by PATRICK LEJTENYI

Thursday, Nov. 11, marks the 86th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War. And while Canadian troops haven't fought in a large-scale war since Korea, they're still overseas and certainly not far from danger. In the almost 60 years Canadians have been deployed on United Nations peacekeeping missions, 114 have died.

Generally, Canadians support the non-aggressive, humanitarian missions of our armed forces. There have been debacles, especially in the last decade: 1993's Somalia torture scandal and the allegations of manhandling patients at a Bosnian mental hospital in 1993 and 1994 badly tarnished the military's image. But by and large, Canadians respect their soldiers, although they do tend to forget about them until something goes wrong.

Canada's two highest-profile missions these days, in Afghanistan (Operation Athena and other support roles) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (Operations Palladium and Bronze, now winding down), have our soldiers under NATO, rather than UN, command. This means that rules of engagement have been changed to allow soldiers to open fire if they feel directly threatened - a big change from traditional peacekeeping rules that were generally considered ineffective during the bloodiest days of Yugoslavia's civil war, and welcomed by soldiers on the ground.

Still, between 1992 and 2000, 19 soldiers have died in the former Yugoslavia under both UN and NATO command. Seven Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan so far - four in the American friendly-fire incident, two by a landmine and one by a suicide bomber.

While media coverage of Afghanistan has been extensive, other Canadian missions - almost all under the auspices of the UN - have been flying very low under the radar. Of the 1,633 Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen and women officially serving overseas (not counting the activities of the secretive Joint Task Force 2, our elite counter-terrorism commando unit), dozens are scattered in small, out-of-the-way and little reported hot spots, mostly still sporting the UN's baby-blue berets. The biggest of these is in the Golan Heights, with 193 personnel.

"I call these people the lost legion," says Bill Twatio, senior editor at Esprit de Corps, an Ottawa-based military affairs magazine. Asked why Canadians don't know about these smaller missions, Twatio says, "I think it's partially the media's fault. For a long time, even in the Balkans, they didn't have anyone reporting there and were depending on BBC stringers. They just didn't take an interest and forgot about these guys. Sometimes I think the Department of National Defence forgets about these guys too."

Below is a list of Canadian military operations overseas, excluding our contributions in Afghanistan and to helping the U.S. in Iraq (where we do indeed have at least one officer, serving as a UN adviser). The names and figures are taken from the Department of National Defence Web site (www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/current_ops_e.asp).

Operation Hamlet

Location: Haiti, UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti Headquarters (MINUSTAH HQ)
Personnel: 2
Mission: 500 Canadian soldiers served in Operation Halo, the brief UN stabilization mission over the summer, although the last of them came home in August. There are now only two Canadian soldiers left in Haiti. One is Col. Barry MacLeod, Chief of Staff for MINUSTAH; the other is Maj. Mike Collins, working with the operations training section at headquarters.

Operation Calumet

Location: Sinai Peninsula, Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)
Personnel: 29
Mission: Created in 1986 following the 1979 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, Canada's contribution to monitoring the situation has been scaled back from its peak 140-strong force. The soldiers there now work largely in air-traffic control, with administrative and support personnel based out of El Gorah, Egypt, near the Israeli border. A Canadian acts as the Force Sergeant Major, responsible for the well-being and discipline of all MFO troops.

Operation Danaca

Location: Golan Heights, UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
Personnel: 193
Mission: This mission was set up in 1974 following the Yom Kippur War and is responsible for overseeing the cease-fire between Israel and Syria. The Canadians there work mostly in logistics, providing support and communications for the mission's 1,036 personnel (including Austrian, Japanese, Nepalese, Polish and Slovak soldiers) who monitor and patrol the 80-kilometre-long "area of separation."

Operation Jade

Location: Jerusalem, UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
Personnel: 8
Mission: Canada's longest-running overseas UN mission has its roots in the aftermath of the war that resulted in the creation of Israel in 1948. The first ever UN peacekeeping mission, it operates hand-in-hand with other UN operations in the region, including UNDOF and in the Sinai. The seven Canadians serving there act as military observers overseeing the cease-fire between Israel and its Arab neighbours, with a Lieutenant-Colonel as group commander.

Operation Snowgoose

Location: Cyprus, UN Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
Personnel: 1
Mission: From 1964 to 1993, Cyprus was Canada's best-known overseas operation, with a battalion-sized peacekeeper deployment monitoring the cease-fire between the island's Greek and Turkish populations and patrolling the demarcation line between the two. Over the years, the Department of National Defence says roughly 25,000 Canadians served there. Today, Canada's contribution to UNFICYP is one staff officer working at the mission's headquarters. Between 1964 and 1993, 27 Canadian soldiers died in Cyprus.

Operation Crocodile

Location: Democratic Republic of Congo, UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC)
Personnel: 8
Mission: Monitoring the implementation of a very fragile - most would say nonexistent - peace deal that was supposed to have ended Africa's "first world war," MONUC was created following the signing of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in 1999. Despite the efforts of almost 11,000 soldiers and civilians from over 50 countries, MONUC still hasn't been able to ensure peace and stability across the massive, difficult country. Canada's contribution of staff officers work at MONUC headquarters in Kinshasa, the capital, and at sector headquarters in Kisangani in the country's north-centre.

Operation Safari

Location: Sudan, UN Mission in Sudan (UNMISUD)
Personnel: 2
Mission: Two Canadian soldiers, Maj. James Simiana and WO Robert Moug, are in Sudan to prepare for the arrival of the UN's Stand-By High-Readiness Brigade, a non-standing, multi-national rapid deployment force commanded by Canada's Brigadier-General Greg Mitchell. The UN troops were originally slated to enforce a peace agreement between Sudan's central government and the rebels in the south, but the mission may also be expanded to Darfur in the country's west. A few more Canadians may take part in the extra deployment.

Operation Reptile

Location: Sierra Leone, UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)
Personnel: 5
Mission: Following the British-led invasion that put an end to the decade-long civil war in 1999, a UN mission has been in place monitoring the peace. The roughly 8,000-strong UNAMSIL busies itself mainly with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of warring parties, as well as providing security to roads, airports and major urban centres. The Canadians working with UNAMSIL are deployed as military observers.

Operation Sculpture

Location: Sierra Leone, International Military Advisory Training Team (IMATT)
Personnel: 8
Mission: Canadian soldiers are helping the British-led international force train and equip Sierra Leone's new army and police force. With the UN mission scheduled for completion by end of this year, a strong security force is regarded as key to the country's continued stability.