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I was struck by two contentions in the feature in the May 28 edition of the National Post, “On Guard … For Cadets.” The first was the claim that the youth program was being overlooked within the intensive effort underway to address sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces. The second was that the organization was not doing enough to protect cadets.

[np_storybar title=”Predators and prey: Canada’s military cadets and the sex misconduct problem few talk about” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/cadets”]The stalking began, as it often does, via text.

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Ryan Hammermeister, a former corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces, was 28.

She was 13 years old.

Hammermeister had seen two deployments to Afghanistan. He lost a close friend to a roadside bomb and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He suffered from flashbacks and started drinking heavily.

Resigning from the Forces in 2012, he took up work as a plumber, but volunteered as an equipment manager with an Edmonton chapter of Cadets Canada.