An army of nine

Well we've heard that times are tough for the Canadian Armed Forces, cost cutting and shameful government neglect has taken it's toll on the pride of Canada. But surely things are not so bad, that we can't cobble together more than a recon squad for duty.

With the continuing unrest in Haiti and seemingly a blood bath awaiting President Aristide, the Canadian government has decided to send some troops to protect our property and aid our people. A squad of nine, yep nine, Canadian soldiers have departed for Port au Prince, to take up residence in the official residence and try to quell any disturbances there. They join the existing group of five, currently holding down the fort. While not confirmed (as it never is with this group) the group of nine are suspected to be from the ultra secret JTF 2 force.

Haiti is on the brink of full scale civil war and many non residents have been making plans to leave the country, if they haven't done so already. The rebels are moving closer and closer to the capital and the expected showdown with the Aristide loyalists, which is causing much anxiety in the capital.

The USA has already sent 50 Marines to the Haitian capital to protect their interests. And it's expected that as the violence increases the rush for a safe haven will quicken, with many Haitians hoping for asylum in America (not likely) and possibly Canada (better chance).

With that in mind, all is not lost for our troops. A small contingent from CFB Gagetown has been put on alert in case the numbers need bolstering in the next little while, if things deteriorate they, more JTF troops and a Hercules aircraft will be dispatched to Haiti. They may actually get that call to action sooner than they think. The French and the Americans watching things spin out of control too fast, are calling for an international security force to be placed in Haiti, to try and calm things down as soon as possible.

For now though it's the lucky thirteen, between us and anarchy. They'll no doubt do us proud, but you kind of hope the gov't can get them some back up fast when things turn ugly.