Master Cpl. Kristal Giesebrecht, 34, of Wallaceburg, Ont., who was married and on her second tour of Afghanistan had gone out with troops sent to defuse an improvised explosive device, which the military said the Taliban had planted in the doorway of a house.
Giesebrecht was from the 1 Canadian Field Hospital in Petawawa, Ont.
They died 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City in Panjwaii District, a Taliban hotbed where most of Canada’s battle group is now arrayed.
They were the sixth and seventh medics to die in Afghanistan and the 11th and 12th Canadians to die here this year.
Giesebrecht was a whirlwind of activity when spotted recently in a clinic, rushing around good-naturedly at double or triple time as she made her rounds.
The medic was, Vance said, “a mentor and an inspiration” to the other combat medics, who form a tight, highly respected and trained community within the military.
“Kristal prided herself on her health and her fitness, although she always felt the solution to any problem could be found in a box of chocolates,” the general said.

Achieving the future vision of EMS will require collaboration between EMS leaders and public policy makers. The final sections of this report list potential actions EMS leaders and public policy makers can take for each of the key ecommendations. The EMSCC invites EMS leaders and public policy makers to explore these suggested actions as we seek to create an enhanced, community-based EMS.
Nadine Levick, MD MPH, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Objective Safety, has been providing safety and hazard awareness data in the field of Injury Prevention and Control in the USA, Australia and Europe since 1996, and recipient of the
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