Canada loses 148th soldier in Afghanistan

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Sgt. James Macneil, 28

10-year veteran of the Canadian Forces was killed Monday while on foot patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the military announced.

Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance, Canada’s top commander in Afghanistan said Sgt. James Macneil, 28, was killed at approximately 8 a.m. local time by an IED.

Macneil was patrolling with the Afghan army near Nakhonay, a village southwest of the city of Kandahar, when the device exploded, Vance said.

A man "with a big heart," Jimmy, as he was known, was regarded as "the epitome of excellence and professionalism," Vance said.

Macneil was on his fourth mission to Afghanistan. He was based in Petawawa, Ont., with the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group

Jeannie Lind, his cousin, said MacNeil was planning a new chapter in his life and had just become engaged to Laura, a teacher living in Glace Bay as well, hoping to eventually buy a house and become stationed in Sydney, N.S.

“I begged him not to go, I didn’t have a good feeling about it,” Lind said from her Glace Bay home. “He already went three times and was lucky to make it home those three times. We had a feeling something bad was going to happen this time. We didn’t want him to go.”

In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked Macneil for his service and said: "We are all saddened by this loss."

As of today, Canada has lost 148 soldiers in the war in Afghanistan since 2002.

There’s no word yet from the Canadian Department of National Defence when the repatriation of Sgt. James Macneil will take place.

We at Oye! Times humbly pay our respect to Sgt. James Macneil’s family and the loved ones he left behind.

Please leave a comment or condolences for our fallen soldier.

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