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  Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund
Douglas Craig Blake, C.D.

Petty Officer - 2nd Class
Royal Canadian Navy
Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic)
May 21st 1972 - May 3rd 2010

Picture
Picture
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.”

50th DMMF Donation - 7 November 2015

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Donation Location

Simcoe Ontario
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  • Home
  • About
    • The Board of Directors >
      • Breaking the Silence
      • Canada Sings
      • Scotiabank Game Changers
      • Frank Backx
    • Events >
      • Dancing With The Stars of 911
      • Valentine's Day Gala
      • Run Around The Square
    • Logo
    • Awards >
      • Commendations
      • Meritorious Service Medals
      • Meritorious Service Crosses
  • Donations
    • 1 - 10 >
      • PC Dave Mounsey
      • Cpl Matthew Dinning
      • SC James McFadden
      • Paramedic Paul Patterson
      • Sgt Margaret Eve
      • PC Dave Mounsey
      • Paramedic Paul Patterson
      • SC Bruce Crew
      • Pvt William Cushley
    • 11 - 20 >
      • Sgt William Pero, MM, CD
      • Cpl Brent Poland
      • Cpl Brent Poland
      • PC Alan Hack
      • DC Robert Plunkett
      • Paramedic Paul Patterson
      • Paramedic Paul Patterson
      • FF Douglas Cantelon
      • PC Andrew Potts
      • PC Scott Rossiter
    • 21 - 30 >
      • Cpl Matthew McCully
      • PC Dave Mounsey
      • FF Kenneth Aikenhead
      • PC Alan Hack
      • SC John Atkinson
      • Plt Chief Jack Duncan
      • Tpr Mark Wilson
      • Cpt Don Willis
      • TK Kearwood White
      • PC Eric Nystedt
      • MCpl Kristal Giesebrecht
    • 31 - 40 >
      • PC Vu Pham
      • PC D. Craig Campbell
      • SC Bruce Crew
      • FF Kenneth Aikenhead
      • Sgt Doug Marshall
      • RCMP Cnst. Peter Schiemann
      • PC Joseph Prevett
      • PC Artem Ochakovsky
      • D. Chief Kenneth Rea
      • FF Raymond Walter
    • 41 - 50 >
      • PC Gary MacDonald
      • FF Douglas Cantelon
      • Fallen Snowbirds
      • Pvt Wilbur J. Rowe
      • S/Sgt Edward Adamson
      • DC Robert Plunkett
      • Flt Sgt Clifford Robertson
      • PC Samuel E. Ankenmann
      • 'B' Sqn First Hussars
      • PO2 Douglas C. Blake, C.D.
    • 51 - 60 >
      • Cpl William F. McIntyre
      • FF Wilfrid P. Elliott
      • 161st Battalion
      • Lt. Florence B. Graham
      • FF John Kovacs
      • PC Maurice R. Chatterson
      • Cpl Harry G.B. Miner, V.C.
      • PC Jennifer Kovach
    • 61 - 70
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      • Pvt Elmer McFalls >
        • Letters of Pvt. Elmer McFalls
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    • Nominate Someone Today!
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    • 100K In A Day