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Joint Task Force Afghanistan:

Composition during Rotation 8 of Operation ATHENA

Joint Task Force Afghanistan comprises all Canadian Forces assets deployed in southwest Asia on Operation ACCIUS, Operation ARCHER and Operation ATHENA. Its established strength is 2,830 personnel, of whom all but about 15 are deployed on Operation ATHENA.

Joint Task Force Afghanistan is made up of the following units:

  • At Kandahar Airfield:
    • Joint Task Force Afghanistan Headquarters, which is also the headquarters of Task Force Kandahar
    • the Canadian contingent at COMKAF (Commander, Kandahar Airfield)
    • the Canadian contingent at ISAF Regional Command (South) Headquarters
    • Task Force Kandahar, part of ISAF RC(South)
    • the Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing
    • the National Support Element (NSE)
  • In Kabul:
    • the Canadian contingent at ISAF Headquarters
    • the Canadian members of the Military Advisory Unit of the United Nations Advisory Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA, see Operation ACCIUS )
    • the Canadian contingent of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan (CSTC-A, see Operation ARCHER)
    • the military liaison staff at the Canadian Embassy
    • a detachment of the NSE
  • At Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City:
  • In the Persian Gulf region:
    • the Theatre Support Element (TSE)

Contents

Joint Task Force Afghanistan / Task Force Kandahar Headquarters

Task Force Commander: Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard

The headquarters unit of Joint Task Force Afghanistan has two functions:

  • In the Canadian Forces chain of command, it is the coordinating link between the units of Joint Task Force Afghanistan and Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) Headquarters in Ottawa. It is also responsible for the delivery of logistics and administrative support to the units and personnel of Joint Task Force Afghanistan.
  • In the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) chain of command, it is the command and control headquarters of Task Force Kandahar, the formation conducting the ISAF mission in Kandahar Province under ISAF Regional Command (South).

 

Joint Task Force Afghanistan / Task Force Kandahar Headquarters is located at Kandahar Airfield.

Canadian contingent, ISAF Headquarters

Located in downtown Kabul and comprising some 1,700 personnel from 42 nations, ISAF Headquarters is the unit responsible for operational command of the International Security Assistance Force, itself made up of five Regional Commands located across Afghanistan. Staff at ISAF Headquarters work with every level of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its security agencies, and with all the international governmental and non-governmental organizations that support the Afghan government and assist with reconstruction, in particular the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA, see Operation ACCIUS).

About 60 Canadian Forces members work at ISAF Headquarters.

Canadian contingent, COMKAF

Commander, Kandahar Airfield (COMKAF) is the Base Commander and Senior Airport Authority at Kandahar Airfield, which was formally designed a NATO Air Point of Debarkation (APOD) on 31 July 2007. As Base Commander, COMKAF is responsible for housing, feeding and policing a coalition garrison of some 10,000 personnel. As Senior Airport Authority, COMKAF operates the airfield itself, which is both a civilian airport and a military airhead. Base support functions and airfield operations employ some 600 military personnel from across the NATO alliance and 1,000 civilians.

COMKAF Headquarters includes about 35 Canadian Forces air personnel distributed through most of the staff branches.

Regional Command (South) Headquarters

Commander: Major-General Nick Carter

With about 34,855 troops from 17 nations, Regional Command (South) is the ISAF formation covering the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul. Its command rotates among Britain, Canada and the Netherlands; on 1 November 2009, MGen Nick Carter of Britain took over from Mart de Kruif of the Netherlands. Both the command and control headquarters and the forward support base of RC(South) are located at Kandahar Airfield.

MGen Carter’s multinational headquarters staff includes about 165 Canadians.

Task Force Kandahar

Task Force Kandahar is the formation conducting the ISAF mission in Kandahar Province under ISAF Regional Command (South). It comprises an Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT), a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and two manoeuvre units: the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1 PCCLI) Battle Group, and the 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment (1-12 Infantry) of the United States Army.

1 PPCLI Battle Group

Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry Walsh

The 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group is part of the Multi-National Brigade in ISAF Regional Command (South). Like the battle groups on previous rotations of Operation ATHENA, the 1 PPCLI Battle Group was formed in Canada and prepared for this deployment through months of individual and collective training. Its duties include patrolling and escorting road convoys in the RC(South) area of responsibility, and suppressing hostile activity in co-operation with the Afghan national security forces.

The 1 PPCLI Battle Group comprises the following sub-units:

1-12 Infantry (U.S. Army)

Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Reik Andersen

“1-12 Infantry” is the 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment from Fort Carson, Colorado, now under the operational control of the Commander, Task Force Kandahar. Augmenting the ISAF force in Kandahar Province by about 700 soldiers, 1-12 Infantry was declared ready for operations and assumed responsibility for Maywand District, its designated area of operations, on 18 June 2009.

Operational Mentor and Liaison Team

Commander: Colonel Shane Brennan

The Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) was formed in August 2005 to work with the 1st Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army (1/205 ANA) based in Kandahar Province. 1/205 consists of a headquarters, three infantry kandaks, one combat support kandak and one logistics kandak. (A kandak is about the size of a Canadian infantry battalion.) In Roto 8, the OMLT is made up of 160 experienced soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton.

The Police OMLT was formed in August 2007 to advise, mentor and assist district-level leaders of the Afghan National Police, reinforce professional development efforts, and bring the ANP to a level of proficiency at which it can operate independently. Its 60 personnel, who come from the OMLT and the Military Police Company (part of the National Support Element), work with ANP checkpoints and patrols in the field.

Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team

Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Carl Turenne

Since August 2005, the 330-strong Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT) has operated from Camp Nathan Smith in downtown Kandahar City. As well as a large CF contingent drawn mostly from Land Force Western Area, the KPRT includes personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Correctional Service of Canada, and several law enforcement agencies that contribute to the Civilian Police Section led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The KPRT also hosts representatives of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a U.S. Police Mentoring Team.

The military component of the KPRT includes:

  • the KPRT Commander’s Tactical Headquarters Group, made up of soldiers who protect the KPRT Commander and his staff, and drive their vehicles;
  • Two Stabilization Companies that work with the Afghan national security forces to provide safety and security at community level:
  • the Specialist Engineering Team (SET), made up of military engineers and technical experts from across Canada who work with Afghan contractors to ensure delivery of reconstruction and development projects;
  • a Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) platoon made up of soldiers from Army Reserve units across Land Force Western Area; and
  • service and support elements drawn from across Canada.

Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing

Commander: Colonel J. Bruce Ploughman

The JTF-Afg Air Wing comprises all the Canadian Forces air assets in the southwest Asia theatre of operations. It stood up at Kandahar Airfield on 6 December 2008 with the 200 personnel deployed with the Tactical UAV Flight, the Tactical Aviation Unit and the Theatre Support Element, and grew to its established strength of 450 personnel with the purchase of CH-147 Chinook D helicopters from the U.S. Army, and the deployment from Canada of CU-170 Heron UAVs and CH-146 Griffon helicopters.

The Wing’s helicopters transport troops and cargo, thus reducing the requirement for ground convoys that expose troops to ambushes, land mines and improvised explosive devices. Its Heron UAVs are leased as an interim measure to provide long-range, high-quality intelligence-gathering, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) capabilities in support of ground operations in Afghanistan while the project to acquire a long-term joint UAV continues in Canada.

The JTF-Afg Air Wing is made up of the following sub-units:

  • the Theatre Support Element (TSE), providing aviation technical and logistics support services to Joint Task Force Afghanistan from a base in the Persian Gulf region;
  • the Tactical Aviation Unit, conducting personnel and cargo transport missions from Kandahar Airfield and the TSE, with three CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft and crews from 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario;
  • the Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan, operating from Kandahar Airfield, including:
    • eight CH-146 Griffon utility transport tactical helicopters, with crews and ground staff from 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in the Edmonton garrison, to escort transport helicopters and ground convoys, and to conduct light transport missions,
    • six CH-147 Chinook D medium- to heavy-lift helicopters, with crews and ground staff from helicopter squadrons across Canada, to conduct personnel and cargo transport missions, and
    • six Mi8 medium-lift helicopters chartered with their crews and ground staff from Sky Link Aviation of Toronto; and
  • the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Detachment, providing intelligence-gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services in support of Task Force Kandahar and RC (South), equipped with the CU-170 Heron UAV.

Military Police Company

The Military Police Company at Kandahar Airfield is made up of three platoons:

  • 1 Platoon, providing Military Police members to the Police OMLT ;
  • 2 Platoon, providing policing and criminal investigation services to Joint Task Force Afghanistan; and
  • 3 Platoon, providing close protection for prominent individuals such as the Task Force Commander.

 

Personnel from the Military Police Company come from across Canada.

Health Services Support Unit

Commander: Commander Robert Briggs

With two Health Service Support Companies (about 200 personnel), the Health Service Support (HSS) Unit provides medical staff for the Canadian manoeuvre units of Task Force Kandahar and two health care facilities at Kandahar Airfield: the Role 1 medical unit, a clinic offering primary care services, and the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit (MMU), a fully functional field hospital.

The medical staff of the manoeuvre units and the Role 1 facility are drawn primarily from 1 Field Ambulance in Edmonton. 1 Canadian Field Hospital in Petawawa, Ontario, contributes most of the Canadian personnel serving at the Role 3 MMU.

National Support Element

Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel James Jensen

The National Support Element delivers the full range of logistics and equipment maintenance services to units and personnel of JTF-Afg, and supports security, governance and development operations in Kandahar Province. Built on a large core of soldiers from the Edmonton garrison, especially 1 Service Battalion, the NSE also has Regular Force soldiers and civilians from across Canada, and a large Reserve component from Land Force Western Area.

Among its other duties, the NSE provides combat supplies and general and technical stores, movement and transportation support, vehicle and equipment maintenance, contracts management, convoy escorts, and security assistance to the Commander, Kandahar Airfield (COMKAF).

The NSE consists of the following sub-units:

Date Modified: 2009-11-20

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