Fresh Canadian OMLTs start work in Kandahar Province
BGen Daniel Ménard, commander of Task Force
Kandahar, presides over the parade in which
Col Shane Brennan hands over command of the
Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams to
Col Ian Creighton. Most of the soldiers serving
with this new OMLT rotation come from The
Royal Canadian Dragoons in Petawawa, Ont.
By Captain Lena Angell
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan — On 4 May 2010, under a bright sun and both the Canadian and Afghan flags, Colonel Shane Brennan of Edmonton, Alta., handed over command of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) in Task Force Kandahar to Col Ian Creighton of Petawawa, Ont. As presiding officer, Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, commander of Task Force Kandahar, shared the dais with Major Fazil Haq Bahran of the 1st Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army (ANA), representing his commander, BGen Abdul Bashir.
For the ceremonial transfer of command authority, about 400 Canadian soldiers were on parade, both the fresh troops of the incoming rotation and those who fought and patrolled together for the past seven months while mentoring their ANA counterparts.
Under Col Brennan, whose command tour began in October 2009, most of the soldiers serving with the OMLTs came from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, Alta. Col Creighton’s OMLTs are drawn mostly from The Royal Canadian Dragoons, in Petawawa, Ont; the other soldiers come from Regular and Reserve units in Land Force Atlantic Area.
After both presiding officers addressed the soldiers, Col Brennan offered his parting words.
“We have witnessed considerable ANA progress during operations in the past seven months. Considering the ANA was only stood up in 2002, this very young institution has come a long way. It has had to recruit and train concurrent to conducting challenging operations. The ANA are brave warriors who are taking on more and more security responsibility,” he said.
“Canadians can be proud of the part their soldiers played in increasing the ANA’s ability to provide security for the Afghan people,” he went on. “Our dedicated soldiers have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to this vital institution. They have done this by serving side by side with their Afghan counterparts, often under perilous conditions and in very austere combat outposts. We share the same risks and the same goals. We want Afghanistan to be able to secure its people with their own security forces.”
Some tangible examples of this progress are: the increase in combat patrols in Kandahar Province by the 1/205; and the stand-up of a heavy equipment platoon that gives the brigade an independent engineering capability. Most notably, the mentored brigade contributed professional, well-prepared kandaks to Operation MOSHTARAK in Helmand Province.
Success comes in small steps, and Canadian soldiers are now witnessing the evolution of mentoring — the focus is shifting from company level to battalion (kandak) level. In future, the Canadian OMLTs will focus on creating strong leaders for the Afghan national security forces. Throughout their seven-month tour in ISAF Regional Command (South), Col Creighton’s teams will take a lead in this critical function.
