Canada ping!
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Posted on 06/15/2006 4:14:51 AM PDT by Clive
PANJWAI, Afghanistan - Canadian troops will go on the attack today in the mountains north of Kandahar as part of Operation Mountain Thrust -- the largest coalition offensive against the Taliban since Afghanistan fell to U.S.-led forces in late 2001.
Addressing some of his 2,300 troops about the upcoming offensive, Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, commander of the Canadian battle group, said his troops had done "extremely well so far," but that they had to "take the fight to [the Taliban] constantly.
"I know that it is hot. I know that it is dirty, but we've got to do it. I'll keep pushing you out there because that is the only way we will win."
About 4,000 combat troops from coalition forces and about 3,500 Afghan soldiers, as well as Afghan police, are to be deployed in the offensive. The operation is expected to last several weeks in rugged, remote country where the Taliban remains popular with many of the deeply conservative local population and which the Islamic radicals use to make safe passage from sanctuaries in neighbouring Pakistan.
It will focus on southern Uruzgan and northeastern Helmand, where the military says most of the insurgent forces have gathered. Operations will also be conducted in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and Zabul.
"The purpose of the operation, very broadly, is to extend the reach of the government of Afghanistan into areas that up to now have been under Taliban influence and control," said Colonel Chris Vernon, a British officer working with Brigadier-General David Fraser, the Canadian who oversees coalition operations in the south of the country.
"The key will be to leave a permanent presence there," Col. Vernon said. "What we want to try to do is leave police stations and Afghan national army in the areas so they never again are under Taliban influence."
At least 500 Taliban have died, according to coalition estimates, since the beginning of last month when the insurgents launched a long-anticipated spring offensive.
Mountain Thrust takes advantage of a surge in allied troop numbers prior to the departure of several thousand U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, who are being replaced by British, Dutch and Canadians troops. The Afghan mission will move to NATO, rather than U.S., control at the end of July.
Although thousands of coalition troops will be deployed across a huge area, and fighter jets, bombers and assault helicopters will be on call, major battles are unlikely because the nature of the Taliban insurgency is a series of often-bloody and relatively short skirmishes.
"We've actually been at it up there for three weeks now, but we are now entering a much broader phase of the operation," Lt.-Col. Hope said. "While Mountain Thrust is big, it doesn't raise the level of my battle group any higher. What it does is it brings in the Americans, the British and the Dutch to put pressure on the Taliban across all four southern provinces."
Two Canadians were seriously wounded this week in recent clashes in the Panjwai District. The two, members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, were hit by rifle fire after they ran into a small concentration of Taliban fighters hiding in a bunker used to dry grapes.
"It was fairly intense from the get-go in there," said Major Bill Fletcher, who led the assault and was only a metre away from where his two soldiers were hit.
"After initial contact, we pinned them in place and were manoeuvring to complete their destruction when, in my opinion, they got lucky. One Taliban saw some movement and shot a burst through a narrow V in a wall. It hit our first two men."
The Canadian troops then laid down suppressing fire across the entire area while a U.S. Air Force A-10 jet was called in to drop a 1,000-pound bomb on the bunker.
Speaking of the wounded Canadians, whose names have not yet been released, Maj. Fletcher said, "Both guys are as tough as nails. One walked out with the help of another soldier while the other was cracking jokes."
The south saw a dramatic upsurge in insurgency-linked violence in mid-May, with Taliban fighters taking on Afghan and foreign troops in some of their biggest battles in years.
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I wish them the best of luck and good hunting.
Good Luck and Good Hunting bag your limit on Taliban.....and then some.
Operation Mountain Thrust... sure sounds hot and dirty...
The Canadian military has always contributed more than their small number would justify. Good luck and good hunting to them, eh?
Canada ping!
Please FReepmail me to get on or off this ping list.
Cue wocka-wocka guitar.
thanks to the Canadian soldiers
Good luck, Lads! And good hunting.
God bless each and every one of 'em!
I heard a CNN radio report this morning..
The guy called them expert hunters.
:-D
Just like hunting "cwazy wabbits", eh"
THE TOOLS OF THEIR TRADE:
Good Hunting!
PING!
Good luck to all troops.
Who is Ian Hope and wht is his Reputation? Is Fraser still the CO of the PPCLI?
(BTW Hope is a Scots name.) I get nervous for the lads and lassies when a new "Battle Group" commander is parachuted into the scene, after successes happen. Success attracts REMF types like flies to honey. Many are aristocrats who have no intention of getting dirty, and their main military maxim is : " CYA."(And REMF who want to appear to be on the front lines of conflict cause too many people die unnecessarily.)
I am surprised that Hope has the bully press pulpit.
LOL. 70s porn flicks rocked!
1)Benelli Pump with mag extender, capable 3.5 inch 12 gauge ammo, 8 rounds and one chambreed in standard shells.
2) The M82A1A is designed to provide commanders the tactical option of employing snipers with an anti-materiel weapon to augment the present anti-personnel M40A1 7.62mm weapon. The rifle is manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Incorporated of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The scope is manufactured by Unertl to match the trajectory of .50 caliber Raufoss Grade A (DODIC A606), which is the standard operational round.
( A hoser with one of these could disptach many Taliban to their virginal paradise, right through their mud walls!)
Brig Gen David Fraser is in command of the Nato forces patrolling six southern Afghan provinces around Kandahar, which force includes a Canadian battle group built around 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment (1 PPCLI) which is commanded by Lt Col Ian Hope.
Hope had the "bully pulpit" because Matthew Fisher is travelling with and reporting on the doings of Hope's people.
BTW I am delighted to see that Matthew Fisher is back in Afghanistan. He likes and understands the troops and he did a good job of reporting on the prior deployment at Kabul from the point of view of the people who were actually out on patrol.
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