Thursday, April 1, 2010

Does Brewing Coffee And War Medals Go Together?

Capt Robert Hackett, a soldier from Edmonton stationed in Afghanistan, enjoys his fresh coffee at the new Tim Hortons stand at the Kandahar Airfield. The arrival of the Tim Hortons trailer took Capt Hackett by surprise. “I woke up one morning… walked around the corner of my building and there was the trailer, just being unloaded.” by DND

A Medal for Canada’s Frontline Donut-Vendors? -- The Danger Room

Tim Hortons (”Always fresh/Toujours frais”) is a Canadian institution: This coffee-and-doughnuts chain occupies a cultural space that’s up there with Molson, poutine or The Kids in the Hall. And now employees of Tim Hortons may be eligible for war medals, courtesy of an overhaul of the rules for Canadian civilians who work in war zones.

According to CanWest news service, Canada’s Department of National Defence has clarified the rules for how it recognizes overseas service. The changes, the news service states, “will include the controversial decision to allow Tim Hortons employees at Kandahar Airfield to receive medals from the Afghan war.”

Read more ....

My Comment: Two confessions to make .... (1) As a Canadian, I love my Tim Hortons coffee. Their sandwiches are also excellent .... as well as their donuts. My American friends always say the same thing when I bring them to a Tim Hortons for a quick coffee or donut .... the restaurants are super clean, and the prices are cheap.

My second confession is that when Tim Hortons asked for people to work at their Kandahar outlet in 2002/2003 (if I recall), I immediately applied for the job. At the time I had no commitments, I was looking for something different, and it would be my way of getting into the Afghan theater without spending any of my money. Unfortunately a new project was dumped onto my lap, and any dreams of going to Afghanistan went away.

It has been a few years since that episode .... and I must confess that I still have regrets on not pushing myself to take advantage of such an opportunity.

Sighhhh ....

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