4- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 17, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Officer joins daughter serving as army nurse in Afghanistan Continued from page 3 wedding Smith was pleased with the ceremony. "From my point of view, the ceremony worked out very well and it was a very prideful moment for Carolyn and myself," he said. With the wedding behind him, preparing for his deployment is now front and centre in Smith's mind. Last Sunday, Smith handed over command of the RHLI to Major Sean McKee, who is himself on leave from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Smith is no stranger to deployment, having completed a UN tour in Cyprus and a successful weapons search mission on the Kahnawake Reserve during the Oka Crisis, however, he acknowledges that Afghanistan represents a whole new set of challenges. "We're into full spectrum operations in Afghanistan," he said. "That's no illusion to anybody." Even though the Canadian Forces have suffered 44 fatalities since the conflict's beginning and NATO forces are bracing themselves for an expected Taliban spring offensive, Smith says he Auto Show Special GET OUT&PLAY Event! PURCHASE FINANCING Honda The First 2 Scheduled Maintenance Visits included if vehicle purchased from this Saturday Feb. 17 and picked up by Feb. 28, 2007 1.9 % Accord Sedan SE model CM5677J ¥ FOR 36 MONTHS Award Winning: `Best in Test' in 2007 Car and Driver midsize comparison. Car and Driver magazine compared the 2007 Accord Sedan head-to-head with five other competitive models. When the scores were added up, Accord was again the winner hands down. Discover for yourself why it's been a Car and Driver `10Best' Winner 21 times in 25 years.¥ ACCORD SEDAN DX-G Say no to compromise. 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Smith says, despite the danger, his daughter showed similar commitment and enthusiasm for serving where she is needed. "She'd been applying to go to Afghanistan ever since it has happened. So I don't know if the apple falls a little close to the tree, but if we choose to serve and the opportunity presents itself, that's what we're there for," said Smith. When Smith joins the 2,500 Canadian Forces personnel already in Afghanistan he hopes, his duties permitting, to be able to meet up with his daughter, but admits this will not be an easy task given they will be in two completely different provinces of the country. "I will be fundamentally working out of Kabul and she's in Kandahar, so ballpark, that's like the distance between Ottawa and Toronto," he said. Smith holds out hope that his work will bring him to the area. "They're (Canadian Forces Commander of Sector South) headquartered out of Kandahar, so it follows that from time to time I would have to be in Kandahar," said Smith. "Possibly an opportunity to say hello, in passing, to Steph." When it comes to conflict at home over Canada's presence in Afghanistan, Smith believes people should get properly informed and then make up their own minds. "The wonderful thing about Canada as a democracy is that everyone is able to have their own opinion," he said. "Whether you agree, disagree or whatever, you're not subject to suffering and some of the things that go on in other nations around the world." Although he believes Canadians are making a difference in Afghanistan, Smith believes the choice to fight does not lie with him. "As a military officer it's not up to me to decide what the policy of our country is. I leave that to the good judgement of our elected officials. Once they're done and it gets passed down, then my duty as a soldier, I believe, is to serve and if it goes against my beliefs, what am I doing being a soldier?" Even with the controversy, Smith has been stunned by the support he and his soldiers have received from the Halton community and beyond. "I've been amazed by the support that our soldiers are being given and I think that is wonderfully positive because that's very important to the soldiers that are serving," he said. "I have soldiers serving over there right now. I get feed back from them and it comforts them greatly to know that the Canadian people are very supportive of their soldiers." Although he no date has been set in stone Smith says his departure could come as early as April. 13, which unfortunately falls on a Friday. Luckily Smith is not superstitious. "I'll use it as my good luck charm," he said.