# The base that Bush built - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan



## GAP (24 Sep 2007)

The base that Bush built
Matthew Fisher National Post Monday, September 24, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -Colonel Pat Stogran would not recognize his old haunt today. Kandahar Airfield now features a flight line bristling with scores of fighter jets, attack helicopters, drones and squadrons of jumbo-sized cargo aircraft squatting on acres of freshly poured concrete, rows of air-conditioned offices, barracks and shower huts stretching to the horizon, a Tim Hortons, a Burger King, a Pizza Hut, a massage parlour, several gymnasiums, a baseball diamond, a floor hockey rink, several basketball courts, satellite television, four Western radio stations, several sprawling chow halls, a regular bus service and military police whose primary duty seems to be handing out speeding tickets to anyone driving faster than 20 kilometres an hour.

One of Canada's new generation of warriors, Col. Stogran commanded the now almost forgotten first battle group to call Kandahar home. It was early in 2002, the Taliban had just been ousted from power and Osama bin Laden was on the run.

Col. Stogran's outfit, built around a battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, mostly ate rations and by turns baked or froze in a clutch of simple canvas tents near what was then a shattered airfield. In this severely austere setting they planned and launched grueling mountain operations in places such as Tora Bora.

Although this was only five years ago, it was a much less complicated time politically and militarily. Immediately after 9/11, there was broad public support for President George W. Bush's war on terror in the United States and Canada, and general agreement in the West that this was a just cause.

Working with a combat brigade from the U.S. Army, the Patricias' mandate was to hunt down and eliminate remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Canadians took part in an epic battle at a place they called the Whale.

Their snipers caused a sensation in military circles by making several world-record kills, including one deadly shot of 2,400 metres. But this success was overshadowed when an American warplane dropped a bomb that killed four Canadians as they tested weapons during a live-fire exercise at Tarnak Farm.

Then, suddenly, Washing-ton's focus shifted to Iraq. Col. Stogran's battle-proven soldiers quietly returned to Alberta, while Ottawa dispatched other troops to take on a more traditional peacekeeping role, doing good deeds in and near Kabul.
More on link


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## vonGarvin (24 Sep 2007)

GAP said:
			
		

> Their snipers caused a sensation in military circles by making several world-record kills, including one deadly shot of 2,400 metres. But this success was overshadowed when an American warplane dropped a bomb that killed four Canadians as* they tested weapons * during a live-fire exercise at Tarnak Farm.
> 
> *Then, suddenly, Washing-ton's focus shifted to Iraq. Col. Stogran's battle-proven soldiers quietly returned to Alberta, while Ottawa dispatched other troops to take on a more traditional peacekeeping role, doing good deeds in and near Kabul*.


This article is, quite frankly, a load of crap.  What is forgotten is this:

They weren't testing weapons, they were conducting live fire training, at night, in a war zone.  "Testing Weapons" is something we do here in Canada (and over there, I'm sure), but the differences are major.  Let's give them credit where credit is due.

Chretien was shamed in sending our fella's over to Khandahar (version 1).  When six months was up, they were called home "No troops to replace them."
Iraq was (apparently) "suddenly" showing up (after 12 years of flagrant UN Security Council violations, some of which actually lead to Coalition bombings), Canadians wanted us to go along for the ride (according to polls), when "suddenly" Jean Chretien "found" 2500 soldiers to send to do "good deeds" (such as posing for Combat Camera, patrolling safe city streets [for the most part] and doing *EXACTLY * what we accuse the Germans of doing right now as we fight in Khandahar: sitting by doing fuck all)

The Good deeds were done, okay, I imagine, but in terms of winning this war, we did fuck all up in Kabul.  All the while, the Yanks were fighting and dying in the South.  

Sorry, I haven't had my Ritalin today....


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## HItorMiss (24 Sep 2007)

Mortarman Rockpainter said:
			
		

> Jean Chretien "found" 2500 soldiers to send to do "good deeds" (such as posing for Combat Camera, patrolling safe city streets [for the most part] and doing *EXACTLY * what we accuse the Germans of doing right now as we fight in Khandahar: *sitting by doing frig all*)
> 
> The Good deeds were done, okay, I imagine, but in terms of winning this war,* we did frig all up in Kabul*.  All the while, the Yanks were fighting and dying in the South.
> 
> Sorry, I haven't had my Ritalin today....



Tell that to Cpl Murphy....or Cpl Beerenfinger or Sgt Short...watch your fall of shot and your step MR, tread lightly


EDIT: Explained down one post. I got a little edgy for little reason.


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## KevinB (24 Sep 2007)

Agreed wholeheartedly with Mortarman RockPainter...

 HoM -- I spent more than a year in Kabul -- while the occassional incident happens (and nothing to deamean the loss of Sgt Short and Cpl's Murphy and Beerefinger) Kabul is a safe and secure AO as far as Afghanistan is concerned.

 When I visited Kandahar -- well its a whole other place...


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## HItorMiss (24 Sep 2007)

I6 and MR

You're not wrong. I just got all worked up over the wording of it. I agree having been both places that Kabul is safer ( Safer being a relative) then Kandahar. I just wont go so far as to say we were posing for Combat Camera (Other then me of course) and staying safe.


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## MarkOttawa (24 Sep 2007)

The dispatch to Kabul was one year later, a fact Mr Fisher omits to mention.

Mark
Ottawa


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## KevinB (24 Sep 2007)

MarkOttawa said:
			
		

> The dispatch to Kabul was one year later, a fact Mr Fisher omits to mention.
> 
> Mark
> Ottawa



Actually its mentioned in the timeline as the 3VP BattleGroup withdraws, and not replaced to OEF.  - and circa Iraq - the decision to got to with ISAF (which we called ASIF for its toothless tiger mentality) Kabul with a Btl Gp was formed.


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## vonGarvin (24 Sep 2007)

Just to clarify, I was not trying to denegrate the memory of those who gave all (I knew Sgt Short personally, and I know the officer who was severely wounded when Pte Murphy was killed), and I don't discount the dangers of Kabul at those times, but in all honestly, compared to Khandahar (then), we were doing relatively little (and I was one of those there too).

I apologise if this came off too strong.  My anger was vented at the author of the original article (not the one who posted it, but the newspaper person), and looking back, I understand (now, in hindsight, which is always 20/20) that it could easily be misread.


<--I'm going to sit in the timeout chair for a bit


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## vonGarvin (24 Sep 2007)

HitorMiss said:
			
		

> I just wont go so far as to say we were psing for Combat Camera (Other then me of course) and staying safe.


:rofl:  I forgot about that pic!  

^5  (that's a "high five")


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## Armymedic (24 Sep 2007)

In MR's defense, all rotos 2 and 3 did was occupy and secure Camp Julien. 

Sure there was a few patrols, some development assistance and small ETT components, but they were all sidebar to us holding the ground 3 kms around Julien.


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## TangoTwoBravo (24 Sep 2007)

US troops (amongst others) remained in Kandahar province until the 1VP battle group replaced the US Task Force in 2006.  It isn't like everybody went home in 2002.

It is interesting, however, to reflect on the past five years or so.  Our mission has certainly had its changes of direction.


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## Roy Harding (24 Sep 2007)

That was my Roto - with Stogran, as a Battle Group under the 101st.

It certainly WAS "austere".  We took over from the USMC, and burning human waste was the order of the day.

What's missing in the article is that when we deployed, we had no idea of when/if we were being replaced.  We didn't have HLTA, although we did have a "Forced Rest" program - same idea as R&R, four days in an undisclosed location where we (I, anyway) just got plastered for four days, and froze ourselves in the air conditioning.  As late as June 02, I was warning my troops that it was a very real possibility that we'd still be there for Christmas '02.

The redeployment happened extremely fast, with very little warning - I don't recall the exact date we knew when we were coming home, but it was in June sometime.  The A/Ops O and I spent most of July trying to get "The Great Escape" from Qandahar (as we spelled it then) organized (or at least semi-organized).  Ours was also the "Roto 0" for the decompression programme that I understand is now less "ad hoc" than ours was.

Roy


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## 2 Cdo (25 Sep 2007)

Roy Harding said:
			
		

> That was my Roto - with Stogran, as a Battle Group under the 101st.
> 
> It certainly WAS "austere".  We took over from the USMC, and burning human waste was the order of the day.
> 
> ...



I remember the "won't be home til Christmas" briefs and that really impressed my wife! As for HTLA, I like the way we did it, straight through and when you finally got home you were home for good. It did seem like redeployment was fast but I did enjoy our decompression program! ;D I think I finally sobered up on the flight back to Canada.


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## Roy Harding (25 Sep 2007)

2 Cdo said:
			
		

> I remember the "won't be home til Christmas" briefs and that really impressed my wife! As for HTLA, I like the way we did it, straight through and when you finally got home you were home for good. It did seem like redeployment was fast but I did enjoy our decompression program! ;D I think I finally sobered up on the flight back to Canada.



"sobered up" - what's that?   

Roy


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