Canadian Forces Operations

Canada is one of 41 countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led formation that operates in Afghanistan under the authority of the U.N. The Canadian Forces contribution to ISAF is conducted under Operation ATHENA.

ISAF was created in 2001, after the fall of the Taliban regime, and became a NATO mission in August 2003. Its primary objective is to help the Afghan government establish a stable and secure environment that will allow sustainable reconstruction, development, and good governance to take root and flourish.

ISAF task forces conduct security operations in each province of Afghanistan in cooperation with the Afghan national security forces. Since 2005, when ISAF began expanding across Afghanistan from its initial base in and around Kabul, Canada has conducted operations in the southern province of Kandahar. As of summer 2010, the Canadian area of operations includes Kandahar City and the surrounding districts of Dand, Daman and Panjwa'i.

Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg) is the Canadian Forces organization that encompasses all CF members and units in southwest Asia, including those deployed in Kandahar Province and Kabul on Operation ATHENA. Task Force Kandahar is the ISAF formation under Canadian command that operates as part of ISAF Regional Command (South).

Task Force Kandahar is made up of the following units:

• Task Force Kandahar Headquarters,
• a Canadian battle group of about 1,000 soldiers that conducts counter-insurgency and other security operations in Kandahar Province,
• three U.S. Army battalions -- two of infantry and one of military police -- that conduct counter-insurgency operations in Kandahar Province under Canadian command; and,
• the soldiers and military police of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT),
• the Canadian soldiers and military police of the Operational Mentor and Advisory Teams (OMATs) and the Police Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (P-OMLT).

As well as the Canadian units of Task Force Kandahar, JTF-Afg includes:

• the JTF-Afg Air Wing, providing tactical airlift from the Persian Gulf region by CC-130 Hercules and contributing CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopters and CH-147 Chinook transport helicopters to the ISAF RC(S) helicopter pool;
• support units, including logistics, military police and health services;
• the military personnel of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team; and
• the Canadian Forces personnel serving in staff positions at various ISAF headquarters.

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