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CREDIT: (CP /Stephen Thorne)
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Canadian soldiers listen to a safety briefing prior to embarking on a live-fire exercise. The soldiers have watched developments in Iraq with longing, bitterness and disappointment. (CP /Stephen Thorne)
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WAINWRIGHT, Alta. (CP) - Canadian soldiers have watched with longing, bitterness and disappointment as their American and British bretheren fought the Iraq war on television.
More than 4,000 troops from across Canada are in the midst of a six-week, $35-million exercise in the rolling, barren prairie of eastern Alberta - their biggest in more than a decade. Among them are members of 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, out of Petawawa, Ont., who are expected to join a peace-support operation in Kabul, Afghanistan, later this summer.
While they accept the fact their political masters call the shots, many among 3RCR's ranks had been hoping for something more - to travel the road to Baghdad.
Instead, they gathered around a television in the dining tent watching CNN coverage beamed down from a satellite.
"It was hard, very disappointing," said Lieut. Tim Portello, 31. "I felt a little bit ashamed to watch my British and American brothers having a hard go and doing the deed.
"A lot of us who have been in the military a few years have good friends in the British and American armies who we trained with. It will be hard to look them in the eye now and know that we weren't there with them."
Many of the Canadians were expecting to be linked with the same U.S. 101st Airborne Division troops who fought alongside members of the Princess Particia's Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan last year.
Sgt.-Maj. Carl Deroche, 40, said the experience was "very frustrating."
"We let the side down - that's the feeling we get," said Deroche, who has served five overseas tours during more than 23 years in the army, including the first Gulf War when his unit was attached to British forces.
"We see eye-to-eye. We've broken bread together. We've trained together."
Defence Minister John McCallum announced in February that up to 2,800 Canadian troops would join the UN-sanctioned International Security Assistance Force later this summer.
The battalion commander, Lt.-Col. Don Denne, and the mechanized brigade group commander, Col. Peter Devlin, recently returned from a strategic reconnaissance mission to Kabul, where they talked to coalition partners, gauged the threats and scouted potential camp locations on the city's southwest edge.
But the light-infantry soldiers of 3RCR have not yet received their official warning orders from Ottawa - usually given four to six months in advance of a mission.
Some soldiers suspect they may end up keeping the peace in Iraq instead.
Portello and Deroche say that would only be worse.
"That would almost be like a kick in the pants, really, to go there now that it's all relatively safe and tidied up - now that someone else has done the dirty work," said Portello, a 10-year veteran from Guelph, Ont.
Added Deroche: "I would go where I was asked to go, but I would feel like we missed the show, we missed our chance."
On Thursday, the federal government received a request from the U.S. to participate in stabilizing post-war Iraq.
Officials said Friday that Canada will help, but would need to consult with other countries and the United Nations before determining what role it would take.
Some soldiers said the Canadians should have been there to secure sites like Iraq's national museum, government offices and hospitals, all of which were looted in the immediate aftermath of the fighting.
Peacekeeping, they say, is misunderstood, unappreciated and ill-suited to their specialties. The soldiers say they are trained as warriors and want to fight like warriors.
The Canadian public, they say, mistakenly views peacekeeping missions as glorified police patrols when, in fact, they often turn out to be a form of combat mission where their actions are limited by strict rules of engagement.
Denne, who hasn't had time to keep up on hourly developments in Iraq, said such grousing is to be expected.
"We're watching our bretheren go over there and do things that we trained for," Denne said. "But as a soldier, I feel I've done my job by supporting the government and, quite frankly, it's got to be that way.
"All my soldiers know that. They may overtly display a little bit of displeasure from time to time about that but they all know, in the end analysis, that we are here to serve.
"And if they don't like doing that, they can find employment elsewhere."
Short of actual participation in the invasion, the commanding officer said he'd rather his unit was sent to Iraq now than Afghanistan, which is not a traditional blue-helmeted UN mission.
Fourteen ISAF troops were killed in the operation's first year, half in a German helicopter crash. Attacks on ISAF installations occur almost weekly.
"It's fragile and potentially volatile," said Denne. "ISAF is a great mission; I think it's got a great mandate.
"But, personally, I don't have a warm, comfortable feeling about whether or not it's a truly welcome force because it seems to be more and more a target by unknown forces."
If deployed to Afghanistan, the Canadians have opted to wear their green combat fatigues which, it was discovered last year, are more suited to much of the Afghan terrain.
They can blame Chretien for keeping them out of a noble fight. I share their bitterness and disappointment at their leaders' craven cowardice.
Canadians (with the possible exception of some Quebecois) have a great sense of national pride. This having to sit on the sidelines will cause a backlash against Chretien and his wimpishness.
The Eastern Elites and the misplaced Frenchmen have left freedom-loving Canadians two choices: (1) Stop loving freedom; or (2) Secede and swear allegiance to the United States. Being left out of the fight myself, I can well understand and respect the frustration these men feel. Hopefully we'll all find satisfying duties soon enough.
"Instead, they gathered around a television in the dining tent watching CNN coverage beamed down from a satellite. "
No wonder the Canadians got this war all wrong, They were watching CNN.
But then the Canuk Soldier said:
"Some soldiers said the Canadians should have been there to secure sites like Iraq's national museum, government offices and hospitals, all of which were looted in the immediate aftermath of the fighting"
Which makes me believe they STILL don't get it, and they STILL think of themselves as policemen rather than soldiers. That probably comes from not being in a serious fire fight in decades or not haveing any of their skyscrapers knocked down.
Looting is Iraqi-on-Iraqi crime, and basically what was looted were Bathist properties and defunct government ministries. The museum was an inside job by Saddam's people.
Eighteen countries are contributing to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan sanctioned by the UN Security Council (UNSCR 1386) on Dec. 20, 2001: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. France, Italy, Germany and Britain will be the main contributors. Combined, the ISAF is expected to grow to about 5,000 troops.
Though Canada, Jordan, Malaysia and Argentina have offered troops, Britain has determined that their forces do not correspond to the immediate needs of the ISAF. Canadian Defense Minister Art Eggleton stated that rather than providing an infantry battalion, Canada will contribute by send in 750 troops to Afghanistan in mid-February to support U.S. forces in the Kandahar region.
The ISAF, which will work closely with the United Nations and the Afghan interim government, carries three principal tasks: 1) aid the interim government in developing national security structures; 2) assist the country's reconstruction; and 3) assist in developing and training future Afghan security forces. Rules of engagement will be closely linked to the terms of the military-technical agreement between the British commander, Maj. Gen. John McColl, and the interim government in Afghanistan on Dec. 31, 2001. Under the agreement, the ISAF has "complete and unimpeded freedom of movement throughout the territory and airspace of Afghanistan."
The mission of the ISAF is currently limited to Kabul and its environs. Although Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai indicated that many Afghans are eager to see international peacekeepers throughout Afghanistan, U.S. military officials remain wary of dispatching peacekeepers to other cities while the military campaign is still ongoing. An amendment to the UN resolution would be needed to expand the ISAF's operations beyond the Afghan capital.
Below are details of contributions by the participating countries.
Austria: The country will provide 60 troops. According to Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Austrian troops will remain in Afghanistan for six months. About 4.5 million euros have been set aside for Austrian participation in Afghan peacekeeping.
Belgium: According to Belgian authorities, the country will contribute C-130 planes to transport troops and military material.
Britain: With Maj. Gen. John McColl commanding the ISAF, British troops will dominate the ISAF deployment, with up to 1,800 military personnel. The multinational Brigade Headquarters will be centered around the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Britain's Parachute Regiment will also form one of the two infantry battle groups. Troops will also provide engineer, medical, logistics, policing and air transport support. Britain will lead the ISAF for the first three months until leadership is handed over to another country, most likely Turkey.
Bulgaria: The NATO candidate country has offered 20 soldiers to provide logistics support.
Denmark: 48 personnel will participate in a contingent with Germany and the Netherlands. Denmark will provide explosive ordnance disposal specialists.
Finland: Around 50 soldiers will participate in civil operations under the title of Civil Military Cooperation.
France: Around 550 French troops - mostly members of 21st Frejus infantry regiment but also including engineers and members of a flying hospital team - are expected to be deployed. France will provide an infantry unit, reconnaissance squadron and support troops.
Germany: The country is offering a contingent of around 800-1,000, mainly drawn from the 31st Airborne Brigade. Another possibility is for Germany to offer up to 1,200 troops in a joint contingent with Denmark and the Netherlands. Germany will lead the main infantry support.
Greece: The country will send 124 troops in late January in a three-month mission in Afghanistan. Greece will supply engineers, security agents, and two C-130 aircrafts, in addition to personnel and material needed for handling engines.
Italy: Around 350 soldiers will participate in infantry units and an engineer group, and provide air transport support.
Netherlands: Around 150 troops will participate in the German-led infantry battalion.
New Zealand: The only non-European country participating in the ISAF, New Zealand will contribute 25 supplementary soldiers to the mission in February. It will also supply a Hercules aircraft for the World Food Program operating in Afghanistan.
Norway: The country will send four F-16 combat planes and 50 to 70 troops to Afghanistan by the beginning of February. If F-16s are actually used in a military operation, it would mark the first time since World War II that Norwegian planes would have participated in a bombardment mission abroad. Norway also announced on Dec. 18 that it will send explosive ordnance disposal troops to the environs of the airport in Kandahar.
Portugal: The Superior Council for National Defense said Portugal will participate in humanitarian aid operations. It will send one Hercules C-130 with 17 crew members, as well as a team of two physicians, three nurses and three aid workers.
Romania: The country will provide a C-130 Hercules, as well as 48 soldiers for policing and air transport support. Romania is seeking to boost its candidacy to NATO through its participation in the ISAF.
Spain: The country's contribution will grow to around 700 soldiers who will stay for an initial mandate of three months. Spain will provide logistics, helicopter, engineer, air transport, and explosives ordnance disposal support.
Sweden: A group of up to 45 information specialists are likely to be dispatched.
Turkey: The only Muslim country to take part in the ISAF, Turkey will initially deploy 261 soldiers in the first phase. Among them are six officers who will serve at the headquarters of the ISAF. If and when it assumes command of the ISAF from Britain in late March, Turkey will expand its contingent to between 800 and 1,000 personnel, including an infantry battalion. Ankara shares a history of friendly relations with Kabul.
We havn't heard of it because we are not participating in it.
No insult intended. Was the last time they were in battle really over 50 years ago?
I actually thought that perhaps the comment about the "Princess Pat's" might have referred to the tragic friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan, where they lost four men...
Thanks. Without more context in the article, I thought it was related to Iraq, not Afghanistan.
I apologized to jbstrick for misreading the intention of his post and additionally asked the adminmods to pull my post #9.
I know the Canadian Army was in VietNam, and of course, Afghanistan. I think that list is for major war participation.
The nominated captions for this pic are: A) "As the PM's shit-for-brains inexplicably explode forth from his head, Chretien prepares to catch them in a shovel for recycling in his snail bed." Submitted by jmc B) ""Can you believe all this came out of my mouth?" Submitted by Sean C) "The difference between Chretien and a chimp: The monkey knows the correct way to hold the shovel." Submitted by Old Comedywriter D) "Canada's arsenal of 'Dirty Bombs' seems below par." Submitted by Trinawoods VOTE HERE
