[John McGillivray]

Its look like things will be heating up in 1RCR area of ops in the coming weeks. Who would have thought on 9-11, that nine years later, our troops would be going into harms way in that far off land.

'Massive activities' from Canadian troops coming in Afghanistan: Lieutenant-General

By Brian Hutchinson, Postmedia News September 11, 2010 8:12 AM

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...252/story.html

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Describing the efforts of his soldiers in Kandahar this summer as "good, but not good enough," the commander of Canadian troops overseas said "massive activities" are coming to win over key districts in the troubled Afghan province.
Speaking to reporters at Kandahar Airfield on Saturday, Lieutenant-General Marc Lessard said that "in the fall, high level security operations" will be conducted in Panjwaii and Dand districts, involving Canadian and Afghan National Security Forces.
" There’ll be a flurry of military operations starting with the major ones this fall, (and) there’ll be other ones certainly in the winter and spring," said LGen Lessard, head of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command. "We’re ready to launch."
Focused combat and counterinsurgency activities will continue for ten months, to the conclusion of Canada’s combat mission in Kandahar in July 2011, he added. "Until the last minute we’re going to do every military operation."
If Canadian troops do not improve conditions in the districts before leaving next year, their sacrifices since 2006 will have been wasted, he suggested.
"At the end of the day, when we cease operations in July ... we have to ensure the situation is better in Dand and better in Panjwaii," he said. " Because that’s part of our legacy. With the 150-plus killed, the hundreds of seriously injured, from our Canadian point of view, that’s our legacy."
Afghan president Hamid Karzai "is aware of these operations," he said. "They will be as, if not more, important than a large-scale military offensive in neighbouring Helmand province launched earlier this year.” Centred around the Taliban-controlled town of Marjah, the February campaign involved some 15,000 troops from Great Britain, the U.S., Canada and Afghanistan.
The next round of operations in Kandahar " will be at a very, very high level, in Zhari, Panjwaii and Dand (districts)" said LGen Lessard, without going into specifics. Zhari district is now an American area of operation but the plans in place involve it as well.
MGen Lessard acknowledged that his troops have encountered significant setbacks since 2008, when hard-won territory in Panjwaii district was ceded to insurgents. "Let’s face it, it’s been a tough go," he said.
As late as this June, the Canadian mission was in his view "regressing ... There was a lot more enemy presence and a lot more activity ... The enemy in eastern Panjwaii was definitely taking the initiative. I believe in the last two months, we’re holding. We, I believe, have stopped the enemy initiative. That’s good, but that’s not good enough."
Clearing the district of Taliban insurgents is just one element of a successful campaign, he added. Delivering services to long-suffering civilians is another.
LGen Lessard has stressed to his new commander in Kandahar, Brigadier-General Dean Milner, that "when we cease operations, we want to make sure that we’ve improved the stability effects in our area of operation. That means Dand district and Panjwaii."
Most important is building on what he calls the "enduring effects" of a military operation. "After we do these operations we (must) have something to ensure we keep the security, and we’re definitely looking to our Afghan partners, police and ANA (Afghan National Army) to have a foot on the ground, ensure security, be seen to ensure security. (Local) perception is sometimes more important than what we perceive," said LGen Lessard.
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