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Canadian troops return to scene of Afghan deaths
`Mostly likely several' from first deployment
NATO scrambles to boost presence in Afghanistan
JOHN COTTER
CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTONâ â€Soldiers from the military unit that was mistakenly attacked in Afghanistan by a U.S. fighter jet two years ago are heading back to the mountainous Middle Eastern country for another tour of duty.
About 40 troops from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry will be part of a task force that will start leaving tomorrow for Kabul.
"There is at least one individual who was on Operation Apollo, the original deployment to Afghanistan, who is going back," said Brian Hillier, a civilian public affairs officer with Land Force Western Area headquarters here.
"Most likely several. We don't have the exact figures," he said Friday.
Military officials would not confirm whether any of the troops who are returning took part in the night training exercise near Kandahar.
That exercise was bombed by an F-16 pilot, killing four Canadians â †Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Sgt. Marc Léger, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith â †and wounding eight others on April 18, 2002.
Altogether, 600 troops from across Western Canada were busy packing and spending time with loved ones as they prepared to replace a battalion from the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment.
The task force of light armour, infantry and other troops is to provide reconnaissance support in Kabul and help the U.S. military train the Afghan national army.
The new Canadian deployment to Kabul will be smaller than previous missions to Afghanistan as the military tries to give the soldiers a bit of a break.
Earlier this year, Canada had as many as 2,300 infantry and mechanized soldiers in the region.
Senior Canadian military leaders have said they expect troops will continue to serve in Afghanistan "for years" to come.
Yesterday, Lt.-Col. Chuck Lamarre, commander of the task force's support element, said the Canadian troops have been screened to make sure they are physically and mentally prepared for the deployment.
"Every one of us goes through an interview with a social worker," said Lamarre, who noted the morale of the troops is high.
"Questionnaires are there to root out folks who might have difficulties based on either previous experience, personal problems, anything of that sort."
The task force includes troops from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), 1, 2 and 3 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 1 Combat Engineers, 1 Service Battalion and other support troops.
All the troops in the task force are to be in Kabul by Aug. 11.
Lamarre said the soldiers are well trained and have been brought up to date on the political and military situation in the region. Most of them will be used to patrol in and around the Afghan capital.
"They are going to be looking, essentially, for bad guys," he said. "For the Al Qaeda folks and anybody who might be trying to undermine the Afghan transitional authority."
President Hamid Karzai has warned the country remains endangered by the security headaches of terrorism, private militias and the narcotics trade.
Violence this year has killed more than 600 people, including soldiers, international workers and civilians.
NATO, after months of delay, has ordered hundreds more peacekeepers to Afghanistan to help provide security during presidential elections, planned for Oct. 9.
But the deployment still appeared to fall short of 3,500 troops that were promised.
NATO took command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan last summer. It currently has some 6,500 troops there, about half from Germany and Canada.
The allies committed themselves to increase troop levels to 10,000, but still struggled to come up with the soldiers.
The alliance also cleared another 500 or so troops to beef up provincial reconstruction teams. Assuming the battalions were large, that would still make only about 2,500 troops.
"We need a little bit more to get to 3,500," said spokesperson Lt.-Col. Ludger Terbrueggen at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium.
NATO ambassadors meeting late Friday approved two more battalions â †600 to 1,000 soldiers â †one each from Italy and Spain. Troops from those countries will arrive in Afghanistan by September and remain for about two months, said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
Germany, with 1,909 troops in Afghanistan, and Canada, with 1,576, are by far the most generous of the NATO contributors. France ranks next with 565.
The remaining 23 NATO countries, plus 11 outside NATO, have pitched in about 2,500 troops.
With files from Associated Press
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1090707008983&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
`Mostly likely several' from first deployment
NATO scrambles to boost presence in Afghanistan
JOHN COTTER
CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTONâ â€Soldiers from the military unit that was mistakenly attacked in Afghanistan by a U.S. fighter jet two years ago are heading back to the mountainous Middle Eastern country for another tour of duty.
About 40 troops from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry will be part of a task force that will start leaving tomorrow for Kabul.
"There is at least one individual who was on Operation Apollo, the original deployment to Afghanistan, who is going back," said Brian Hillier, a civilian public affairs officer with Land Force Western Area headquarters here.
"Most likely several. We don't have the exact figures," he said Friday.
Military officials would not confirm whether any of the troops who are returning took part in the night training exercise near Kandahar.
That exercise was bombed by an F-16 pilot, killing four Canadians â †Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Sgt. Marc Léger, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith â †and wounding eight others on April 18, 2002.
Altogether, 600 troops from across Western Canada were busy packing and spending time with loved ones as they prepared to replace a battalion from the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment.
The task force of light armour, infantry and other troops is to provide reconnaissance support in Kabul and help the U.S. military train the Afghan national army.
The new Canadian deployment to Kabul will be smaller than previous missions to Afghanistan as the military tries to give the soldiers a bit of a break.
Earlier this year, Canada had as many as 2,300 infantry and mechanized soldiers in the region.
Senior Canadian military leaders have said they expect troops will continue to serve in Afghanistan "for years" to come.
Yesterday, Lt.-Col. Chuck Lamarre, commander of the task force's support element, said the Canadian troops have been screened to make sure they are physically and mentally prepared for the deployment.
"Every one of us goes through an interview with a social worker," said Lamarre, who noted the morale of the troops is high.
"Questionnaires are there to root out folks who might have difficulties based on either previous experience, personal problems, anything of that sort."
The task force includes troops from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), 1, 2 and 3 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 1 Combat Engineers, 1 Service Battalion and other support troops.
All the troops in the task force are to be in Kabul by Aug. 11.
Lamarre said the soldiers are well trained and have been brought up to date on the political and military situation in the region. Most of them will be used to patrol in and around the Afghan capital.
"They are going to be looking, essentially, for bad guys," he said. "For the Al Qaeda folks and anybody who might be trying to undermine the Afghan transitional authority."
President Hamid Karzai has warned the country remains endangered by the security headaches of terrorism, private militias and the narcotics trade.
Violence this year has killed more than 600 people, including soldiers, international workers and civilians.
NATO, after months of delay, has ordered hundreds more peacekeepers to Afghanistan to help provide security during presidential elections, planned for Oct. 9.
But the deployment still appeared to fall short of 3,500 troops that were promised.
NATO took command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan last summer. It currently has some 6,500 troops there, about half from Germany and Canada.
The allies committed themselves to increase troop levels to 10,000, but still struggled to come up with the soldiers.
The alliance also cleared another 500 or so troops to beef up provincial reconstruction teams. Assuming the battalions were large, that would still make only about 2,500 troops.
"We need a little bit more to get to 3,500," said spokesperson Lt.-Col. Ludger Terbrueggen at NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium.
NATO ambassadors meeting late Friday approved two more battalions â †600 to 1,000 soldiers â †one each from Italy and Spain. Troops from those countries will arrive in Afghanistan by September and remain for about two months, said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
Germany, with 1,909 troops in Afghanistan, and Canada, with 1,576, are by far the most generous of the NATO contributors. France ranks next with 565.
The remaining 23 NATO countries, plus 11 outside NATO, have pitched in about 2,500 troops.
With files from Associated Press
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1090707008983&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
