Born and bred in PEI, captain Terry Hunter is of to Khartoum in the Sudan, as an UNMO, This is another of the peacekeeping missions that Canada is still involved in. As we write this, all being well Capt Hunter will be touching down in the Hot Sahara Desert of the Sudan.
Captain Hunter is well known for his talks given to local school children. In fact on the 30th of June this year while home to attend his parents 65th anniversary,he presented a PEI flag to Ms. Isabelle Legault, Gr. 7 teacher at Stonepark Intermediate School. The flag will be signed by Ms. Legault's incoming Gr. 7 students this September 2008 and forwarded to Capt Hunter for display during his six month deployment as a United Nations Military Observer in the Sudan.
This professional soldier is proud of Canada and his roots in PEI. A little history about this mission:
Some info on the UN Mission in Sudan can be found at http://www.unmis.org/english/en-main.htm Some content specifically about Canadian UNMOs from our joining instructions is as follows: The conflict between the North and the South of Sudan began in 1955, the year before that Sudan gained its independence. It has continued for all but eleven of the 48 years that Sudan has been independent. Until the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) had spent the past 21 years fighting over resources, power, the role of religion in the state and self-determination. Over two million people died, four million people were uprooted and some 600,000 people fled the country as refugees. The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is in Sudan to support the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. (CPA). UNMIS' overall aim is to help the people of Sudan promote national reconciliation, lasting peace and stability and to build a prosperous Sudan, in which human rights are respected and the protection of all citizens is assured A total of 10,000 military personnel have been authorized for deployment as part of UNMIS' multinational peacekeeping force. Of the 10,000 peacekeepers, there will be 750 UN Military Observers (UNMOs), who will carry out monitoring and verification activities in their respective areas of responsibility. The Canadian Forces contribution to the UNMIS consists of eight Staff Officers (SOs) and 24 United Nations Military Observers (UNMOs) who are deployed throughout the six Operations Sectors within the mission area. UNMOs', who are unarmed, help support the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which includes disarmament, demobilization, and reintegrating people back to their homes. To facilitate this, UNMOs' are often called upon to conduct day patrols or long range patrols which sometimes mean they will be out in the harsh elements for up to a week. As part of the patrols, they are required to inspect the Sudanese military units - whether it is the Sudanese Armed Forces, Sudanese People's Liberation Army, or Joint Integrated Units. This includes monitoring and verification of troops, counting and verifying weapons and munitions and verify any breaches of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. UNMOs may also be called upon to be part of special investigation teams to do investigations on any types of incidents, from murder to kidnapping.
So as Captain Hunter goes forth to this important mission we send our prayers and thought with him and to his family and loved ones here on PEI.
Today is Friday so please wear something Red in support of our troops wherever they may be serving.
Nil Sine Labore
Robby
