Killed soldier was eager to go beyond the base

The soldier killed in a bomb blast last week was eager to finally see some real action against the Taliban and got “excited” just before the operation that took his life, a friend in the same unit said yesterday.

Corp. Matthew McCully was a perfectionist about his job as a radio operator, always wanting to keep his gear precisely maintained. But he also had a great sense of humour and “a way about him that was definitely unique,” said Priv. Darel Janssen, another “signaler,” as the army calls them.

Priv. Janssen said he last saw his comrade at the Ma'Sum Ghar forward-operating base just before the start of Operation Hoover on Friday, and recalls a spirited conversation about the work ahead.

“They (Corp. McCully and colleagues) wanted to go out and they wanted to get on operations and initially they weren't getting that,” said Priv. Janssen, who did not always work in close proximity to his friend.

“So finally when we started revving up for this assignment, he was getting excited. He was getting all his bits and bobs together. He wanted it.”

Both men were working with the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team, a key Canadian unit that trains and works alongside the Afghan National Army.

Corp. McCully was on foot at the start of the operation when he somehow triggered an improvised explosive device and died instantly. Another Canadian soldier was injured seriously, and has been transferred to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, while an Afghan interpreter was more lightly wounded.

Operation Hoover was one of the Canadians' biggest operations lately, designed to root out Taliban in volatile Zhari district, where the insurgents have fought several battles with Canadian and Afghan troops lately.