KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A larger team of Canadian Forces mentors are arriving in Afghanistan with plans to step up the training of Afghan soldiers in a variety of combat specialties, the new commander said Saturday following an evening change of command ceremony.
Col. Joseph Shipley has officially assumed command of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) as members of the fifth rotation of troops in Afghanistan wrap up their tour and head home.
His 250-strong sixth rotation of troops from Petawawa, Ont., will, for the first time, have complete coverage of all the Afghan army brigade's capabilities -- including its artillery, engineering and reconnaissance companies, he said.
Up until now, Afghan forces have largely relied on the coalition for support in such areas.
"What we have to do is we have to take them so they're not just fighting in partnership with coalition forces but that they're doing it by themselves," he said.
"That they have the ability to sustain their own operations in the field and be able to bring in all the enablers that they need that they're relying on the coalition for right now."
It's a "significant step," he said, that won't be completed over the next six months. His rotation's job will be to "sow the seeds" for the future.
Building up the Afghan army and police is key to Canada's 2011 exit strategy.
"They're trying to grow an army while fighting a war. It's extremely difficult," Shipley said.
"I can't say how long that's going to take. It could take generations."
Outgoing OMLT commander Col. Jean-Francois Riffou said his troops made a lot of progress since they arrived in February, even though a spike in insurgent activity during the heavy spring-summer fighting season has meant more focus on combat and trying to hold their ground.
"Yes, we were fighting quite seriously through June and July (but) the building was going on back here because we always had a Kandak (battalion) in the training phase and we were delivering courses and providing professional development to those people, so we've accomplished our mission," he said.
Despite some suggestion Canadian and Afghan troops have actually lost ground in the volatile Zhari and Panjwaii areas of Kandahar over the last few months, Riffou said there must be a balance between "maintaining the fight" and "building capacity."
"We can take our (battalions) and throw them out into the fight and sure, we'd probably make a bit of headway but we wouldn't really be developing the institution," he said.
"There has to be a fine balance struck between how much do we push in the field and how much effort we put on building those leaders, building those enablers that are required so they can eventually become autonomous."
During the last rotation, he said, both the number of Canadian mentors increased as did the number of Afghan troops.
The next rotations, he added, can look forward to even more Afghan troops as a new battalion comes online in the spring. Over the next three to four months, the Afghan army will also see its equipment improved with the addition of armoured humvees and more modern weapons as part of the NATO small arms program.
Shipley added he's also having discussions with other coalition partners in the hopes they'll be able to take part in different training initiatives and take some of the burden off the Canadians.
