New commander for Canada's OMLT

By Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Kenneally

Kandahar Airfield — In a ceremony conducted on 13 October 2009 in sunny, comparatively cool (33 degrees Celsius) conditions, the command of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team passed from Colonel Greg Burt of Roto 7 to Colonel Shane Brennan of Roto 8. Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance, commander of Task Force Kandahar, and Brigadier-General Abdul Bashir, commander of the 1st Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army, presided together.

Both generals congratulated the Roto 7 team for a job well done, having mentored 1/205 Brigade through a hot and gruelling summer that culminated in the major operation supporting the August national election, which also enhanced security in Kandahar City and its western approaches.

The change of command ceremony — including the speakers’ remarks and words of command on parade — was conducted throughout in French, English and Dari. The troops on parade included platoon-sized elements from each Roto and from the kandaks of 1/205 Brigade.

The actual handover has been going on for nearly a month, and the OMLT troops of Roto 8 — most of them from Land Force Western Area, especially Edmonton — have been on the ground for some time, mentoring ANA Kandaks in operations in and around Kandahar City alongside their Roto 7 counterparts. Tactical-level OMLTs mentor key leaders in the battalion-sized kandaks of the ANA throughout their operations, from planning to execution.

During the last month, coalition patrols in Kandahar Province have achieved particular success in disrupting the manufacture and deployment of improvised explosive devices, with significant numbers of completed devices and parts discovered by patrols in vehicles and on foot. The key routes west of Kandahar City have been saturated with new American and other Coalition forces units, which is visibly reducing insurgent activities.  OMLT Mentors and their ANA assigned units have contributed greatly to this success making their mark early in the tour.

Although the handover from the francophone Roto 7 crew to the largely anglophone Roto 8 is complete, the OMLT is still a trilingual partnership. Until the end of October, few Roto 7 members will continue their “left seat, right seat” rides as Roto 8 receives the last of its elements.

Col Brennan’s team follows in the footsteps of the fine Canadian mentors who have worked since 2005 with the soldiers of 1/205 Brigade.