KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Time was, Canadian troops were among those having to hitch rides around the Afghan battlefield on board the transport helicopters of other NATO allies.
Not any more.
A single Canadian CH-47D Chinook, flanked by two CH-146 Griffon escort helicopters, turned the tables Friday as it delivered a section of U.S. troops to a forward operating base west of Kandahar, its first such mission in support of allied countries.
Col. Christopher Coates, commander of the Canadian air wing and a trained Griffon pilot, found himself battling feelings of envy.
"The hardest thing for me being a pilot here in Afghanistan is not being able to get the cockpit of one these aircraft and contribute to the mission and help the soldiers do their job," Coates said.
"I've been up on a few flights, but I wish that was my job every day, flying these aircraft."
Friday's mission went off without a hitch, save for the trio of birds that smashed into the windshields of both Griffons, causing a slight mess but no damage.
The arrival of the helicopters marks a significant, if somewhat symbolic, change for Canadian troops, who had until very recently been forced to rely on American, British and Dutch battlefield helicopters to ferry them between widely spaced desert outposts.
That won't change -- the Canadian choppers are being added to the pool of aircraft that are used by all NATO forces in the region. But at least now, Canada's contingent won't have to feel quite as dependent as it has in the past.
Since taking possession of six used Chinook helicopters from the U.S. Army at the end of December, Canadian pilots and flight crew have been engaged in a demanding series of training exercises.
Both the transport helicopters and their armed Griffon escorts have practised what pilots call "dust-ball landings" in the desert where the aircraft touches down in a plume of churned-up sand and then takes off again.
Gunners on both types of helicopter have also conducted target practice in the desert.
Both aircraft are flying operational missions here and there, but Coates said there is still some more training to do before the wing is declared fully operational.
"We're really well advanced in terms of training, but there are still some things we want to do to make sure we can use the aircraft to the full extent of their capabilities," he said.
"We're not quite there yet."
The Canadian army began calling for Chinook helicopters in 2006 to get troops off the bomb-sown roadways of Kandahar, but they weren't forthcoming until an independent panel last year made buying the helicopters a condition of continuing the mission.
The Conservative government announced plans in June 2006 to buy 16 heavy-lift helicopters and later identified the CH-47F -- the latest model of the Chinook -- as its preferred aircraft. But the process became bogged down in a tortuous bureaucratic exercise that has yet to be resolved.
To address the recommendations of the Manley commission, the government opted to buy six used helicopters aleady in theatre from the Americans for $292 million.
