Canadians launch new operation
Modest exercise aims to drive the Taliban from Zhari district
Sun Mar 25 2007 By Graham Thomson Canwest news service
Lt.-Col. Wayne Eyre (right) patrols with Afghan army soldiers during Operation Marguerite in Afghanistan.
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE GUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan -- Under cover of darkness, with the moon a mere sliver in the night sky, Canadians launched a new operation in southern Afghanistan this weekend.
More than 200 troops teamed up with a large contingent of Afghan army soldiers to swoop down on the Zhari district of Kandahar province in a meticulously planned exercise designed to drive out the remnants of the Taliban and bring some desperately needed security to the troubled region.
It is called Operation Marguerite. And you didn't know about it until now. Not because it's top secret, but because the operation hasn't grabbed the news media's attention.
Marguerite is a discreet and modest operation, unlike her cousin Medusa, which saw Canadians fight a bloody conventional battle with the Taliban last summer and fall.
The objective of Operation Marguerite is to move through the district in a show of force, meet with local villagers, engage any Taliban who stand and fight -- and when the area is deemed secure, set up a new police checkpoint.
The backbone of the operation is Charlie Company from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton. For them, it is a typical operation and for anyone tagging along as an observer it offers a glimpse into the day-to-day life of soldiers in a war zone where the fighting is unconventional and "asymmetrical." That's the military's way of describing suicide bombings, land mines and improvised explosive devices.
By the end of the first day, Operation Marguerite will bump up against all three.
The objective of the operation is simple enough, but as an observer you quickly realize nothing in Afghanistan is simple.
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Modest exercise aims to drive the Taliban from Zhari district
Sun Mar 25 2007 By Graham Thomson Canwest news service
Lt.-Col. Wayne Eyre (right) patrols with Afghan army soldiers during Operation Marguerite in Afghanistan.
Article Link
FORWARD OPERATING BASE GUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan -- Under cover of darkness, with the moon a mere sliver in the night sky, Canadians launched a new operation in southern Afghanistan this weekend.
More than 200 troops teamed up with a large contingent of Afghan army soldiers to swoop down on the Zhari district of Kandahar province in a meticulously planned exercise designed to drive out the remnants of the Taliban and bring some desperately needed security to the troubled region.
It is called Operation Marguerite. And you didn't know about it until now. Not because it's top secret, but because the operation hasn't grabbed the news media's attention.
Marguerite is a discreet and modest operation, unlike her cousin Medusa, which saw Canadians fight a bloody conventional battle with the Taliban last summer and fall.
The objective of Operation Marguerite is to move through the district in a show of force, meet with local villagers, engage any Taliban who stand and fight -- and when the area is deemed secure, set up a new police checkpoint.
The backbone of the operation is Charlie Company from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton. For them, it is a typical operation and for anyone tagging along as an observer it offers a glimpse into the day-to-day life of soldiers in a war zone where the fighting is unconventional and "asymmetrical." That's the military's way of describing suicide bombings, land mines and improvised explosive devices.
By the end of the first day, Operation Marguerite will bump up against all three.
The objective of the operation is simple enough, but as an observer you quickly realize nothing in Afghanistan is simple.
More on link
