Canada’s elite commandos and the invasion of Afghanistan

[Niteshade]

Published today on the Toronto Star website.

The maiden mission of the Afghan war for Canada’s elite JTF2 commandos almost killed them.

Over Pakistan, returning from a daring raid on an enemy compound, six of the members of the secretive team narrowly avoided a crash when their helicopter nearly ran out of fuel as it spirited them to safety.

They escaped with their lives – and with their hands on their prize.

Also on that flight in late 2001 were six United States Green Berets and a computer hard drive that would help greatly in the hunt for Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.

That hard drive was the ultimate quarry of the Canadian mission, part of Task Force K-Bar, the name given the unit of special forces soldiers which arrived in Afghanistan from seven countries. It included Canada’s JTF2.

The inside story of that mission can now be told for the first time following a Toronto Star investigation into the top-secret operations that would cement Canada's reputation as one of the top special forces teams in the world.

MASSIVE article. more at link: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/800296--canada-s-elite-commandos-and-the-invasion-of-afghanistan?bn=1

Nites

 

[Armymedic]

Interesting articles by Allen Woods.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/800296--canada-s-elite-commandos-and-the-invasion-of-afghanistan?bn=1

The maiden mission of the Afghan war for Canada’s elite JTF2 commandos almost killed them.

Over Pakistan, returning from a daring raid on an enemy compound, six of the members of the secretive team narrowly avoided a crash when their helicopter nearly ran out of fuel as it spirited them to safety.

They escaped with their lives – and with their hands on their prize.

AND:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/800301--friends-and-foes-in-an-afghan-shooting-gallery

It was easy to see the enemy everywhere in the wild west, early days of the Afghanistan invasion.

The country, some military officials later recalled, was a commando “shooting gallery” and the top secret missions amounted to little more than man-hunting.

But the soldiers of JTF2 are trained just as much in the art of restraining their lethal force as in dishing it out to an unsuspecting enemy. That training was put to good use one day for the members of Canada’s premier counterterrorist unit.

 

[Tank Troll]

Excellent story nice that it finally came out. It is sad that Canada actually tries to hide our military exploits rather than say "Hey look what we do". Point in case ask any high student to name a Canadian General from WWII they usually can't or they name an American one. Medac pocket comes to mind also.

 

[Dissident]

The minister’s hosts had set him up with a military cot and a Coleman camp stove, the exact same sleeping quarters as that of the 40 commandos. They also pointed him to the corner of the small compound where an elevated bucket and a few stray pieces of wood on the floor served as the communal shower. But as they bedded down for the night, word came of a Taliban approach and soldiers were warned to prepare for an attack.

One unit member recalled that Eggleton appeared terrified when he learned of the threat. And it was lost on none of the soldiers that the next rotation of Canadian commandos and every other deployed group since then have been exempted from paying federal income taxes.

;D

 

[Miko]

Thanks for posting that, very interesting read. Ties in with the book I'm reading by Colonel Bernd Horn.