The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

8- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 29, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com ANNOUCEMENT Nick at Michael s Hair Design is proud t to welcome Rregina, to his professional team. Rregina, trained in Italy & New York City, brings 6 years experience specializing in hair cuttting,styling, colouring, highlighting & perms. FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER 905-845-4466 ARMED PATROL: Canadian troops on patrol in Afghanistan. BRING AD TO RECEIVE 20% OFF ALL HAIR SERVICES WITH RREGINA Life altering tour of duty Continued from page 3 Finally, in mid-January, Smith's work in Afghanistan was over. The last three months of his tour had seen significant developments including the arrival of the Manley Commission, an independent commission created by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to advise on Canada's future involvement in Afghanistan. "They not only talked with people at the highest level in Kabul, dealing with the ambassador, the international aid agencies and the heads of various ministries in Afghanistan, but they went to the provincial level and dealt with the Afghan public, dealt with serving soldiers and more," said Smith. "They came in with their eyes open, they knew their numbers and the issues before they got there and I had the opportunity, as a number of us did in Kabul, to talk with the Manley team. They were very concerned that they do their job to the best of their ability." The Manley Commission would recommend that Canada essentially stay the course in Afghanistan. Another major incident that occurred during the final stretch of Smith's tour was the assassination of Pakistani Opposition Party Leader Benazir Bhutto, a development Smith and others kept a very close eye on as Afghan President Hamid Karzai was in Pakistan at the time of the assassination. "Operations in Afghanistan are influenced by what is going on in surrounding countries in the same manner that Canada is influenced by what happens in the United States," said Smith. "It would be naïve to not be aware of what's going on and to not take certain prudent and precautionary measures." With his tour now over, Smith has returned to Oakville where he intends to stay put for a while and work on the marriage he and his wife Carolyn Petersen began just before Smith left for Afghanistan nine months ago. For Smith, his time in Afghanistan has been life altering. "It's been a wonderful experience. There's been good times, bad times, sad times, happy times," he said. "The time really did fly by because I was so busy and it went so fast in my case that I was leaving the next morning for good and I was running around working the night before and I still hadn't packed." As far as the controversy surrounding Canada's presence in Afghanistan is concerned, Smith asks that people need to remember that while Canada has paid a heavy price, the gains made have been great. "The government's ability to deal with its people is improving, reconstruction and development is happening, the development of an Afghan security force in the form of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police is improving and it's improving day by day," said Smith. "Is it happening as fast as everyone would like? Maybe. Maybe not. I think we in the west live in an immediate gratification society. We want to see things happen just like that, but we have to remember that we are dealing with a country that has been devastated by more than 30 years of war and conflict." With his nine-month tour behind him, Smith is doubtful he will be called on for a second, given he is approaching the age where mandatory retirement from the Canadian Forces is required. Having said that, Smith is not ruling out the possibility that he would return, if asked. "Never say never," he said. Addison Music Total Beauty Essentials Polyanthus Landscapes Salon Red Oakville Senior Citizens Residence Dr. A. Kataria Oakville Dental Fieldpoint Turf Management Systems Learning Centre Lessons for the entire family Vocal Guitar Flute Clarinet Early Childhood Music (Orff) Registration for Fall08 starts in June! Piano sax Drums Violin SUMMER CAMPS Musicals & Orchestras To place your business logo or name here, call your Classified Sales Representative today! 905.632.4440 www.musicisfun.ca 905-825-8668