Soldiers’ deaths spark police probe

Neither assigned to support units

The apparent suicides of two soldiers in Western Canada have spawned at least one police investigation and more questions about the military’s practice of discharging troops deemed medically unfit for service.

Both soldiers, who died in separate incidents, had ties to Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba. Neither has been identified.

One of the soldiers, a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, was found dead Tuesday at home.

A defence official says the RCMP are investigating and it appears that the soldier killed himself.

In the other case, a soldier who was transferred over the summer from CFB Shilo to a reserve unit in Lethbridge, Alta., was found “in distress” last Friday at a local corrections centre, and died in hospital on Monday.

That member belonged to the 20th Independent Field Battery; Alberta’s Justice Department referred questions to the military.

Lori Truscott, a Canadian Forces public affairs officer in Shilo, said the military is reviewing the circumstances of both deaths, but did not indicate whether military police were involved.

Officials at National Defence confirmed that neither soldier was assigned to the military’s joint personnel support units, which are supposed to prepare the wounded to either return to their frontline units or be discharged from the military.

The soldier in Shilo, who was in his early 30s, was on track to be released from the military, said a close friend of the victim.

The military said that neither of the soldiers were being considered for medical discharge at the time of their deaths. However, the Defence spokesman would not say whether either of the men were on a permanent category, which is a disabled list just ahead of the formal process for release.

But Cpl. Glen Kirkland, who has fought a high-profile battle with DND on behalf of soldiers being medically discharged against their will, says he spoke with his friend recently.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s crushing, absolutely crushing,” Kirkland said Wednesday.

The soldier, a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan, asked about the post-release procedure to access benefits through Veterans Affairs Canada and was upset about not being able to collect a pension, Kirkland said.

Aside from being in the infantry, Kirkland’s friend had only worked on a farm with horses and didn’t feel qualified to do anything else.

“He said: ‘ What am I going to do? How am I going to feed my family?”’ Kirkland said about their last conversation.

Aside from dealing with medical concerns, one of the most serious stresses for those leaving the military is fear of the unknown that comes with potential job retraining and the financial uncertainty that accompanies it.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson insisted that no one is being summarily let go and that each soldier is “prepared” for their transition to civilian life.