It is my belief that the effects of the drug Mefloquine has not borne full account in the tragic circumstances of:
1. Shidane Arone’s death.
2. The wrongful imprisonment of Trooper Kyle Brown.
3. The misplaced opprobrium, shame and subsequent disbandment of a proud historical Airborne Regiment.
4. The chronic effects it places upon the reasoning and decision making in my daily life.
As a member of 2 Commando, The Canadian Airborne Regiment, I was one of the soldiers who witnessed the psychotic break of Mcpl Matchee-and was ordered by him to remain and observe the carrying out of a standing, unlawful Order. I carry with me the weight and brunt of that event to this day, and am haunted with it every day.
In Brian Bergman and Luke Fisher’s piece titled appropriately enough “ A night of Terror “ ( Maclean’s, March, 1994 ) they ominously wrote how : “Canadians may never know the full story of what happened that March night of the 16th ……they will almost certainly never understand why some members of Canada’s elite military force behaved so abominably. “