Lost in Afghanistan, Ott, Citizen Opinion Article

[Canadian Journo]

I'm a Canadian journalist with CTV who has just joined this list. Have been "embedded" with Canadians in Kandahar in 2002 and in Kabul during Rotos 0,1 and 2.

Would guess my cumulative time in Afghanistan is coming up on two rotos, but in fairness I don't have to spend six months at a stretch.

Like many Canadians, I didn't know much about the military until I started covering them post 9/11.

Most of the time now, however, I can read someone's rank correctly from their uniform and I even understand a good bit of your lingo.

I've almost always been very impressed with the professionalism of the troops I've been with and their willingness to speak openly and effectively with me about themselves and their mission.

Think many of you are right to point out that this PRT mission in Kandahar is bound to be quite different than what Canadian soldiers have faced in Kabul. Without being melodramatic, I agree with the posts that suggest it has the potential to be more dangerous. That said, it may also be very necessary and important work.

Am making plans to be on the scene again when Canadian soldiers arrive in Kandahar, but like some of you am having trouble figuring out exactly when and where I need to be. DND Public Affairs doesn't seem to have any specifics to share at this point. That may be just because plans are still being finalized.

In any event, Americans have said I can embed with them in Kandahar, but they want to know with what unit and where.  I understand Canadians may be taking over duties from a particular American unit, but don't know which one or where they will be staying, though I saw a mention on this thread about a camp 30 km from the main American air base, possibly in Kandahar City?

Appreciate there are op/sec issues here, but was hoping someone could put me in the picture or direct me to the Canadian CO for this deployment from whom I could get the info directly.

Don't wish to get anyone in trouble here, not asking for top secret dope, but would appreciate some basic info to help me make logistical plan for myself to be in the right place at the right time in August.

Those with any suggestions on who to contact or info they could supply, can post it here or send it directly to my corporate e-mail at mmcclure@ctv.ca.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I didn't break any rules in my first post. Promise in future ones, I will have more to contribute to the discussion.

Cheers,

Matt McClure
South Asia Correspondent
CTV News

 

[Edward Campbell]

For a number of reasons I, personally, am reluctant to send a letter to the press - but others, who wish to, may feel free to use whatever I have done.

I have attached a second DRAFT, below.

I agree that a press piece needs to go quickly, while the issue is still reasonably fresh in the public's mind.

I think we have more time, however, to develop a good DRAFT of a letter to Kenny.  The Senate Committee is working right now; Sen. Kenny will have little time to review and reflect upon incoming advice.  There is a big Town Hall Meeting â “ open to everyone â “ on Monday, 13 Jun 05 at 1900 Hrs. See: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/Committee_SenNotice.asp?Language=E&meeting_id=6632&Parl=38&Ses=1&comm_id=76 I think that wraps up the Committee's work until the fall.  Sen. Kenny will have time to consider public inputs between now and then.

Kenny has influence and a brain, too; he is, I believe, open to advice and we should proffer it if we are convinced we have something usefulto say.  I behoves us to take whatever time we need to get it right.

My thoughts; but, whatever I have done can only get better if it reflects your thoughts, too.

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Those with any suggestions on who to contact or info they could supply, can post it here or send it directly to my corporate e-mail at mmcclure@ctv.ca.

Matt:  I will see (tomorrow) if I can have someone contact you directly at your corporate address.

Cheers,

TR

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

And from the staff, welcome to army.ca, Mr. McClure.
I'm sure you will find some fascinating reading here, just a warning that a lot of military personall are a little"gun shy" about the press.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Mr. Campbell if your shyness extends to the sen. I would be more then happy to send any final document off on the soldiers behalf.

 

[KevinB]

Mr. Campbell if your shyness extends to the sen. I would be more then happy to send any final document off on the soldiers behave.

Soldier's Behalf 

soldiers behave is highly unlikely

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

Ah suck it.  Shouldn't you be firing off gas grenades in the mess hall or something.

 

[KevinB]

I've decided Nico 9 banger or Deftech25 in the officers mess should be my next "CQB gone wrong" event  ;D

 

[Edward Campbell]

Mr. Campbell if your shyness extends to the sen. I would be more then happy to send any final document off on the soldiers behalf.

I would be pleased to send a letter to Sen. Kenny, signed by me but, representing more than just my opinion - I have been retired too long to have useful military opinions and my Afghanistan experience is limited to briefing some would-be public servants in London.

My 'shyness' is double edged:

"¢ I am not sure my BoD would like to see my name in print in other than professional journals related to our business.  They, members of the Board, are supporters of the military - many, especially from our Executive Committee, are active supporters of one or both of my two regimental associations and I use our organization's resources - time, computers, printing budget, etc for regimental business.  That being said, I am paid to do something which is not, in the main, related to defence; and

"¢ I am not a great, personal, fan of our media - which I think I have made clear in these fora.

If someone wants to use my words in their own submission to any media then feel free: no pride of authorship here.

If I am going to write to Kenny I need a bit more from some of you, I think.  Am I right with my PRT ≈ a 3D operation?  Is my Three Block War explanation right?  As I said, I believe he will be pleased to receive critical but useful comment - I think useful means something which broadens his understanding.  My take was that he did not grasp all the complexities of 3D for the military in the Three Block Afghanistan situation.  If I'm right then I need to make sure that what I tell him, on our behalf, is right, and I need you fellows to help me with that.

I have posted a sentry at the officers' mess to watch for Kevin's grenades. 
 

 

 

[54/102 CEF]

A few points

1st - about the contractors at the main base in Kabul - Camp Julienne referenced by Gen Hillier

"I am a little concerned about the ratio of the number of people required to support versus the number of people who operate ... we have to be more ruthless ... if we put 200 men and women in uniform, having another 500-plus contractors to support that in-theatre is something that draws my attention right away."

Its likely quoted out of context but should prime all to the idea that if he`s against real levels of support - maybe he`s against real levels of operational activity - Kandahar or thar or anywhar. We should not think the words he says are solely his words.

2nd -

Kenny's words may be part of a communications plan - to show us they are thinking about how things should be - fair enough - the Cdn tax payer should be as asking - WHEN and HOW MUCH? Its been 6 months since Gen Hillier took over - the fighthing we took part in from July 1943 - May 1945 was just under 24 months - so that leaves 18 months to do something that shows change - maybe he'll change some of us out of jobs! But the idea is change comes very slow until the Caucus says - MY VOTERS WANT THIS! And I don`t think they are saying that - they are saying - Stephen Harper is Scary.... so all that to suggest is there is no government focus on what we may do over in Afghanistan. The deployments seem to help keep or maintain a fighting focus for the deployed troops and the many spin-offs that that brings back to the Army and any forces committed with them from Canada but if we seek a higher aim than that - I doubt you`ll find one because we are pretty slim on the ground with MONEY and  RESOURCES.

3rd -

Kenny can only do as much as they let him - he can be a honest voice but go back to the last three words of the lines above in point 2.

Just my 3 cents - In summary - ask yourselves what enhancement to our fighting capability is this bringing us? If it doesn't ring a bell then maybe its not there. For the troops on the ground I think it is - for the rest of the straphangers - they are just saying words.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here is a bit more of, well not quite the same, from today's National Post:

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=8c1444e6-f74f-472a-bea9-98fa6edaf22c

Canada's perilous road to Kandahar
Camp Julien move will shift focus from relative safety of Kabul

Matthew Fisher
National Post

Monday, June 13, 2005

What may be the most harrowing phase of Canada's continuing Afghan adventure is to begin late this fall when most of Camp Julien, the magnificent, state-of-the-art forward base built two years ago by Canadians on the outskirts of Kabul, will be moved, lock, stock and barrel, to Kandahar.

It is a fantastic logistical undertaking that is to be carried out by troops travelling south in heavily armed convoys along a 330-kilometre road that is under constant threat of ambush by al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists and gangs working for powerful, poppy-growing warlords.

The Canadian move from the Kabul base, which is now home to several thousand troops, is part of an attempt by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to shift its focus away from the relative safety its troops have created in Kabul -- something that ISAF has tried and mostly failed to do since its mission to Afghanistan began two-and-a-half years ago.

The Canadian army is one of the main reasons that the operation in Kabul has been such a success. However, in common with many of its allies, Ottawa has been slow to move out of Kabul and into places that are as lawless as any on Earth.

The danger factor for Canadian troops will skyrocket this August when Ottawa deploys a small Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to Kandahar, where the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry first landed early in 2002 as part of a U.S. force tasked with hunting down al- Qaeda.

Any Afghan assignment near Pakistan, where al-Qaeda and the Taliban are known to hide in large numbers, is dangerous. This one will be especially perilous because Kandahar, which is 90 kilometres from the border, is home to many Pushto-speaking Afghans who remain loyal to their fiery kinsman, Mullah Omar, and his even more notorious friend, Osama bin Laden. Like other Pushtun communities, Kandahar has been in an absolute fury lately over allegations that prison guards at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, desecrated the Holy Koran.

Canada has drawn the short straw, so to speak, while other countries such as Germany, Britain and New Zealand received less dangerous PRT postings in northern and western Afghanistan, because those countries signed on to the concept earlier.

Nevertheless, Canada's hesitation was justified. There continue to be real issues in Afghanistan regarding the availability of close air support and quick access to medevac helicopters for small, lightly armed units operating in the country's vast hinterlands.
The Canadian PRT, which will include engineers, infantry and medics as well as a few Mounties, diplomats and aid specialists, has been given the daunting task of getting Kandahar back on its feet. The reconstruction team is to take over a small U.S. base in the dilapidated city. For a short time it will operate as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which is still the tip of the spear for the U.S.-led war on terror launched by President George W. Bush immediately after the 9/11 attacks.

A much larger and more robust follow-on infantry force probably made up of largely of Van Doos, will arrive in Kandahar early next year after the tens of thousands of tons of gear now being used at Camp Julien arrives in the south-east. The Quebecers will be under NATO rather than U.S. command, but they will likely end up living alongside thousands of crack U.S. troops at Kandahar's airfield; a few hundred metres away from the dusty firing range where four men from the Alberta-based Princess Pats were killed during a live-fire exercise three years ago when a pair of U.S. Air National Guard jets accidently dropped bombs on them.

Except for the families and friends of those still serving in Kabul, who know their loved ones remain in danger, Afghanistan has been far from the thoughts of most Canadians since Corporal Jamie Murphy was killed in a suicide bombing 17 months ago -- the seventh Canadian to die on duty there.

The lack of attention the Canadian mission in Afghanistan has received lately is a regrettable consequence of the fact that none of its soldiers has been killed for some time and the media's focus on the never-ending carnage in Iraq and domestic concerns such as gay marriage and the grotesque political chicanery that has been revealed by the Gomery inquiry.

Over the next 18 months another 3,000 Canadian troops are set to flow through Afghanistan. There will once again be a flurry of interest as they take up their duties and then, almost inevitably, silence again until one of them dies.

Difficult days lie ahead. Canadians should pay more attention.

© National Post 2005​

 

[Slim]

Over the next 18 months another 3,000 Canadian troops are set to flow through Afghanistan. There will once again be a flurry of interest as they take up their duties and then, almost inevitably, silence again until one of them dies.

Difficult days lie ahead. Canadians should pay more attention.

At which time the Canadian press will start wailing about how we shouldn't be there...And every stupid fat little jerk with an opinion on a Toronto sidewalk will be interviewed about how the military shouldn't be there...Then the govt. will get in on the act. The troopies will be brought home and we will have accomplished nothing what-so-ever! All because of our spineless public and self serving media, who never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

F***!

Slim (who is rather fed up today...Does it show?!)

 

[Armymedic]

Ah, but do not dispair Slim...by moving to Kandahar and relieving the area from the US, we shall help the war on terror by allowing more US forces to "secure" Iraq...which is where we'll be in 5 yrs from now anyway.

 

[Whiskey_Dan]

Will the PRT in Kandahar also be running under Op Athena? Or is there going to be a different Op name for this one?

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

Op ARCHER.

 

[KevinB]

Where'd they get the idea the Vandoo's are going in in early '06  :

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

I should have scrolled up and read the article.  It might come as news to SQFT!  :

 

[jmacleod]

In general, Canadian media is no friend to the Canadian Forces. Having said that, the US publication
which we have been getting for decades, is the Armed Forces Journal. Founded in 1863, it was
formerly known as the "Infantry Journal" and the most comprehensive source of military information
in the US. Currently  a new book "Not A Good Day To Die" by US Army Times correspondent Sean
Naylor is the "untold story of Operation Anaconda" - Canadian Army in Afghanistan participated in
Operation Anaconda - any comments on this operation from fellow readers? - and if you are looking
for the Armed Forces Journal on the newstands, to my knowledge it is not sold through retail outlets.
MacLeod

 

[Michael Shannon]

    I think the Senator has a duty to ask if Canadian citizens are getting bang for their defence buck.  The military doesn't exist for the enjoyment, self esteem or fulfillment of it's members. It exists to complete it's missions as effectively and economically as possible. If it takes a Senator to ask questions about how scarce resources are being employed then that's regrettable but necessary.

    Current force protection concerns do limit contact (both good and bad) with the locals. This combined with very limited language skills and historically, relatively short tours of duty may lead to the conclusion that it is unlikely that a "hearts and minds" campaign can work.

    In Kabul ISAF's real task was to protect the transitional government from dissident elements of the Northern Alliance. Now it's time to see if the TTPs that seemed to work in the relatively permissive environment of Kabul can work among the Pashtuns around Kandahar. There are news reports that Arabs are moving in Afghanistan to use tactics that have been effective in Iraq against the western forces.

    I would expect the PRT to be in contact shortly after arrival. The wisdom of basing the reconstruction efforts on civilians will be seen if stick to it after an incident.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I'm a Canadian journalist with CTV who has just joined this list. Have been "embedded" with Canadians in Kandahar in 2002 and in Kabul during Rotos 0,1 and 2.

Don't wish to get anyone in trouble here, not asking for top secret dope, but would appreciate some basic info to help me make logistical plan for myself to be in the right place at the right time in August.

Those with any suggestions on who to contact or info they could supply, can post it here or send it directly to my corporate e-mail at mmcclure@ctv.ca.
Matt McClure
South Asia Correspondent
CTV News

Mr McClure,

As the Chief of Staff of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, I am aware of your request to embed.  The Commander supports the idea.  Please contact me at Anderson.J2@forces.gc.ca or at Anderson.J6@forces.gc.ca and we will do what we can to facilitate your request. 

LCol DJ Anderson