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Canada's top soldier in Afghanistan ousted
The top Canadian soldier in Afghanistan, Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, has been relieved of duty and ordered home immediately, accused of having an inappropriate personal relationship with a female soldier.An investigation has been launched into the conduct of Menard, who is married. Until next week, the forces in Afghanistan will be commanded by Col. Simon Hetherington, the deputy-commander of Canada's 2,800 soldiers in the country. An official in Defence Minister Peter MacKay's office said the allegations against Menard involve a member of his staff. Hetherington told reporters at Kandahar Airfield that Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, commander of Canadian military stationed overseas, decided to relieve Menard of his duties after he lost confidence in his capacity to command. Hetherington declined to comment on specifics of the allegations. "As soon as Lt.-Gen. Lessard was made aware of the allegations, which was the 29th of May, he did the proper assessment and made the decision to have him relieved," Hetherington said. Menard received the news Sunday morning in Afghanistan. The military has a strict non-fraternization policy for deployed troops, forbidding personal relationships of an emotional, romantic or sexual nature. Posted by: Skunky Glins**** 2010-05-30 |
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