A military transport plane carrying the body of Capt. Nichola Goodard, who died in combat in Afghanistan, is expected to arrive at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont., on Saturday.
Capt. Nichola Goddard was stationed with the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Shilo, Man. (Canadian Press)
FROM MAY 19, 2006: Thousands of comrades send Goddard home
Goddard, 26, the first female combat soldier Canada has lost in battle, was killed Wednesday while fighting Taliban insurgents west of Kandahar.
On Friday, Gen. Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, described Goddard as "a true daughter of her country" and said all Canadians join her family in grieving.
"This young lady was a true Canadian, wearing a uniform of Canada, serving her country and accepting the risks that went with that service," he told military officials at a change of command ceremony in Ottawa.
"She did it with enthusiasm and she did it with energy and she did with a dedication to the men who followed her in Afghanistan because of the kind of leader that she was, a true daughter of our country," Hillier said.
Militants captured, killed
Canadian military officials said 18 Taliban militants were killed and 26 captured during the operation. Three Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded.
Goddard was the 16th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002. One Canadian diplomat has also been killed.
The Calgary native lived in Shilo, Man., with her husband, Jason Beam.
Goddard was in a LAV III armoured vehicle, serving as an observer in the turret, when at least two rocket-propelled grenades struck the left side. Goddard, exposed from the shoulders up, was hit by shrapnel.
Her body was to arrive at CFB Trenton at 4 p.m. EDT, but the scheduled landing was later postponed because of flight delay until 11:45 p.m. at the earliest.
On Friday, troops from at least eight countries lined the tarmac at Kandahar airbase for an emotional farewell as Goddard's flag-draped coffin was loaded onto the transport plane.