# USA Forces Under CAN Command @ New AFG FOB



## The Bread Guy (21 Sep 2008)

Photos, link to CJTF-101 article below text - shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the _Copyright Act._

*New base beefs up Afghanistan presence*
Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes, 22 Sept 08
Article link

MAIWAND DISTRICT, Afghanistan — U.S. forces are beefing up their presence in southern Afghanistan, building a new base and joining a Canadian task force in an effort to stem a rising tide of violence in the heartland of the Taliban insurgency.

The construction of Forward Operating Base Ramrod, about 50 miles west of Kandahar, the former stronghold of the fundamentalist movement, puts the newly-deployed 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment in an area that has seen a sharp rise in attacks.

"This was a district that has been identified as needing a larger coalition presence," said Maj. Cale Brown, executive officer for 2-2 Infantry, during a recent visit to the new base.

*In an unusual arrangement for U.S. forces, 2-2 Infantry has been placed under the command of the Canadian-led Task Force Kandahar. Canada has 2,500 soldiers in the southern province, where it has held overall security responsibility for the past three years.*

But the addition of the 800 or so U.S. soldiers nearly doubles the number of combat troops in Task Force Kandahar, said Navy Lt. Alain Blondin, a spokesman for Canadian forces.

"It brings about 70 to 80 percent more in terms of boots on the ground," he said.

The American troops assumed responsibility for their area of operations on Aug. 27. In a statement at the time, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said their mission would be to improve security in the district so that reconstruction and political development can take place.

ISAF officials have identified Maiwand as an important logistics hub for the movement of Taliban fighters, weapons and money.

"It’s been part of a trend that we’re here to help mitigate," Brown said.

Stars and Stripes first reported in early August that 2-2 Infantry was moving into Maiwand district.

The Fort Hood, Texas-based battalion was supposed to deploy to eastern Afghanistan, but was shifted south after the Taliban pulled off a dramatic jailbreak in Kandahar in June, freeing hundreds of imprisoned fighters, according to a U.S. officer.

Insurgent attacks have skyrocketed in Afghanistan in the past three years, especially in the south and east, where the Taliban and al-Qaida are strongest.

Insurgent attacks in Kandahar province have increased since the jailbreak, and have not slowed in September, despite the fact that it is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to Canadian military officers.

During the first 18 days of Ramadan, which began earlier this month, soldiers of Task Force Kandahar have encountered 80 roadside bombs, most of which were detected and neutralized before they exploded, they said.

"It’s been a steady climb (in attacks)," said one officer Thursday, who spoke on background, in accordance with standard briefing rules. "It’s been busy, and the insurgents aren’t slowing down."

More than 120 U.S. troops and more than 100 soldiers from other NATO-led countries have been killed in Afghanistan this year, putting 2008 on track to be the deadliest year for foreign forces in the country since the war began seven years ago. More U.S. troops have already been killed this year than at any other point during the war.

Nearly 600 U.S. troops and almost 400 soldiers from other countries have died in Afghanistan since the start of the war, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks U.S. and allied deaths here and in Iraq.

The strengthening of U.S. forces in southern Afghanistan comes as Canada has signaled that it intends to scale down its commitment, a move which could further worsen the security situation in this part of the country.

Last January, Canada threatened to pull its troops out of Afghanistan unless other NATO countries boosted their commitment, a move that prompted Defense Secretary Robert Gates to order a Marine battalion to neighboring Helmand province. The Marines have already started pulling out, and have been replaced by British and Afghan troops.

On Sept. 10, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged that his country’s forces would be withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2011, saying that the Canadian public would not support keeping its soldiers in the country more than 10 years. A Parliament measure passed in March requires only that Canadian forces be withdrawn from Kandahar province by that date.

Canada was one of the first countries, along with the United States, Great Britain and Australia, to send troops to Afghanistan, after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Canada has lost 97 soldiers and one diplomat, the third highest toll in the war, after the United States and the United Kingdom.

There are about 60,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, 33,000 of which are American. About 19,000 are serving under ISAF. Most of the rest are serving under an independent U.S. command in the east.

President Bush has ordered an Army brigade of about 3,700 troops originally scheduled for Iraq to deploy instead to Afghanistan in January.

However, U.S. Gen. David McKiernan, the senior general in Afghanistan, has said that about 10,000 more U.S. ground troops are needed in addition those reinforcements.







Photo credit:  Drew Brown / S&S
Sgt. Kenneth Kelly, of Detroit, manuevers a sheet of plywood into place as he works on the flooring for a tent at Forward Operating Base Ramrod in Maiwand district, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Kelly and other soldiers from Bravo Company, 62nd Engineers are building the base, which is the new center of operations for 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment. The battalion moved into the district last month to reinforce Canadian troops in Kandahar province, the heartland of the Taliban insurgency. 





Photo credit:  Drew Brown / S&S
Soldiers from Darkhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment prepare to move out from Forward Operating Base Ramrod, in Maiwand district, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Soldiers from 2-2 Infantry moved into the district and started building the base last month, as part of an effort to reinforce Canadian troops in Kandahar, the heartland of the Taliban insurgency, and to disrupt the flow of fighters and weapons from neighboring Helmand province. 





Photo credit:  Drew Brown / S&S 
Staff Sgt. Michael Crouse, of Ingraham, Ill., of Darkhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, pulls security as other soldiers talk to shop owners during a patrol in Maiwand district, in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. 


More about the move here (courtesy of CJTF-101)

_- edited to add link to new story - _


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## Infanteer (21 Sep 2008)

SAY FOB RAMROD - SAY FOB RAMROD!!!

Awesome - I think it shows the level of trust that has developed between us that the US would put a unit under our tactical control.


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## -rb (21 Sep 2008)

Glad to hear they've assumed command over their new stomping grounds. Its nice to see that with the increase in troop numbers we (ISAF) will finally be able to dominate such a vital area with respect to the flow of fighters and logistics in to neighbouring Helmand prov. and Zhari/Panjwai districts.

And, with a name like FOB Ramrod, good times ahead are almost guaranteed! ;D


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## Gunnar (21 Sep 2008)

When all reports are that our troops are "superb", and we speak the same language, and have similar goals, etc., etc....Why not?  We've been in Afghanistan, in that province, since the beginning.  We're holding our own well, but clearly we need MORE troops to hold the ground appropriately.  They gave us more troops, nothing more.  Which is nice.

But I am glad.  It does bespeak an trust in our ability to get the job done.


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## HItorMiss (22 Sep 2008)

Gunnar said:
			
		

> When all reports are that our troops are "superb", and we speak the same language, and have similar goals, etc., etc....Why not?  We've been in Afghanistan, *in that province*, since the beginning.  We're holding our own well, but clearly we need MORE troops to hold the ground appropriately.  They gave us more troops, nothing more.  Which is nice.
> 
> But I am glad.  It does bespeak an trust in our ability to get the job done.



Sorry Gunnar we only came to Kandahar Province in 2006, previous to that we were in Kabul Province. Unless of course you mean the brief one off Roto of 3 PPCLI during Op Apollo.


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## tomahawk6 (22 Sep 2008)

I suspect we shall see at a minimum of a US infantry brigade in Kandahar in the next few months.


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## Gunnar (22 Sep 2008)

> Sorry Gunnar we only came to Kandahar Province in 2006, previous to that we were in Kabul Province. Unless of course you mean the brief one off Roto of 3 PPCLI during Op Apollo.



You're right of course.  I had forgotten that.

Still, we are the recognized experts in that particular field, no?


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## HItorMiss (22 Sep 2008)

To which field are you refering?


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## Gunnar (22 Sep 2008)

Would province be better?


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## HItorMiss (22 Sep 2008)

Ahhh I am tracking now

I would say we have a very good grasp of the region in which we are operating. Expert is a bit much though IMO


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## tomahawk6 (22 Sep 2008)

You could say that Canadian troops have local knowledge that would be helpful to troops rotating in from CONUS.


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## daftandbarmy (22 Sep 2008)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> You could say that Canadian troops have local knowledge that would be helpful to troops rotating in from CONUS.



If we stay on our 6 month deployment periods though, the US troops (at year long deployments) will become more expert than our guys pretty fast...


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## gun runner (23 Sep 2008)

Does it really matter who will be better at the job?!? This is just what this AO needs..more boots on the ground at an area that can hurt Timmie really bad!! I am all for this endeavor regardless of who is better at what.. just kick some @ss, and get the job done!! Ubique


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## geo (23 Sep 2008)

Am glad to see them on the ground and operating in their area.
Under our command ?.... well, under our commander's direction - but fighting under their own command and under their own US terms of engagement - which differ somewhat from ours.

Regardless.... welcome & give em hell

CHIMO!


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## tomahawk6 (23 Sep 2008)

So far the taliban have not been able to mass enough men to seize a province and thats what they need to do if they want to retake the country. I have long felt that at some point they may just focus on taking control of Pakistan, Afghanistan is just a side show - keep things boiling across the border and direct their forces against the Pakistani government. If polls are to be believed they have alot of support within the country and a coup or revolution would sure be tempting. Get control of the nukes and that would be a game changer right there.


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## tomahawk6 (23 Sep 2008)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=51283

Three Combat Brigades Available for Afghanistan by Summer, Gates Says
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2008 – Up to three additional brigade combat teams will likely be available for deployment to Afghanistan next spring and summer, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
Gates, who provided his assessment in response to lawmakers’ questions during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, qualified his answer with a caveat, saying it’s worth considering how heavy a military footprint the United States ought to have in Afghanistan.

“Are we better off channeling resources into building and expanding the size of the Afghan National Army as quickly as possible, as opposed to a much larger Western footprint?” he asked rhetorically.

Gates said the deployment of three brigades now would be impossible without significant force adjustments. “Without changing deployment patterns, without changing length of tours,” he said, “we do not have the forces to send three additional brigade combat teams to Afghanistan at this point.”

Today’s discussion of force levels came after pledges by President Bush and NATO leaders to boost the number of troops deployed to Afghanistan. The United States will deploy to Afghanistan a Marine battalion in November and an Army brigade combat team in January -- units that both had been slated for Iraq -- in accordance with the president’s announcement after an April NATO meeting in Bucharest, Romania.

Following that summit, allies and partners of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force restated their commitment to Afghanistan, Gates said. France added 700 troops in eastern Afghanistan, Germany will seek to increase its troop ceiling from 3,500 to 4,500 this fall, and Poland is increasing its forces by 400 troops, he said.

“The number of coalition forces, including NATO troops, has increased from about 20,000 to nearly 31,000, and it appears that this trend will continue, as other allies such as the United Kingdom add more troops,” the secretary said.

But Gates warned that additional forces alone will not solve the conflict in Afghanistan. 

“Security is just one aspect of the campaign, alongside development and governance,” he said. “We must maintain momentum, keep the international community engaged and develop the capacity of the Afghan government,” he said.


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