Training done, Canadian troops set to go
Location, details of mission still being worked on
Daniel Girard
WESTERN CANADA BUREAU
EDMONTON — Trucks are tuned,
vaccinations are up to date and kit bags are
packed for about 1,000 Canadian soldiers
bound for Afghanistan, although it appears their
deployment may be at least another week away.
Members of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry battalions in Edmonton and Winnipeg
have completed their final preparations for a
humanitarian mission announced by the federal
government Wednesday.
"The basic training has been accomplished,"
Capt. Holly Apostoliuk, of 1 Canadian
Mechanized Brigade Group, including the
Patricias, said yesterday.
"They're ready to go on 48 hours' notice."
While more than a dozen reconnaissance soldiers from the 3rd battalion of
the Patricias are already in Ottawa and may be bound for Afghanistan as
early as Monday, sources said the majority of the men and women won't
likely leave until a week or 10 days after that "at the earliest."
Their exact duties are yet to be spelled out.
But the battalions, which have no armoured personnel carriers or tanks, are
expected to help stabilize the war-torn country and aid humanitarian convoys.
The mission is expected to last up to six months.
With this deployment, the Canadian Armed Forces contribution to the
American-led war against terrorism will rise to about 3,000.
But Defence Minister Art Eggleton hasn't ruled out an even larger Canadian
contribution if it is necessary.
"It depends on what is needed and what is asked for," he said.
"There are some other possibilities, but I wouldn't want to speculate."
Meanwhile, a military Airbus took off yesterday from Trenton for Germany.
It will stand by to fly aid, personnel and equipment to Afghanistan.
The plane carried spare air crews and a ground cargo-handling party.
Mission `depends on what is needed and
what is asked for'
- Art Eggleton
Defence minister
"They're going to be there to provide airlift capability for any sort of airlift and
they also have a capability for medical evacuations," said Capt. Paul
Doucette.
A trio of C-130 Hercules transport planes have also been earmarked for the
Afghanistan effort but are still at home awaiting decisions on where they will
be used.
Many of these decisions — the exact mission, the precise location for
Canadian bases — are being worked out by Canadian and American
planners meeting in the U.S. central command in Tampa, Fla. It's a joint
army, navy, and air force headquarters, which is co-ordinating the coalition
effort.
Canada has 30 to 40 staff officers working in Tampa. While central
command will detail what it wants the Canadians to do, the final decision
rests with Ottawa.
"We make the decision at the end of the day," said Eggleton.
At Edmonton Garrison, Apostoliuk said the soldiers will use any time they
may get between now and deployment to "increase the state of
preparedness."
Many members of the Patricias, which includes paratroopers, engineers,
mechanics and other soldiers, have been on missions to Bosnia and Kosovo.
Between now and their departure, the soldiers will spend time with family
celebrating Christmas and other events.
"There is always something else that can be accomplished on the personal
side," Apostoliuk said. "Life goes on."
No one has to explain that to Laura Keller, 33. Her husband, Maj. Rod
Keller, 34, was one of the first dozen or so soldiers to leave. His departure
for Ottawa Thursday came less than 12 hours after he returned from three
weeks of training in southern Alberta.
"In most military families, you live with a great degree of preparation (for
deployment) all the time," Laura Keller said yesterday.
Even though she and their children — Gabriel, 4, and Hannah, 2, — are
accustomed to Rod being away, this deployment seems more significant
because of the Sept. 11 attacks, the need to feed starving people in
Afghanistan and the fact Canadians are showing so much pride in our troops.
"We've known all along what the Canadian military is capable of," she said.
"Now, so many others are seeing that for themselves."
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