CAMP ADAZI, Latvia – Members of the Canadian Armed Forces deployed thousands of kilometres from home are sharing their Remembrance Day reflections. “Sacrifice isn’t just measured in casualties in the military,” said Col. David Brassard, the Canadian commander of NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia. “When our soldiers deploy here (to Latvia) for six months, they’re away from their families and loved ones. That’s a type of sacrifice we don’t talk about as much.” CTV News spent the last week embedded with the multinational brigade in eastern Latvia along the border with Russia and Belarus. It is there that CTV News spoke with multiple soldiers about the personal sacrifice. “I joined the military because I wanted to serve Canada,” said one Canadian commanding a NATO tank squadron.“We have a lot of freedoms, we’re very fortunate (in Canada) and we want to be able to protect that and help provide security for other countries.” CTV News is withholding the names of some the service members interviewed for this story, to ensure their safety and security while on deployment in eastern Latvia. “I’m here doing something meaningful, it’s meaningful to me as well,” said one Canadian lieutenant helping lead a battle brigade into a training exercise just 30 kilometres from the border of Belarus. The memory of fallen comrades remains heavy for the Canadian-led brigade in Latvia. The last name ‘Hornburg’ hangs along the side of a Canadian Leopard tank in honour of Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, who was killed in September 2007 in Afghanistan after he was hit by a mortar shell while fixing a tank west of Kandahar. Troops in Latvia are also mourning those injured and killed by an October deadly fire during a training exercise at CFB Wainwright in Alberta. The unit at Wainwright had been training to deploy to Latvia and form a light infantry unit. “There are always risks involved, even in training,” said Lt.-Col. Simon Mailloux, the commander of the brigade’s multinational infantry battle group. “I’ve lost soldiers on a mission, and I was previously injured myself.” Mailloux, a 25-year veteran, was a platoon commander in Afghanistan when Pte. Simon Longtin was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in August 2007. Three months later, another roadside bomb cost Mailloux part of his left leg and killed Cpl. Nicolas Beauchamp and Pte. Michel Lévesque. “It’s still hard to process, even during Remembrance Day,” Mailloux said.” Mailloux later became the first Canadian amputee to return to active duty in Afghanistan. Speaking to CTV National News just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, Mailloux says his current soldiers understand the gravity of their mission. “We are here now, very close to a border (with Russia), my troops know it, they can feel it,” Mailloux said. “That’s what their job is asking of them right now.” On this Remembrance Day, those we spoke with had messages to share with their loved ones back home. Many are sending their love and thanks to their parents, siblings, spouses and children. Most Canadian soldiers in Latvia are here on a six-month deployment scheduled to end in December, leaving many looking forward to returning home for the holidays. Asked why they joined the Canadian Armed Forces, the majority of those who spoke to CTV News shared a similar thought, they love the military and they love their country.
