Douglas Craig Blake, C.D.
Petty Officer - 2nd Class
Royal Canadian Navy
Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic)
May 21st 1972 - May 3rd 2010
Royal Canadian Navy
Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic)
May 21st 1972 - May 3rd 2010
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At face value, the demise of Halifax-based Petty Officer Second Class (Douglas) Craig Blake doesn’t add up. How precisely does a veteran seaman who “was most comfortable working under water” become the first Canadian sailor to fall in the dusty, landlocked confines of southern Afghanistan?
That was the question circulating around the sombre headquarters of Task Force Kandahar late Tuesday, as Blake’s flag-draped coffin arrived for a private outdoor ceremony in advance of the long flight home. But if civilians attached to the sprawling main base of Kandahar Airfield showed their confusion, the Canadian Forces did not.
“There is more commonality in the skill sets and training of divers and counter-IED specialists than you might think,” explained Daryl Morrell, the Canadian Task Force spokesman.
“Both specialties involve explosives training. And we’ve had others who have made the same transition.”
Blake “effortlessly adapted to the rigours of land operations,” said Brigadier-General Dan Menard, the commander of Task Force Kandahar.
Based at Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic in Halifax, Blake shifted to Petawawa last year, where he underwent transitional training to become an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operator. It was there that he fell in with the fresh troop rotation that began deploying to Kandahar last month.
At about 4:30 p.m. Monday Kandahar-time (8 a.m. EST), Blake and his team had successfully disposed of an improvised explosive device, or IED, and were returning on foot to their vehicles in the Panjwaii District, 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City. A second bomb exploded, killing the married father of two young boys.
Canadian Forces officials declined to disclose whether any other soldiers were wounded in the explosion, citing a recent policy decision to withhold injury statistics until year’s end.
Brigadier-General Menard paid tribute to Blake, detailing the charisma of a peewee hockey coach who had a “backbone of steel” and competed in triathlons.
“Jokingly known as the ‘Poker Pirate,’ he enjoyed pillaging his army friends during friendly card games. He had a great smile and a genuine laugh and his friends considered themselves lucky to have known him,” Menard said in a statement.
“On behalf of all soldiers, airmen, airwomen, sailors and special operators of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, I offer my sincere condolences to his friends and family.”
That was the question circulating around the sombre headquarters of Task Force Kandahar late Tuesday, as Blake’s flag-draped coffin arrived for a private outdoor ceremony in advance of the long flight home. But if civilians attached to the sprawling main base of Kandahar Airfield showed their confusion, the Canadian Forces did not.
“There is more commonality in the skill sets and training of divers and counter-IED specialists than you might think,” explained Daryl Morrell, the Canadian Task Force spokesman.
“Both specialties involve explosives training. And we’ve had others who have made the same transition.”
Blake “effortlessly adapted to the rigours of land operations,” said Brigadier-General Dan Menard, the commander of Task Force Kandahar.
Based at Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic in Halifax, Blake shifted to Petawawa last year, where he underwent transitional training to become an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operator. It was there that he fell in with the fresh troop rotation that began deploying to Kandahar last month.
At about 4:30 p.m. Monday Kandahar-time (8 a.m. EST), Blake and his team had successfully disposed of an improvised explosive device, or IED, and were returning on foot to their vehicles in the Panjwaii District, 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City. A second bomb exploded, killing the married father of two young boys.
Canadian Forces officials declined to disclose whether any other soldiers were wounded in the explosion, citing a recent policy decision to withhold injury statistics until year’s end.
Brigadier-General Menard paid tribute to Blake, detailing the charisma of a peewee hockey coach who had a “backbone of steel” and competed in triathlons.
“Jokingly known as the ‘Poker Pirate,’ he enjoyed pillaging his army friends during friendly card games. He had a great smile and a genuine laugh and his friends considered themselves lucky to have known him,” Menard said in a statement.
“On behalf of all soldiers, airmen, airwomen, sailors and special operators of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, I offer my sincere condolences to his friends and family.”
50th DMMF Donation - 7 November 2015
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