HERO CAMP, KANDAHAR PROVINCE — Capt. Gord Barnes is in his glory, dancing in a circle of clapping Afghan soldiers on this Muslim holy day of Eid.
The Newfoundlander is the senior medical mentor for the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) that has been working to strengthen the Afghan National Army (ANA) since 2006.
"This is great. I've never seen them party like this," says a grinning Barnes, with 1 Field Ambulance in Edmonton.
Barnes and several other members of his Kandahar Airfield-based OMLT team are visiting soldiers at ANA-area headquarters, known as Hero Camp. The camp is located a few kilometres outside the base perimeter but is still considered relatively safe from insurgent attacks.
Up to 3,000 of the 164,000-strong ANA force are housed in barracks here.
"We are so happy you are here," says ANA Sgt. Safiullah Salik, of Canada's efforts to guide the ANA.
There are 150 Canadian OMLT troops in Afghanistan, most of them from Edmonton-based 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
OMLT troops live outside the wire with ANA soldiers, numbering about five for every 60 Afghan soldiers. They sweep through villages, searching for insurgents, compounds of interest and weapons.
OMLT acting commanding officer Lt.-Col. Martin Kenneally says these Afghan men are some of the fiercest troops in existence.
"They are very brave and tough as nails," says Kenneally, who is based in Edmonton. "We're in isolated locations and the threat is very high."
Just days ago when Kenneally was out visiting an OMLT team, the forward operating base came under mortar attack, his crew came across an improved explosive device and then was shot at from long-range.
"This is an army that was born in war. It’s working flat out."
ANA soldiers sign up for a three-year term. They earn a high salary by Afghan standards – about $300 US per month – but at any given time one-quarter of the soldiers are missing. That's because most of the members are from northern Afghanistan and will leave to work in their home communities during farming season. They will return to the force when the farm work is done, usually in December.
Kenneally says the controversy swirling back in Canada over the mistreatment of Afghan prisoners by local authorities is a red herring for troops on the ground.
"Some of the things written about are dated. Overall, for an organization in existence five years in a war, it's amazing.
"They are outstanding soldiers and great people. Our privilege is we get to find that out."
