Canadian Soldier Killed In Afghanistan Starts Journey Home

More than a thousand soldiers saluted Sunday as a Canadian infantryman described as a father figure to his men who never left his troops was given a sad send-off. 

As the sun set over Kandahar Airfield, pallbearers slowly carried the casket of Sgt. John Faught to an awaiting transport plane for his final trip back to Canada.

Faught, 44, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was killed Saturday by a roadside bomb in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province.

“Sgt. Faught always led from the front (and) that is why we are remembering him today and not one of his soldiers,” said Maj. Wayne Niven.

“(He) was at the front of his section when he was struck by the IED.”

Colleagues praised Faught as a no-nonsense soldier who wanted to help the people of Afghanistan.

His death came in the third lethal strike against Canadian troops in as many weeks.

“Far too often we are hearing too many names of friends that we have over here that have fallen,” said long-time friend Warrant Officer Troy McCann.

“It hit me rather hard.”

Faught was on his third deployment to Afghanistan and had planned to serve two more years before retiring from the military.

A member of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton, he was affectionately known as “Toast” because of his crusty personality.

Friends described him as someone who “lived, slept, ate and breathed” with his fellow soldiers and would be sorely missed.

“He was always there, always present, and always looking out for his troops,” Niven said.

Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard said the soldier could always be counted on to speak his mind.

“He was a very conscientious and thorough section commander, who always put the needs of his soldiers above his own,” Menard said.

Faught is survived by his mother Donna Crosson and a sister.

Faught died during a routine foot patrol with Afghan soldiers outside the town of Nakhoney, about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.

“We know the threat is there,” said McCann.

“But you can’t think of the what-ifs while you’re doing the job or it’s going to be too hard to do the job.”

In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Faught’s courage spoke “volumes of his dedication to our country and to this mission.”

To date, 139 Canadian soldiers and two civilians have been killed in Canada’s eight-year mission in Afghanistan.

NATO said Sunday an American soldier had been killed a day earlier in eastern Afghanistan in an encounter with insurgents, but gave no other details.

The alliance also reported that international forces had shot and killed a civilian who was in a speeding car in a southern district.