Canada in Afghanistan

[John McGillivray]

Canadian soldier killed during weapons training
CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Saturday Feb. 13, 2010 8:01 AM ET

The body of the latest Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan began the journey home Saturday after a solemn ramp ceremony at Kandahar Air Field.

Cpl. Joshua Caleb Baker was killed in a training accident northeast of Kandahar City around 5 p.m. local time Friday.

The military has not released many details about Baker's death except to say it happened during a routine training exercise.

"This type of training is normal for soldiers in theatre and essential in helping them maintain high levels of expertise," Brig. Gen. Daniel Menard said.

Baker, 24, was serving with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.

Menard said Baker had a laugh that lightened any situation.

"Joshua had a laugh rumoured to cure cancer," he said. "No matter where you were or how down you got, his laugh would find your ears and bring a smile to your face."

Baker, from Edmonton, was "an extremely positive, passionate" person, Menard said.

"He had a deep love for his family and worried constantly about them."

Four other soldiers were injured in the incident. They were taken by helicopter to the medical facility at Kandahar Airfield. They are in stable condition, the Department of National Defence said in a statement. Their names will not be released.

The Defence Department announced it will launch an investigation to determine exactly what happened.

Baker is the second Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan this year, and the 140th killed during Canada's eight-year mission in the country.

With a report from CTV's Janis Mackey Frayer in Afghanistan and files from The Canadian Press

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...b=TopStoriesV2

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

[John McGillivray]

It looks like it will be a long hot spring and summer in the sandbox.

Planning underway for NATO offensive in Kandahar
CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Fri. Feb. 26 2010 4:28 PM ET
Canadian Forces and local Afghan officials are preparing for a major assault in Kandahar province this spring,, following in the footsteps of Afghan and NATO soldiers who are currently flushing out Taliban fighters from neighbouring Helmand province.
In Helmand province, some 15,000 troops are clearing the area around the town of Marjah, a Taliban stronghold the Afghan government intends to reclaim. Only two weeks into Operation Moshtarak -- the name for the NATO offensive launched earlier this month -- an Afghan flag has been raised in Marjah and a town administrator appointed.
But more than 2,800 families have been displaced by the offensive according to the independent Afghan Organization of Human Rights and Environmental Protection.
In Kandahar province, local officials have begun stockpiling the supplies needed to take care of their own residents, who are sure to face similar stresses once the local offensive begins in the spring.
Tooryalai Wesa, the Afghan-Canadian governor of Kandahar province, believes that once the fighting gets underway as many as 10,000 people may have to leave their homes.
Wesa said local authorities must be ready to help the people who will be displaced by the fighting.
"People will be moving from those districts toward the city in the first place, then maybe some other districts. So we have to be prepared," Wesa said.
On the military side, Canadian officials are eyeing the battle in Marjah as they work through the early stages of planning the coming offensive.
Canadian Brig.-Gen. Craig King, the coalition's director of future plans in southern Afghanistan, compared the planning process to sculpting.
"I take the block of marble and hew out the thing and get it to a point, and then there's some fine chiselling and then the polishing is done by someone else," King said.
King said NATO began laying the groundwork for the spring offensive last December, when it assigned more troops to provide security along Kandahar roads.
As the battle draws closer, Canadian troops should be expected "to be in the thick of it," said King.
The 101st Airborne's second brigade and the 205 Corps of the Afghan army's first brigade are expected to take part in the spring offensive along with British troops.
The Kandahar offensive will see a "comparable" number of troops taking part as are involved in the Marjah assault, said King.
But there will be differences between the two military operations. In Kandahar, insurgents are spread out and thus more difficult to target.
"It's going to be different from what happened in Helmand because Kandahar's a different environment," King said.
"Kandahar's environment is a much more political environment. There's a lot more people. I think it's fair to say that the makeup around the area here in terms of tribal influences and whatnot is certainly different and probably much more complex than it was elsewhere.
"So that just means that we have to start earlier."
With files from The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew..._name=&no_ads=

and

First Marja, then we take Kandahar, US official says
February 28, 2010
A BIG US-led offensive against the Taliban stronghold of Marja in Afghanistan was a "tactical prelude" to a larger operation in Kandahar City later this year, a senior US official said yesterday.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the southern stronghold was the "capital city" for Taliban Islamist militants.
"It's their centre of gravity," he said. "Bringing security, comprehensive population security to Kandahar City is the centrepiece of operations this year. Therefore, Marja is the prelude, a sort of a preparatory action."
The US General, Stanley McChrystal, commander of 121,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, said last week the Marja offensive to restore government control and eradicate the Taliban in the poppy-growing valley in Helmand province was a "model for the future".
Helmand and Kandahar have been hot spots of the insurgency launched after the US-led invasion
http://www.smh.com.au/world/first-ma...0227-pa5j.html

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Another warrior has passed the torch...God bless you and your family..
RIP...

Governor General of Canada


Governor General of Canada
Mar 22, 2010 13:38 ET
Message From Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, on the Death of Corporal Darren James Fitzpatrick

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 22, 2010) - It was with great sadness that my husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I learned that the war in Afghanistan had claimed a new victim from among the ranks of our valorous and courageous soldiers.

Corporal Darren James Fitzpatrick was on patrol west of Kandahar when he was wounded by an anti-personnel mine on March 6. Unfortunately he succumbed Saturday to his injuries, surrounded by his loved ones in Edmonton.

Canada and its extended military family have lost a remarkable and very generous man.

Corporal Darren James Fitzpatrick cared very deeply about serving his country. On mission in Afghanistan, he was convinced of the crucial importance of humanitarian assistance for the communities of Kandahar province, where poverty, insecurity and terrorism are daily realities.

From the bottom of our hearts and on behalf of all Canadians, we extend our most sincere condolences to the family, friends and comrades of Corporal Fitzpatrick, in particular those serving in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. We share their pain, and our thoughts are with them.

Michaëlle Jean

For more information, please contact
Rideau Hall Press Office
Annabelle Cloutier
613-993-2569
www.gg.ca
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[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

RIP, Tyler.

Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan

CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Sun. Apr. 11 2010 3:38 PM ET

A Canadian soldier has been killed by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol in the Dand district of Afghanistan.

Pte. Tyler William Todd, 26, was killed at approximately 7:30 a.m. Sunday near the town of Belanday, which is about eight kilometres southwest of Kandahar city.

Another soldier, whose name was not released, was wounded in the blast.

Todd was from Kitchener, Ont., but was serving with the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton.

Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, said Todd was on a routine patrol, speaking to local villagers. "The patrol was part of the battle group's effort to learn more about the village's people and their needs," Menard said.

Menard paid tribute to Todd, saying he died doing a job he loved with his best friends.

"He never allowed the small things to get to him and was often the rock upon which his comrades depended," Menard said. "His enthusiasm and strong will was an inspiration to his platoon."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered his condolences to Todd's family and friends.

"The thoughts of an entire country are with you in this most difficult time. I also hope for the quick and full recovery of the other Canadian soldier injured in the same incident," he said in a statement.

"Canada is grateful for Private Tyler William Todd's sacrifice. We are all saddened by this loss."

The Prime Minister said Todd's death did not diminish his government's commitment to the mission. Canadian troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan next year.

"The courage demonstrated by the Canadian Forces in this mission speaks to their dedication of creating a better future for the Afghan people. Canada's commitment to this goal is not diminished by this incident."

In the past, the Belanday region had been heavily travelled by Taliban militants who staged attacks on the village and the outskirts of Kandahar City from surrounding grape and wheat fields.

Pte. Patrick Lormand, 21, was killed in Sept. 2009 by an IED blast while on patrol around the town.

But Belanday is now considered the western tip of a security bubble that extends through the Dand district and the Canadians hoped to expand the region of security around the town.

Last November, the Canadian battle group established a permanent presence in Belanday, setting up a platoon house there as part of an experiment by military brass to have troops leave their fortified bases and live among the population.

It was lauded as a success at NATO headquarters and even praised by U.S. generals, as the Canadian soldiers turned the town from a no-go zone into an oasis of calm in Taliban territory.

Just a few weeks ago, Canadian troops and Afghan soldiers swept an area just south of Belanday and had been assured by locals that the Taliban had fled the area.

Todd's death brings to 142 the total number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the mission began.

[John McGillivray]

Canadian troops rotate in advance of summer offensive
By Ethan Baron, Canwest News ServiceApril 28, 2010

SPERWAN GHAR, Afghanistan — Canada's new command group for the front-line combat base arrived in Afghanistan Wednesday, as troops from the Royal Canadian Regiment of Petawawa, Ont., take over from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry of Edmonton.
The new rotation of soldiers arrived in advance of NATO's upcoming summer Kandahar province offensive, planned to be the largest-ever in the war.
C Company from the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), posted to the fortified hill base here, is expected to be charged with pushing the Taliban from west Panjwaii district, a key insurgent stronghold.
"Our company is very well prepared, very well trained," said Capt. Stephen Good, second in command of the RCR's C Company.
In his previous tour, Good moved around several volatile districts.
Now, Canadian combat troops are working almost exclusively in Panjwaii, attempting to secure population centres by keeping a solid presence in a more limited area.
"In 2007, it was all kinetic operations, all disruption — we never held the ground, and we never stayed with the population. We didn't have enough manpower," said Good, originally from Coquitlam, B.C.
Outgoing Princess Patricia's troops engaged in frequent fighting in the first part of their seven-to-eight-month tour, then endured an escalating threat from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
"It's time to go home," said Sgt. Mark Courtney, originally from Sydney, N.S., and posted to Edmonton for 10 years. "You get excited. It's almost like Christmas."
Courtney also fought with C Company in 2006, when Canadian combat troops were highly mobile, operating from the field and from scattered encampments.
"They were really two different missions. There are a lot more troops on the ground now. The insurgents aren't as willing to fight us," he said. "In 2006, we were something new and they wanted to have their go at us. Now they're a bit more cautious."
The Taliban are increasingly using IEDs against Canadian foot patrols, putting them in paths, walls and trees, in addition to planting them in roads to target vehicles, said Courtney.
He, along with three other soldiers, narrowly escaped a blast of shrapnel from a remote-detonated IED. "It went between two of us."
Princess Patricia's C Company arrived in Afghanistan in October, and moved in December to this base in west Panjwaii — a few hundred metres from a broad Taliban-held zone with what soldiers call "the heart of darkness" at its centre: the town of Zangabad.
"We started pushing out west toward Zangabad and we started getting in a lot of firefights," said Cpl. Richard Ready, a field medic originally from Appin, Ont. He had been in Afghanistan less than two weeks when an IED exploded six metres away.
"That was a bit of an eye-opener, for sure," he said.
Canada's new approach of solidifying a "ring of stability" around Kandahar City made reconnaissance platoon Cpl. Jamie Ward's tour far different from his previous rotation in 2008.
Then, as in previous years, Canadian troops moved against areas where the Taliban were entrenched, killing insurgents and driving them out, then moving to the next hot spot without having secured control.
Under the new strategy, Canada's soldiers operate out of bases located very near village areas, and work closely with the Afghan army and police — as well as Canadian military- and civilian-development teams — to clear out Taliban, solidify control, and begin providing services to villagers.
"From what we've seen on the ground, the strategy seems more focused," said Ward, originally from Victoria.
As members of the RCR arrive, the Princess Patricia's are introducing them to their new operations area, and will soon begin taking them out on patrols. The outgoing troops will leave the country in mid-May.
"I'm pretty happy to go home and go back to normal life," said Ready, "just working on the house, drinking beer by the fire, spending time with my wife and kid — he just turned one year old on the 20th."
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Can...141/story.html

[Brian Gough]

Canadian killed by IED in Afghanistan

A Canadian senior non-commissioned officer in Afghanistan was killed Monday by an improvised explosive device near Kandahar city.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Blake, 37, was killed while working in the Panjwai district, approximately 25 kilometres southwest of the city.

Brig-Gen. Dan Ménard, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, said the Simcoe, Ont., native was returning to camp Monday afternoon after successfully disposing of another IED when the blast went off.

Blake was serving with the Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic. He had only been in Afghanistan for a few weeks when he was killed.

"A navy clearance diver, Craig was most comfortable working under water, yet he effortlessly adapted to the rigours of land operations," Ménard said in a statement.

"Incredibly fit, with a backbone of steel, Craig put 100 per cent into everything he did."

Blake, married with two children, was a hockey coach and triathlete, Ménard said.

His death brings to 143 the number of Canadian troops who have died in the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.

"On behalf of all soldiers, airmen, airwomen, sailors and special operators of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, I offer my sincere condolences to his friends and family," Ménard said.



With files from The Canadian Press