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Topic: Afghanistan - 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment - Predeployment (Read 5120 times)
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Prepare for Battle.
I would have Royal Canadians note the Observer Mentor Liaison Team will be led by The First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment
Land Force Central Area - Dept of National Defence
Feb 11, 2008 13:42 ET
2 CMBG Begins Exercise Southern Bear in Texas
CAMP DONA ANA, FORT BLISS, TEXAS--(Marketwire - Feb. 11, 2008) - One of the largest recent Canadian army exercises involving roughly 3,300 soldiers began this week at Fort Bliss, a United States Army base located in western Texas.
The exercise is being led by 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and will last the month of February with the redeployment of soldiers back to Canada happening during the first week of March. The exercise is designed to prepare another rotation of Canadian soldiers for deployment to Afghanistan later this year.
"This is a very important exercise," says Colonel Dean Milner, Commander of 2 CMBG, "This is a huge logistical challenge for the brigade to get down to Texas, and it will be challenging training for all the soldiers who will be a part of the exercise."
These challenges include a number of training scenarios that will force the soldiers to conduct their operations in areas where there are friendly and hostile civilians, enemy insurgents, media, and Afghan National Security Forces. All of the training is specifically designed to prepare soldiers for Afghanistan.
Involved in the exercise will be The Third Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment led Battle Group, the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team led by 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, the Observer Mentor Liaison Team led by The First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, the National Support Element led by 2 Service Battalion, and Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters who will deploying to Afghanistan in April of 2008.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Unit drills for roadside hazards of Afghanistan
Canadians train in desert
El Paso Times Staff
Article Launched: 02/16/2008 12:00:00 AM MST
McGREGOR RANGE, N.M. -- A mound of sand the size of a small loaf of bread blended into a McGregor Range road on Friday, looking to the untrained eye like every other wave and ridge along the well-trodden path.
As about 20 soldiers from the Third Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, marched by, boots landed on one side and then the other until one hit directly on it.
A loud bang came from the side of the road and a starburst of sparks shot into the sky.
In Afghanistan, where the soldiers are headed in September, there would have been casualties, said Sgt. Juan Santana, an instructor with the 5th Armored Brigade, 1st Army Division West, which runs the range's training operations. The simulated roadside bomb was what the Army calls a "victim-operated improvised explosive device."
About 3,000 Canadian soldiers with the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group traveled to Fort Bliss and began a month-long training routine on Thursday. The Canadians transported about 500 pieces of equipment, including tanks and light armored vehicles, or LAVs, the rough equivalent of a U.S. Stryker vehicle and the Canadian Army's workhorse.
About 2,500 of those soldiers will deploy to Kandahar, where they will form small teams to embed with and train Afghan istan security forces. "IEDs are the biggest problem we have in Afghanistan," said Lt. Andrew Hennessy, the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group spokesman.
The bomb's trigger was fashioned from two hacksaw blades separated by thin pieces of wood at each end. Each blade is connected to one lead on a detonator, which is connected to a pipe bomb that would have been filled with explosives. The hacksaw blades were wrapped in a white plastic bag and buried in the sand. The weight of a human easily pushes the blades into contact, detonating the bomb.
On Friday, the soldier's misstep creates a harmless, but startling, bang. However, in the "after-action review," Santana points out that the unit's leadership was close enough to have been killed or injured by the explosion. He points out the importance of having a plan to regroup in such a case.
Maj. Alain Carrier, one of a group of Canadian instructors who also traveled to Fort Bliss, tells the soldiers not to get bunched up. "When there are more casualties, there is more work and less boots on the ground," he said.
Back home at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, in Ontario, Friday's temperature was minus-40 degrees. The base normally is blanketed by 3 or 4 feet of snow at this time of year, Hennessy said, and is in a heavily forested area.
"That's why we come down here," he said. "We can get the big pieces moving around."
Pvt. Mike Flood, a light armored vehicle driver, added another reason -- learning to drive in the sand. "It's a lot different," he said. "I normally have it in four-wheel drive, but to get through the deep sand, I had to put it in eight-wheel drive."
The Canadians are taking advantage of expansions on the Fort Bliss ranges in preparation for the arrival of thousands of 1st Armored Division soldiers as the division relocates from Germany. The training "lanes" have been lengthened, have been made more realistic and always are changing to mirror the ingenuity of coalition enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I stand up in the morning and I look at the mountains and I think I'm in Afghanistan," said Sgt. Maj. Brad Montgomery, a Canadian instructor.
As the day progresses, the Canadians find their rhythm.
Down the road, in the distance, one soldier notices a 5-ton truck on the side of the road, and asks Santana, "Hey sergeant, is that vehicle in play?" Santana says it is, and the soldiers discover it is wired with artillery shells. They acquire it without detonating it.
"Good job, excellent execution," Santana said, adding that the soldier who first spotted it "was looking, not only in front of him, but out to the distance."
"What you just found is a diamond," Carrier said, explaining that a military forensics team can find evidence such as fingerprints that would help track down the bomb-makers.
"Anytime you find an intact IED, it's like being the hunter instead of the hunted."
Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com; 546-6136.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Learn the lessons well guys.. for as you learn , more and craftier ways will be found by those rotten buggers in Afghanistan....ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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February 28th, 2008
Exercise Southern Bear Ends Successfully
Camp Dona Ana, Fort Bliss, Texas – Today, after almost a month in desert-like training at Fort Bliss, Texas, Exercise Southern Bear has officially ended. The approximately 3,000 soldiers who took part in the exercise will soon be heading back to Canada.
During this month long exercise soldiers conducted Combat Team attacks, convoy training, IED training and specific training pertaining to their tasks in Afghanistan.
“I am very pleased with everything that we accomplished during our short time here,” said Colonel Dean Milner, Commander of 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2 CMBG). “The exceptional facilities at Fort Bliss allowed us to train in an environment that is similar to Afghanistan.”
The completion of the exercise marks another major milestone on the road to Afghanistan that began last August for many of the soldiers from Petawawa’s 2 CMBG. Aside from the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters that is scheduled to depart at the end of April, most of the soldiers training for the deployment will leave for Afghanistan during September.
“This exercise allowed us to bring together all of the Task Force elements that will deploy to Afghanistan. It helped us prepare them for the next major training event in Wainwright, Alberta during May called Exercise Maple Guardian.” added Colonel Milner. “We have done everything to make sure that the soldiers are prepared for success at Wainwright and later on in Afghanistan.”
The training at Fort Bliss was necessary to replicate the terrain in and around Kandahar Province, where these soldiers will be operating once they deploy to Afghanistan.
The Task Force 3-08 Battle Group, the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, the Observer Mentor Liaison Team, the National Support Element and Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters all took part in the exercise.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Base prepares for another deployment
Posted By SEAN CHASE
Posted 13 hours ago
As Base Petawawa prepares for another major deployment to Kandahar, Parliament voted Thursday to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan to December, 2011.
The Conservative motion passed 197 to 77 after the opposition Liberals sided with the government.
Canada will continue its current assignment as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the volatile province of Kandahar until July, 2011 when it will begin drawing down its forces.
Voting for the extension, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MP Cheryl Gallant said Canadian troops are in the war-torn nation at the request of the Afghan government and its people.
"Canada is in Afghanistan to help rebuild their country into a stable, democratic and independent state," said Ms. Gallant.
While she conceded our troops are still engaged in combat operations, she said the focus remains on training the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP) and reconstruction projects throughout the region.
"The Afghan National Army's strength is approaching a level that will allow the Canadian Forces to pass more combat duties to their Afghan counterparts," she added.
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke Liberal candidate Carol Devine lauded her party's support of the motion. She said it's important Canada has a clear mandate in Afghanistan over the next four years.
"It's a message to send to our troops that we're united," said Ms. Devine. "This was not a time for partisanship."
Ms. Devine noted it's a positive step that the mission will redouble its efforts in terms of development and reconstruction. However, she added these initiatives will not be successful without Canadian troops providing a safe and secure environment.
The authorization will no doubt lead to more deployments for local soldiers. Currently, Base Petawawa is training over 2,000 troops for a six-month deployment to Kandahar scheduled to begin late this summer. The contingent, designated Task Force 3-08, will include a battle group from the Third Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (3RCR), a Provincial Reconstruction Team from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, a National Support Element and Observer Mentor and Liaison Teams, most of which will come from 1RCR. In May, the 272-personnel Joint Task Force Headquarters will be heading to Kandahar.
The extension is on condition NATO will send in an additional 1,000-troop battle group and that medium helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) be secured for use in the Canadian theatre of operations before next February.
After hearing the motion passed the House of Commons, Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet echoed the sentiment that other NATO countries need to step in and help the Canadians. Currently, Canada shares ISAF's Regional Command South sector with the British, Americans, Dutch and Romanians.
"I really feel they need to get those additional troops to give some breathing room to our men and women on the front lines," said Mayor Sweet. "They've taken the heavy load."
The mayor added he's skeptical on a definitive end-date for the mission, which is now legislated at December, 2011.
"I don't know when you can put a finger on a date when success has been achieved," he remarked, noting while public opinion may be divided, the Canadian people are entitled to know how successful Canadians have been in Kandahar and, previously, in Kabul. "Our soldiers are making progress but the government has to play a bigger role in conveying that message."
Ms. Devine added it's hard to speculate what Canada's role will be in Afghanistan once its Kandahar assignment wraps up. However, she contends Canada will not shrink from the world stage.
"Our role is to be out there as a middle power. Canada has expertise in training, development, governance, reconstruction and peacemaking," she noted, adding we still need a strong military no matter the overseas commitment Canada engages in next.
schase@thedailyobserver.ca
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Taliban again threaten spring offensive
AMIR SHAH
Associated Press
March 26, 2008 at 6:30 AM EDT
KABUL — The Taliban has said it will use new techniques and draw on years of fighting experience to increase attacks in Afghanistan this spring.
But government officials said Wednesday the annual warning was nothing but propaganda.
A statement Tuesday attributed to Taliban senior commander Mullah Bradar also warned Afghans working with the government to quit their jobs or risk being targeted.
Mr. Bradar said the Taliban is aiming to collapse the government of President Hamid Karzai, whom the Taliban calls a “slave” of Western powers.
He said the militants would continue their attacks until the government is ousted and U.S. and NATO forces withdraw.
U.S. and NATO military officials dismiss the idea of a Taliban spring offensive and say the only offensive that will take place this year is one by Western and Afghan troops.
“It's the same old story, it's the same old nonsense,” Mark Laity, the NATO spokesman in Kabul, said Wednesday. “What are they saying they will do? More destruction, more unhappiness, more misery. What is there that will present any hope for the Afghan people?”
Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for Afghanistan's Defence Ministry, called the Taliban announcement propaganda.
“In the past they've used all their power against the Afghan National Army, but they failed,” Mr. Azimi said. “Thousands of Taliban were killed last year. The ANA has increased its numbers. Important Taliban leaders have been killed.”
The Afghan army, which is being trained by U.S. and other NATO experts, now stands at 63,000 strong, Mr. Azimi said. The international community has agreed to expand the army to 80,000 troops, though Mr. Azimi has called for a force of 200,000.
Mr. Azimi also said the Taliban is suffering from infighting in its ranks, including disagreements between Taliban leader Mullah Omar and powerful Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud.
Last year was Afghanistan's most violent since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban. More than 8,000 people were killed, including some 1,500 civilians, according to the UN.
The director of U.S. national intelligence said in February that the Taliban control about 10 per cent of Afghanistan, and a UN report this month said 10 per cent of the country's districts are inaccessible to aid workers.
Afghanistan's top intelligence chief has said only eight of Afghanistan's 364 districts are not under government control.
Recommend this article? 5 votes
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Hmmmmm... while it may be propagamnda to some degree i do not believe it is nonsense...just ask our own people over there....all the best to all our heros putting this insurgency down..great work guys and girls..ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Lt.-Gov. David Onley visits departing soldiers
Posted By SEAN CHASE
Posted 1 hour ago
Ontario's lieutenant-governor told local troops heading to Afghanistan their mission in that war-torn nation is similar to Canada's historic battle at Vimy Ridge.
David Onley told members of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters Friday they are following a proud Canadian tradition of fighting to preserve freedom.
Reflecting on the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge on Apr. 9, 1917, Lt.-Gov. Onley said their predecessors did something no other country could do - achieve the first battlefield victory of the First World War. This generation of Canadian soldier continues that tradition today in Afghanistan, he added.
"Canada has never engaged in a war for territorial conquest," said Lt.-Gov. Onley. "We are a peaceful nation."
In a rare visit by the Queen's representative in Ontario, Lt.-Gov. Onley was at the base to take part in a departure ceremony for the 272-personnel contingent, which deploys to the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in early May for a nine-month tour of duty. They precede the 2,500 strong Task Force 3-08, which includes the Third Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, which heads to Kandahar later this summer.
The lieutenant-governor alluded to Lt.-Col. John McCrae's famous poem "In Flander's Fields" when he offered words of encouragement to the soldiers and their families, who packed Y-101 drill hall for the contingent's final parade before the first troops begin leaving in a few weeks.
"Afghanistan is a different place than Flander's Fields," he said making reference to the Taliban insurgents that the Canadian military currently faces in Kandahar. "We take up a quarrel with a new foe. A foe who would keep the Afghan people trapped in tyranny." The headquarters is being led by Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, the former commander of Petawawa's 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. He told the troops they will be joining the 36-nation NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on a mission sanctioned by the United Nations and at the invitation of the Afghan government. In the six years that Canada has been in Afghanistan, they have achieved results, he remarked.
"Despite the short time we've been there, the results are impressive," said Brig.-Gen. Thompson.
The designated commander of the joint task force said there has been progress in the training of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, reconstruction and development. What would be worse for Afghanistan is that the Taliban, ousted after the U.S. invasion in 2001, returns to the seat of government.
"If left to their devices, they would plunge that country back to the middle ages," said Brig.-Gen. Thompson, calling NATO's mission in Afghanistan the most "historic significant struggles of our time".
The next major deployment of troops will be in late August or early September. Along with the 3RCR battle group, Petawawa is a Provincial Reconstruction Team from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, a National Support Element and Observer Mentor and Liaison Teams, most coming from 1RCR. Brig.-Gen. Thompson told his predecessor, 2 CMBG commander Col. Dean Milner, they would act as an advance party for the next contingent.
Earlier in the day, Lt.-Gov. Onley, accompanied by his wife, Ruth-Ann, briefly visited St. Francis of Assissi Catholic School, where they spent time with children whose parents will soon be deploying to southwest Asia.
Before the close of the ceremony, the troops saw several videotaped well-wishers from prominent Canadians including sportscasters Don Cherry and Don Maclean, comedian Rick Mercer, country singer George Canyon and personality Wayne Rostad.
In his comments, Mr. Mercer joked that the designation of the task force's rotation, "Roto 5", sounded like a boy band. He further chimed that he had been to Afghanistan three times because Gen. Rick Hillier, the chief of the defence staff, told him to. Mr. Rostad closed the messages stating their mission was "a noble one".
The headquarters will be based at Kandahar Airfield, the main NATO base in southern Afghanistan located 10 kilometres south of Kandahar City. They will conduct the planning of logistics, operations and administration for the Canadian forces in the Kandahar area of operations.
schase@thedailyobserver.ca
Article ID# 983201
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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Canada committed to Afghan mission: foreign minister
KABUL (AFP) — Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier met here Saturday with Afghan leaders and reiterated his country's commitment to helping the Kabul government fight the resurgent Taliban.
Bernier held talks with his Afghan counterpart Rangeen Dadfar Spanta and said Canada would continue to support the war-torn nation's fledgling democracy.
"We are here to build with the Afghan government a viable state," Bernier said, admitting that there were challenges, "including the problem of corruption."
Canada has around 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan, and has seen 82 of them killed since 2002.
"It is an international mission on a UN resolution," Bernier said. "We want to help the Afghan government and we want to help the Afghan people to live in a country that will be more secure and we are very proud of that."
Bernier was also due to meet President Hamid Karzai, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
International-backed forces ousted the Taliban from power more than six years ago, but the hardline Islamic militia has stepped up its insurgency over the past year.
A total of about 70,000 foreign soldiers, most of them under NATO command, are still locked down in Afghanistan battling the insurgency.
Earlier French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also arrived in Kabul. The two foreign ministers were expected to visit the southern city of Kandahar, former stronghold of the hardline Taliban militia, where Canadian troops are deployed in the fight against the rebels.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Canada to establish new benchmarks for Afghan mission: Bernier
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canada is poised for a discussion about its mission in Afghanistan that will establish "benchmarks" for success in the ongoing effort to train local security forces in Kandahar province, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier suggested Sunday.
Bernier arrived at Kandahar Airfield after a day of high-level meetings with his French and Afghan counterparts and other diplomatic officials in Kabul on Saturday.
He said he was in the country to listen to the concerns of diplomats, humanitarian aid workers and military officials like Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, the commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan.
Bernier made specific reference to Canada's efforts in Kandahar to train the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, a vital component of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's long-term plan for Afghanistan and also Canada's eventual exit strategy.
"We have to go back in Canada and will have a discussion about the future of our mission, so we will have to set benchmarks on the training of the ANA, the training of the ANP," Bernier said.
"It was important to have a meeting with the general and other officials to understand pretty well what is the challenges that we face concerning the training of the national army and the national police."
On Saturday, Bernier told a news conference in Kabul that Canada would be adhering to the benchmarks established in the Afghanistan Compact, established by donor countries during a conference in London in 2006.
"We have benchmarks for corruption, we have benchmarks for the training of the ANA - it's all in the compact that we signed in 2006," he told the news conference.
Bernier later said he was talking specifically about Canadian benchmarks for the country's efforts in Kandahar province - targets that would work within those established by the compact, which apply to Afghan security forces across the country.
Bernier didn't elaborate Sunday on the specific issues regarding training, but the compact itself calls for an ANA of some 80,000 soldiers by the end of 2010 that is fully trained, organized, equipped, "democratically accountable," "nationally respected" and "ethnically balanced."
"What's in the compact is in line with what we will do here," he said.
The ANA remains some 20,000 troops short of the 2011 target, according to a NATO report on the Afghan mission released earlier this month.
The report described the ANA, established in May 2002, as having grown in "size and capability, confidence and credibility" as it continues to work alongside the soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force, the banner that flies over NATO's military mission.
"In many cases the ANA is now engaged in or leading major operations," the report said.
Earlier in the day, Bernier greeted French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on the tarmac and watched him clamber aboard new French Air Force jets for the benefit of the cameras.
Later, the pair boarded a helicopter for an afternoon visit to Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team at Camp Nathan Smith, on the other side of Kandahar city.
Bernier snipped the yellow ribbon and grinned for the local media at a newly built $111,000 training centre.
He later watched intently as Canadian mentors - soldiers, police officers and corrections officials - demonstrated the policing and counter-IED programs they provide for local security officers.
Insurgents plant IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, that frequently inflict casualties among Canadian and coalition forces as well as civilians in Afghanistan.
As much as Canada would like to be able to focus its entire mission in Afghanistan on development and rebuilding, it can't be done until the country is safe, Bernier said.
"You cannot have development when the situation is not secure, so we have to have security before," he said.
"We will put a little more emphasis on development, because we know at the end, people must be able to work, must be able to live, and to do what they dream to do."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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In order to appraise interested Royal Canadians of the situation on the ground prior to the 3rd battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment's, tour of duty, I shall be posting all Afghanistan relevant articles, from this point onward, within this thread.
Should anyone else happen to note an article of interest that I have not posted, I invite you to participate in recording the living history of our Regiment and the honour in which the next generation has earned in our, and those who have served before us, names
Pro Patria.
Canadian soldier wounded in attack
Apr 17, 2008 03:21 PM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL–Military officials say one Canadian soldier has been injured in a roadside bombing that struck a Canadian military vehicle in southern Afghanistan.
The attack occurred near Spin Boldak, a town on the Pakistani border.
Canadian Forces spokesman Capt. Sylvain Chalifour says the soldier suffered slight injuries in today’s attack.
Chalifour says the soldier returned to work later in the day after receiving treatment at Kandahar Airfield.
No other details are immediately available.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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U.S. sees surge in Afghan violence
TheStar.com Afghanistan on March 29, 2008.
April 24, 2008
Fisnik Abrashi
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL – The top U.S. general in Afghanistan says insurgent attacks could reach record levels this year.
Maj.-Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser says insurgents are pouring into Afghanistan from neighbouring Pakistan.
As a result, Schloesser says violence "may well reach a higher level than it did in 2007," now seen as the bloodiest year since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.
The United Nations says more than 8,000 people, mostly rebels died in insurgency-related violence last year.
Schloesser says the rebels are no military match for NATO forces.
Instead, they are increasingly directing attacks against civilians and Afghan police and security forces protecting development projects.
"They are going for what is an easier target," said Schloesser, who heads the 101st Airborne Division. He took up his command in Afghanistan on April 10.
More than 900 policemen were killed last year. More vulnerable than the better-trained and equipped national army, Afghan police account for the majority of the 159 members of the security forces killed so far this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. At least 72 police officers were killed in April alone, the tally shows.
The high death toll comes despite some $4 billion spent by the United States to train and equip Afghan police in the last three years.
Schloesser also echoed warnings by U.S. officials that Pakistan's tribal areas are a breeding ground for Taliban, al-Qaida and other militant groups despite the presence of 100,000 Pakistani troops.
U.S. officials have sought permission to strike insurgent strongholds in the lawless and mountainous region.
A Pakistani official said the government is seeking a peace deal with the tribe of a Taliban commander suspected in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, part of a strategy of attempting to counter surging Islamic militancy with dialogue and development.
Zahid Khan, a senior official in one of the parties of the ruling coalition, said government envoys were in talks with elders of the Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan. The tribe includes Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan's top Taliban leader who is accused of ties to al-Qaida.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
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1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Seems like a lot of money for a truck, eh?
Love at first sight for new supertrucks
Each 503-hp, twin-turbine diesel Mercedes-Benz costs $1 million
Matthew Fisher
Canwest News Service
Friday, April 25, 2008
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD - Canada's military truckers have dubbed their spanking new armoured trucks Transformers after the massive robots in the hugely popular film that can take on other shapes.
Some have gone further, calling their $1-million supertrucks Optimus Prime after the most powerful Transformer of them all.
So taken are these usually unsentimental soldiers with their 503-horsepower twin-turbo-diesel Mercedes-Benz trucks, which first began running food, parts and ammo to combat troops three weeks ago, that they gushed about them.
"It is the first time that I have fallen in love with a truck," said Master Cpl. Lawless Barnes, a 34-year-old, 15-year army veteran from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., who drives the baddest armoured Heavy Support Vehicle System (AHSVS) of them all, the imposing 32-tonne-plus wrecker. "My passion is for recovery. With this tow truck, I can pull anything we have here except a tank."
The first of the top-of-the-line trucks were rushed directly to Afghanistan from Germany in February to fulfil an urgent need identified early last year to provide better protection for truckers who spend their days running a gauntlet of roads infested with improvised explosive devices and always at risk of Taliban ambushes.
Of the 82 soldiers to have died in Afghanistan since 2002, more than half were killed when their vehicles were blown up by IEDs.
Canada has ordered 82 of the vehicles -- which are sold commercially minus the armour and other military upgrades, under the name Actros -- at a total cost of $87 million.
Mercedes, which hopes to sell the truck to many western armies, worked with Canadian engineers on the military modifications, sent field representatives to Alberta to train drivers and mechanics and has posted technicians to the Kandahar Airfield to assist their new customers.
"This is a mean-looking, purpose-built piece of kit," said Lt.-Col. Kerry Horlock of 1 Service Battalion in Edmonton, who has drawn soldiers from 39 Canadian bases from Comox to St. John's, Nfld., to run combat logistics for the Canadian battle group in Kandahar.
"We must give the boys the best we can so we will use these trucks a lot. This is about protecting our troops. I haven't seen another piece of kit like it."
The AHSVS has state-of-the-art computerized screens in the cab to check oil, tires and a lot more. This saves drivers potentially dangerous outside inspections of the truck and its gauges. Each of the armoured doors weighs hundreds of kilograms and is so heavy it can only be opened and closed electrically.
The new truck has begun to replace the Heavy Logistics Vehicle Wheeled (HLVW), which has had a hodgepodge of armour stuck inside and outside the cab to make it roadworthy in Afghanistan.
Canada depends more heavily than other NATO forces on ground convoys to keep forward-deployed combat troops supplied because it has no helicopters capable of operating in Afghanistan.
"I don't feel we're restricted by a lack of helicopters, but they would be another tool in the box," Horlock said. "We take advantage of them when we can."
"People are definitely curious,' said Cpl. Wade Furlotte, 29, of Dalhousie, N.B., who drives one of the new behemoths. "When we go outside the wire or drive around camp, we see everyone looking.
"My life is about trucks. I've got a big one at home. It's all about the toys. This one is special."
Master Cpl. Doug Dutchession, 38, of Portage La Prairie, Man., felt that the vehicle might help draw attention to the largely unsung drivers who, as Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier has said, have among the most dangerous jobs in the battle group.
"Not to take anything away from the infantry, but we're kind of the Cinderella part of the service. We don't get a lot of attention," Dutchession said while taking a visitor on a test drive near the airfield. "I like to think the infantry are at the pointed end over here and that we keep them pointy."
Dutchession, who is based at CFB Borden near Toronto, marvels at how Mercedes designers thought of little things such as nooks inside the cab to secure weapons and first-aid kits so that nothing hits drivers if the vehicle strikes an IED, as well as such touches as a cooler and thick window curtains to keep the searing Afghan heat from overwhelming the air-conditioning.
Insurgents have not yet succeeded in striking any of the new trucks.
"We've been wondering about that because we are sure they know we are here and we expect they will try to test us," Dutchession said. "But I feel very safe in this. It is awesome and I am lucky to have a chance to drive it."
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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