The Editor,
Canada is deploying troops to Sierra Leone, but these are not just any troops. They are members of The Royal Canadian Medical Service. Their latest distinction came from NATO when they won an award as the best medical service in NATO.
The RCMS was running the Military Hospital in Kandahar; nearly all soldiers wounded in Afghanistan came through that facility. If a soldier wounded on the battlefield survived to make it to the Canadian hospital, they had a 98 per cent chance of survival. That is amazing.
Of course, there were many factors including new procedures, new technology and the best training that a military medical service has ever enjoyed. These guys are the US Navy Seals of the medical world.
If you are sick or injured and you fall into Canadian hands, your chances just got better. Canadians can be proud that we are sending the best to Africa — not just our best, the world’s best. This year, while you are enjoying Christmas with your family, please remember our RCMS troops risking their lives so that others may live.
Scott Stewart
Richmond
