Sure, there were plenty of bullets and other armaments, and the mess tent was well stocked. But after a hard day of tangling with the Taliban and dealing with dust and stifling heat, our fighting men and women were aghast to find there were no Tim Hortons doughnuts. And, at best, a day''s ration of Timbits.
When Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Rick Hillier prepared to send our troops to the warzone, he made a request to the Canadian restaurant chain to set up the familiar franchise at the new base in Afghanistan so his soldiers would be just a less homesick.
It was the latest public-relations coup for the outrageously successful Canadian business icon which has grown from a tiny outlet in Hamilton in 1964 to over 2,600 franchise stores in Canada and another 300-plus in the U.S.
