Sergeant Shane Stachnik was killed on September 3, 2006 in Afghanistan during operation Medusa. Sergeant Shane Stachnik died with three of his comrades in one of the fiercest battles Canadians have fought since arriving in Afghanistan four years ago

He was one of our Canadian soldiers killed and nine others wounded during heavy fighting as part of a major International Security Assistance Force air and ground offensive against Taliban insurgents approximately 15 km west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan.

Shane Stachnik's death comes just one day after another four Canadian soldiers were killed and six wounded during Operation Medusa, a mission aimed at purging militants from the Taliban stronghold of the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar.