Court Martial: Canada’s ex-Afghan commander pleads guilty to affair

By AFP

Published: July 22, 2011

Menard, who is married with two children, was relieved of his post as commander of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan. PHOTO: REUTERS

MONTREAL:  Canada’s former top officer in Afghanistan, Brigadier-General Daniel Menard, pleaded guilty on Thursday to having an affair with a female corporal under his command on active duty.

At a court-martial in Montreal, Menard pleaded guilty to having had an “intimate personal relationship” with a corporal under his command and to seeking to impede the military police investigation into the affair.
Four obstruction of justice charges were dropped, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Luc Gaudet told AFP, confirming the pleas.
Menard, who is married with two children, was relieved of his post as commander of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan, responsible for the Kandahar region, in May last year due to the affair with a female master corporal.