Topic: Response's To "Ruxted On The Media's Handling Of Cpl. Boneca's Death"

[LCIS-Tech]

Look: This young soldier was what? 21? Well OF COURSE he was sick and tired of being away from home. For crying out loud, he was 21! OF COURSE he wanted to get the hell out of there. I can tell you that there is probably not a soldier alive who, when in the "wind-down" of a deployment, can't wait to get home to their family and friends (it always seems like forever, when there are only a couple of weeks left). Yet the media seems to take this as something new? They are taking this (his "alleged" statements) completely entire this out of context (assuming that they were accurately reported). In my opinion that young lad sounded like every other soldier I have seen on deployment in that he just wanted to get his tour over and done with, and get back to the land of beer and pizza. The media however, assumes "what he really meant was......." blah, blah, blah....

I guess some news agencies will always pick and choose what they report, and how they will report it, in order to put their own personal slant on things.

[Apollo Diomedes]

I really enjoy the Ruxted articles. They write almost as well as I do

With regards to what this guy may have said, you know what people talk crap.  People have bad days and bad weeks and they ***** about it. The number one way to get ride of stress is bitching about whats going on. Sometimes it's meaningful, most of the time it isn't.

If I was living in the mountians for 5 months eating rations smelling stinky guys dodging scorpians I'd say a LOT of stuff I don't mean.  My heart goes out to the family. Rehashing some of what this soldier said to the media was probably a bad idea. (No, it was) but like it was mentioned, who can blame them. God forbid if the media get anywhere near my dad!

I'm certain this soldier would have been home for all of 5 minutes before missing his brothers and wishing he was back with them.
People talk crap when their stressed and they vent.  "Don't mean nothing"

Edit: Sorry to hear you bad a bad go. You're obviously in a great position to comment on the situation. You must agree how messed up things would become if we sent guys home on will?  It's unfortinuate our guys (you guys) have to stay even when all you want to do is come home but if you guys weren't out in the crap keeping the enemy away from the gates whos going to stop them from comming through them?

[whiskey601]

i got sent home due to Combat Stress , when your not sleeping for like 6 days str8 because your out in the hills for 35 days on 3 days off. i was told to go in to camp and then send home

 I remember you now. I hear you had a tough go of things. Welcome home, and thank you for great work. Try and relax, okay?

[George Wallace [4]]

..... Yet the media seems to take this as something new? They are taking this (his "alleged" statements) completely entire this out of context (assuming that they were accurately reported). In my opinion that young lad sounded like every other soldier I have seen on deployment in that he just wanted to get his tour over and done with, and get back to the land of beer and pizza. The media however, assumes "what he really meant was......." blah, blah, blah....
I guess some news agencies will always pick and choose what they report, and how they will report it, in order to put their own personal slant on things.

First off, they are not reporting what "He Said", they are reporting what "His Girlfriend's FATHER Said".  A whole different ballgame there.  It is Third Hand or even Fourth Hand "Speculation" which would be unbelievable in all other circles.  Please pay attention to detail.

[Apollo Diomedes]

First off, they are not reporting what "He Said", they are reporting what "His Girlfriend's FATHER Said". 

Exactly!

i just had a phone interview with a newspaper. Went well, very nice guy.  I refused to give my exact departure date citing security reasons whch seemed to annoy him somewhat. Asked if he could call my parents, I said sure. He turned around and asked them for my departure date knowing full well I didn't want it to be known.

If the media don't get what they want from you they will find someone who will give it to them.

[GAP]

People talk crap when their stressed and they vent.  "Don't mean nothing"

And that statement is as valid today, as was when we used it 30+ years ago in similar situations. I daresay people said something very similar, if not the same, 200 years ago....it's how the stress is dealt with

[milnews.ca [5]]

Ghost778 - you got it zackly right about reporters continuing until they get what they want.  In future, don't be shy about calling his boss, and saying how well it went except for the little detail about when yer leaving.  Maybe I'm naive, but maybe it'll help (although I've had worse mistakes ignored).

You can also see it in the line of questioning on the live interviews on Newsworld - "How did he seem to feel about the mission?", "What did he tell you about what he was seeing, compared to what he expected?"  Once part of the herd goes one way, the rest of the herd follows.

[LCIS-Tech]

First off, they are not reporting what "He Said", they are reporting what "His Girlfriend's FATHER Said".  A whole different ballgame there.  It is Third Hand or even Fourth Hand "Speculation" which would be unbelievable in all other circles.  Please pay attention to detail.

umm...thus the "allegedly said" comment. Read the entire post.

[recceguy [4]]

And that statement is as valid today, as was when we used it 30+ years ago in similar situations. I daresay people said something very similar, if not the same, 200 years ago....it's how the stress is dealt with

I dare say further back than that.

"Odi et amo, quare id facere forasse requiris...Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior"

[Echo9]

I was on the treadmill this morning and saw this segment on CBC Wallyworld.  My immediate reaction was one of despair- for our civilization as we know it.  I know, melodramatic, but bear me out.

We have a situation here where a good man is killed in service of his country.  Before he is even in the ground, there's the canned peacenik response- support our troops! bring them home!  dishonour their sacrifice and declare it for naught! (OK, so I added the last part)

Look, Afghanistan is not a clean mission.  We could do everything there perfectly and still not achieve the lasting legacy that we want.  I've seen interesting posts over the past few days that ironically Iraq's mid term future is likely to be much rosier, since there's at least the potential for civilized society.  Anyway, point is, reasonable people can argue about the Afghan mission from a strategic perspective.  

What you can't argue about is the prospects for what would happen following a hasty Canadian withdrawal.  Two scenarios here (too brief, but you get the idea):
1.  We leave along with the rest of the west, and Afghanistan reverts to being the armpit of the world as it has been for the last few centuries.  We end up needing to go back in a decade or two to break some things again.
2.  We leave but the rest of NATO stays.  Canada loses any pull with any future NATO decisions.

Where my dismay comes from is that a mere 2 generations ago, Canada stood firm against fascism.  We lost more soldiers on the average day than we have lost for the entire Afghan mission (or likely will).  And this lasted for over a year.  Average canadians on the street understood that sometimes, you have to be willing to sacrifice in order to maintain your way of life.  Understood that when being stared down by a bully you fight back- particularly when that bully is really a 98 pound weakling.

I'm not sure that Canadians understand that anymore.  Sure, most of the people visiting this board do, but I think that you'd be hard pressed to get over 10% of the population that really understands this.  And that's why I think that our society has a death wish- if it's not the islamofascists, it will be the next gang that understands that we've gotten too soft to stand up for ourselves with anything stronger than talk.

[Kirkhill]

I remember you now. I hear you had a tough go of things. Welcome home, and thank you for great work. Try and relax, okay?

I remember you too SBD and can only echo Whiskey's remarks.  Welcome home and thanks. 

[MarkOttawa]

Echo9: Brilliant.

Mark
Ottawa

[kilekaldar]

Speaking as a RegForce member scheduled for a tour to A'stan in August, I find the recent line of reporting on Cpl. Boneca's death in action to be a digusting attempt to sensationalize the story even further in a cynical pursuit for more ratings. This sort of speculation is not only bad reporting, but gross and ghoulish. As it has been stated before in this forum, the only person who can tell us how he felt is dead. But that is irrelevant, his feelings were his own, private, personnal, and should not be subject to public speculation by reporters after his passing for political gain, or for the media to generate more revenue.
Anything else is so disrespectful that I have no words for the uglyness of it.
The closest I can come is in french, we would say that this is 'sale', or dirty.

[silentbutdeadly]

yeah don't get me wrong , i dislike the media as the next guy, but i think in away its the military's fault for all this to, i worked with the yanks and the brits over there and we have the most media there then those to nations forsure, i had to kick troops out of lav's and but them in G wagons , so the media was protected. So yeah i hate when the media gets involed when one of our fine troops over there get killed, but alot of those things said were true , yes they were second, third and fouth hand knowledge but somewhat  very true. Yes guys at the end of a tour want to go home no doubt!  its hard to explain without getting in trouble but alot of things were wrong with this mission and not by the troops they worked there asses off.

[big bad john (John Hill)]

I didn't trust reporters when I was serving.  I still don't trust reporters now.  If they don't have the story they want, they will find a way to get it in many circumstance's.  When I talk to the press I want a witness and I want it very clear what is said from experience.  In this case as has been mentioned I have heard nothing directly from the young Corporal.  Just some distressed family and loved ones.  We can feel their pain and understand it.  Not like it, but understand it.