'My heart was broken', says honorary 15 Wing M.J. colonel

Honorary Colonel of 15 Wing Moose Jaw Jim Hunter says when he heard about the shooting death of the young man standing guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa his "heart was broken".

Retired Brigadier-General Hunter, now the president and CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, says his reaction was one of grief and anguish about the killing of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.

"This struck to the heart and very close to home, for all of us who have worn the uniform, or indeed are still wearing it. We're being targeted and it's very personal," Hunter told host Garth Materie on CBC Saskatchewan's noon show, Blue Sky.

He says to hear about military being attacked by the very citizens it strives to protect is hard to take.

"When I heard about what happened I started walking around thinking to myself that I should come to work in uniform to show these cowards that we will not be bullied. We will not be pushed around by these guys and their despicable acts."

He says for people serving their country, this sacrifice is a part of their reality. Hunter says he lost friends in peace-time training accidents, and there is nothing to do, but move on.

"You reflect. You remember them. And then you go on. That's what we have to do when we wear the uniform. It's our calling."

Hunter says it's just a fact that people are going to be looking over their shoulders in the short-term while in uniform in public. But he says, it comes with the territory.

"This is what we're called to do. We're going to stand up for Canada. And we're going to continue to do our jobs of defending our country."