Another observation from Tom Eschak

Tom says that the Afghan people will always give a little warning to them that there will be a suicide bombing or attack coming shortly. Sometimes it's a kid holding a stick and pretending it to be a gun and shooting at them. Or sometimes the kids hold their thumbs up at them. Usually the Canadian guys notice that there are no people around. No people on their farms or no people in the close vicinity. (Because they are clearing out getting ready for a bombing.) Sometimes they notice a guy with a cell phone. A cell phone means that they are usually communicating with other bombers and they are planning on doing an attack.

(Tom's mother tells me that it is rare to hear from her son: the Canadians are out in the mountains, far from any communications. The only time Tom has managed to telephone was when he is at the "base". These snippets your Blogress is entering here are from only 2 conversations Tom has managed to have with his family since the beginning of August.

We have no idea where Tom and his company are - this is secret - but the Oct 23 Western Standard has a story on a major attack conducted against the Taliban. Code named "Medusa" this was "by all reports a tremendous success, with the combined forces killing upward of 1,000 enemy combatants, a quarter of the regional Taliban force..." Tom has said that "the Canadians were the leaders in the Medusa Operation that aggressively went after the Taliban, and they 'set the standard' for the operation....

Tom's mother, Marj Eschak, has been asked by the Canadian Legion to participate in the November 11 celebrations here in Whitehorse. If she lives in fear for her son's welfare, she also has great pride in his courage, and his service to Canada.