Originally Posted by Daniel Nolan, Canadian Press

Tim Hortons set to open in Kandahar
Tuesday, March 07, 2006

HAMILTON -- The slogan, "You've always got time for Tim Hortons,'' now applies to even the soldiers in Afghanistan.

After weeks of persistent requests, Canadian soldiers got good news Tuesday with the announcement that a Tim Hortons store will open soon in Kandahar.

Requests from soldiers were relayed to Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, who eventually got the message passed to the company and to Ron Joyce, who co-founded the famous chain in Hamilton in 1964 with NHL hockey player Tim Horton.

No timeline has been set but Joyce, who retired and sold his share of the company years ago, says he's been told it will happen "shortly.''

"They are doing it,'' Joyce told the Hamilton Spectator. "The management team in Oakville, Ont., has got it in hand and it's going to happen. They've just got to get the pieces together.''

The store is expected to be housed inside a trailer with takeout windows, and deliveries will be made to the Canadian base in Kandahar by military transport. Staffing plans are yet to be determined.

Retired Maj-Gen. Cam Ross said opening the Tim Hortons isn't trivial and it should boost troops' spirits.

"I can definitely tell you Tim Hortons does influence positively (on the) morale of deployed troops,'' he said. "It connects with Canada. How much more Canadian can you get than roll up the rim or Tim Hortons?'' he said adding, "and I don't get paid by Tim Hortons ... for saying so.''

Ross said he spent two years in the Middle East as a UN force commander and he himself used Tim Hortons products to make people feel at home.

"I did a lot of entertaining in my home (with my wife) in Damascus and guess what, we served Tim Hortons coffee, which was available to us to purchase through the Canadian contingent,'' he said.

"Whether there's an actual Tim Hortons (store) or not, it does allow us to identify with home.''

He said the coffee stand will be very handy during late night or early morning patrols and when troops need something to remind them of home.

"Let's paint a scenario of a patrol going out of Kandahar. It could be 2 a.m. ... and this would be several hours before deploying. Quite conceivably they would attend ... with a coffee in hand because it is ... semi-informal, and what people do at 2 a.m. is drink coffee,'' he said.

"There's normally a bit of a pause before you go out the gate and that's your last chance to smoke a cigarette or get a coffee, and that's likely to be a Tim Hortons,'' he said.

"And when you come back through the gate, clean your weapons and wind down, one thing that they would really cherish would be a good cup of coffee.''