Clay
10-28-2003, 11:31 PM
COCHRANE, ALTA. - One of the Canadian soldiers who survived a mine blast in Kabul earlier this month says he is eager to rejoin his colleagues in Afghanistan.
Cpl. T.J. Stirling, 23, was driving the Iltis jeep when it hit the landmine, killing two people riding with him, as well as injuring two other soldiers in another jeep.
The blast launched a debate over whether Canadian troops have the right equipment for the job they're expected to do in Afghanistan.
In his first interview since the explosion, Stirling told CBC News there was no reason for extra caution on the day of the explosion. "The next thing I remember I was laying on the ground, the jeep was on fire and the crew commander of the other vehicle was shouting out to me that he was coming to get me."
His two passengers, Sgt. Robert Alan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, were dead. Stirling was bleeding from a number of wounds. His comrades had to probe the ground for other mines before they could come to his rescue.
He's now recovering at a relative's home in Alberta, with his wife and three-year-old son by his side.
"There are times I think what if I did this or that. It's nice, I call some of the guys who were in the other vehicle and I ask them, 'Did I do anything wrong?' and they say, 'No, you didn't do anything wrong, T.J.'"
Since returning to Canada, Stirling has followed the debate about whether he and the other troops were properly equipped, if a light jeep such as the Iltis is the right vehicle for Afghanistan.
"I don't blame the jeep one bit. If anything it saved my life. If I was to be in a roofed vehicle, or with doors on it, even an armoured vehicle, no one knows what the outcome would have been."
Stirling says he was sitting on a special blast-absorbing blanket and the explosion sent him flying clear of the burning wreckage.
In spite of what he's been through, Stirling says he's eager to go back to Afghanistan, saying he believes in the job he was doing, and he believes in finishing what he starts. Written by CBC News www.cbc.ca
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/photos/stirling_thomas031028.jpg
Cpl. T.J. Stirling
Cpl. T.J. Stirling, 23, was driving the Iltis jeep when it hit the landmine, killing two people riding with him, as well as injuring two other soldiers in another jeep.
The blast launched a debate over whether Canadian troops have the right equipment for the job they're expected to do in Afghanistan.
In his first interview since the explosion, Stirling told CBC News there was no reason for extra caution on the day of the explosion. "The next thing I remember I was laying on the ground, the jeep was on fire and the crew commander of the other vehicle was shouting out to me that he was coming to get me."
His two passengers, Sgt. Robert Alan Short and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, were dead. Stirling was bleeding from a number of wounds. His comrades had to probe the ground for other mines before they could come to his rescue.
He's now recovering at a relative's home in Alberta, with his wife and three-year-old son by his side.
"There are times I think what if I did this or that. It's nice, I call some of the guys who were in the other vehicle and I ask them, 'Did I do anything wrong?' and they say, 'No, you didn't do anything wrong, T.J.'"
Since returning to Canada, Stirling has followed the debate about whether he and the other troops were properly equipped, if a light jeep such as the Iltis is the right vehicle for Afghanistan.
"I don't blame the jeep one bit. If anything it saved my life. If I was to be in a roofed vehicle, or with doors on it, even an armoured vehicle, no one knows what the outcome would have been."
Stirling says he was sitting on a special blast-absorbing blanket and the explosion sent him flying clear of the burning wreckage.
In spite of what he's been through, Stirling says he's eager to go back to Afghanistan, saying he believes in the job he was doing, and he believes in finishing what he starts. Written by CBC News www.cbc.ca
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/photos/stirling_thomas031028.jpg
Cpl. T.J. Stirling