Canadian combat operations in Afghanistan officially come to a close
KANDAHAR - Canada's first war in more than half a century ended at 11:18 a.m. local time Thursday at a spot about 300 metres away from where the first Canadian combat troops set foot in Kandahar on Jan. 19, 2002.
The seventh and last Canadian to command Task Force Kandahar, Brig.-Gen Dean Milner, signed over responsibility for Canada's battle space Thursday to Col. Todd Wood of the 1st Stryker Combat Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.
In a sometimes emotional address that repeatedly returned to the close friendships he had forged with Afghan security forces, Milner praised his Afghan partner, Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Habibi, and told the gathering that before too long he hoped to return to Kandahar with his wife to enjoy more of the highly regarded local pomegranates and grapes.
``Just one brigade in strength, successive Canadian task forces demonstrated remarkable flexibility and fortitude,'' Milner said as he traced Canada's involvement in Kandahar since 2006. ``They operated over large stretches of this province in order to fight the enemy wherever he presented himself.''
Lt.-Gen. Marc Lessard, who is responsible for Canadian troops overseas as the head of Canadian Forces Expeditionary Command, said that ``remarkable progress had been achieved in enhancing security and governance.''
Lessard added he would "never had thought this achievable" when he was NATO's top general in the south only three years ago.
Raising his voice, Lessard concluded his remarks by stating ``we held the line from 2005 to 2009'' before a surge in U.S. troops began. This allowed classic counter-insurgency tactics to be used for the first time to push the enemy off the battlefield.
Almost all of Canada's combat troops are now either at Kandahar Airfield, in Cyprus for four days of compulsory decompression, or back home in Canada. Canada's last few tanks and armoured reconnaissance vehicles returned two days ago to the airfield, which is the main logistical hub for the war in the south.
That still leaves a few dozen infantrymen from 1 Royal 22e Regiment in the field for a few more days. They are advising the incoming Arctic Wolves, who are from Fort Wainwright, Alaska. A small number of other troops also remain at a base in Kandahar City, but they too will be on their way to Canada within days.
Gov. Tooraylai Wesa, whose attendance had been expected and whose absence was not explained, had his name hastily removed from speeches. But otherwise, a ``who's who'' of Kandahar's political and security elite, as well as the NATO brass in southern Afghanistan, attended the 70-minute ceremony at New Canada House. |
發表於 2011-7-7 07:12
|