NEWS STORY
Bad soldier, or war hero?
The U.S. military wants to give him a medal -- here he faces court martial
Chris Purdy, Journal Staff Writer
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Bruce Edwards, The Journal / Master Cpl. Arron Perry says what he wants more than anything is to return to Afghanistan to fight terrorists.
The paradox facing Master Cpl. Arron Perry is striking.
On one hand, the U.S. military wants to decorate him for his role in rescuing American soldiers during a battle earlier this year.
Yet for the past few weeks, he has been stuck behind a desk at Edmonton Garrison awaiting court martial proceedings that were brought against him by the Canadian Armed Forces.
A trained sniper, he has returned to a part-time bouncer's job at a local bar, and, when asked, he says he wants to return to Afghanistan to fight terrorists.
One more thing -- he says he has done nothing wrong.
In an interview with The Journal on Wednesday, Perry said the stress and frustrations of war in Afghanistan began last month after he had completed two deadly combat missions and returned to an austere Canadian base camp near Kandahar.
A Canadian officer in Afghanistan cautioned Perry shortly after he returned to the base that he was under investigation for a photograph recently taken of a dead Afghan fighter.
A cigarette had been stuck in the corpse's mouth. A sign on its chest read, "F... terrorism."
Perry said a journalist took the photo, which was later spotted by a Canadian commander.
Perry, a sniper with the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, said he was angry about the investigation and what he says were his unappreciative leaders.
He had just saved U.S. lives in Operation Anaconda and completed an assault on an al-Qaeda enclave during Operation Harpoon.
Yet he said he received little congratulations and no formal stress debriefing on his return to Kandahar.
He was venting his feelings with some fellow soldiers near his tent one afternoon, when a Canadian military chaplain walked by.
Commanding officers allege Perry pointed his finger in the chaplain's direction and uttered "f... him."
"I did say that," Perry said. "But the padre had nothing to do with it. It was not directed to him. He was not in the conversation."
On April 1, shortly after the incident, Perry was charged with misconduct. Three days later, he was sent back to Edmonton to resume regular duties and await a court martial.
"I'm disappointed in the way I've been treated by my unit," said Perry, sitting in his green fatigues behind a desk at Edmonton Garrison.
"I know I have all the support of my troops."
Perry, 30, first served with the PPCLI's 2nd Battalion in Winnipeg, then joined the Canadian Airborne Regiment.