Joint Task Force Afghanistan

ANA CSS kandak achieves Capability Milestone 1

Afghans are masters of improvisation, and the soldiers of Kandak 5, the sole combat service support (CSS) unit in 1 Brigade, 205 Corps of the Afghan National Army (1/205 ANA), are no exception. Under the guidance of Kandak Mentoring Team 5 (KMT 5), Kandak 5’s leaders have steadily synthesized their cultural strengths — resourcefulness and efficiency — with Western advantages: operationally proven support concepts and resources.

Operation HYDRA: A sapper's first experience

On 12 November 2009, I started to pack all my kit for my first operation. My search partner and I packed our bags with everything we would need for Operation HYDRA - the first major operation of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) Battle Group - with the mission to clear insurgents out of two villages, Nakhonay and Hajji Baba. My pack was quite heavy when I was finished, and a funny sight to see when I tried to get it on my back.

Operation HYDRA: Joint Canadian-Afghan force clears insurgents from Panjwayii villages

At daylight on 15 November 2009, a joint Canadian-Afghan force launched a major operation to clear insurgents out of the Panjwayii District villages of Hajji Baba and Nakhonay. With Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry Walsh in command of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group, with some 1,000 soldiers, and more than 200 Afghan soldiers, Operation HYDRA was one of the largest operations Canadians have launched in their four years in Kandahar Province.

1/205 ANA gets 38 new combat medics

Under a warm sun, 38 Afghan soldiers proudly received certificates of achievement for successfully completing the Combat Medic Course on 19 November 2009. The 38 soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army (1/205 ANA) spent eight weeks learning life-saving medical techniques from three medical mentors from the Canadian Forces, and preventive health measures from U.S. Army medics.