and the rule of law to take root in Afghanistan,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement.
“This is a challenging mission, but we stand proudly in support of our brave men and women in uniform who, with our allies, are working to bring stability to a war torn country. He was an exceptional Canadian and courageous soldier who died while bravely serving his country. He will be remembered with the utmost gratitude and respect of this nation.”
Meanwhile, media reports are beginning to paint a disturbing picture of the confused firefight that claimed the life of Master Cpl. Roberts on Saturday morning.
Even though Canadian military officials are refusing to release details to embedded journalists, a story in the American military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, said Roberts died after guards with a private security firm opened fire “indiscriminately” when they stumbled onto a skirmish between Canadian and insurgents.
“Their normal contact drill is that as soon as they get hit with something, then it’s 360, open up on anything that moves,” the article quoted Canadian Maj. Corey Frederickson as saying. “We think that’s probably what happened.”
The article went on to say the private security convoy kept driving until it was stopped by coalition soldiers in the Maywand district 30 kilometres further west.
“When questioned by Canadian and U.S. military officers, several of the Afghan security guards freely admitted to opening fire on what they thought were Taliban fighters. But when informed that a Canadian soldier had been wounded, their stories began to change, and many never claimed to have fired at all,” said Stars and Stripes.
Several of the private guards were also found to be wearing Afghan police uniforms which were confiscated by police.
“In the end there was little that the Canadian and American officers could do, except take the names and mobile phone numbers of the Afghans in charge of the convoy and the names of the suspected shooters,” said the article.
The Canadian military’s National Investigation Service has launched an investigation
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