What follows are blog entries by Scott Kesterson on the Blog 8 at KGW News. The links were sent along by a Canadian Army officer and good friend. Many of the blog entries follow the operations of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry of the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (Edmonton) - an organization I had the oportunity to instruct and brief at their "ORTONA RAM" urban operations exercise in 2000. The blog also covers U.S. advisor embeds with the Afghan Army.

Here are the blog entries to include images and videos:

5 July 2006 - A Forgotten War

In the early hours of the morning, on the edge of the runway, sat a US Air Force cargo plane with its rear door open, its ramp resting on the ground. From the shadows, over the gravel and between the chain link fence, soldiers from all nationalities began to assemble. On one side the Americans formed, on the other, soldiers from the various nationalities here on this base... British, Canadian, French, Romanian, Dutch and Australian. Along side of the Americans stood a group of soldiers representing the Afghan National Army.

At the the head of the formation near the open back of the C-117, two flags could be seen drifting slowly in the early morning breeze; one was American, the other Afghan. As the soldiers continued to file in, audible commands could be heard over the noise of the flight line. The soldiers were brought into two unified formations, set in straight lines front to back and side to side, then left in a standing rest while they waited. A walkway divided them in the center.

As early morning moved to the twilight hours before sunrise, a vehicle could be seen driving up the runway. Its lights pierced the darkness as it drove under the aircraft wing and along side of the assembly of men and women. Making a hard right turn at the end of the formation, two soldiers could be seen sitting in the open back with a flag draped coffin between them; inside the casket lay the body of a fallen American soldier.

The vehicle backed in slowly towards the formation, coming to a stop a few feet from its end. The first two soldiers stepped out, boots touching the ground in unison. They were followed by six more. Standing together at attention, four on each side, the casket was removed from the back of the truck. Taking a firm grip on the handles hidden under the "Stars and Stripes," they made a precision right face, and began slowly walking towards the plane. With the men and women of uniform lined on each side, the procession marched slowly forward, as all of the soldiers were brought to attention and saluted in a final farewell to a fallen comrade.

Behind the procession marched a lone Canadian. He volunteered his time, as he does for every one of these ceremonies. Playing the bag pipes, his music cut through the noise of aircraft and equipment, settling in on the hearts for all to hear. A moment of silent tears and introspection.
21 July - A Note to Readers

On our first morning of being attacked, I found myself holding back tears as I filmed Canadians fighting a fight that began on American soil. In interviews that followed, I discovered the depth of commitment that these soldiers held in their hearts, as they expressed their belief in purpose and shared their emotions, at times with tears. Two countries, each proud of their roots and history, unified across the border that distinguishes each of us...
27 July 2006 - Panjawi, Part 1

We arrived at the fire base just after dark. A multi-national convoy of Canadian, American and Afghan soldiers and vehicles. Passing through the gates and barriers protecting the outer cordon, all one could see was a mass of armored personnel carriers, trucks, and tents. Following a quick meal of packaged rations, the Canadians gave a brief of their battle plan. The initial movement for the operation was scheduled for shortly after mid-night. That left us less than two hours for sleep.

The first phase of the operation was to take place in Panjawi in the southern part of Afghanistan. A few weeks earlier in this same area a US Special Forces team along with two Army National Guard embedded trainers and a detachment of Afghan National Army soldiers were engaged by a group of Taliban for nearly a day and a half. The fighting was intense. When the US and Afghan units finally withdrew, a US Special Forces soldier and an Army National Guard embedded trainer had been killed; the Special Forces medic had been seriously wounded.

Panjawi has been an area of rising Taliban and Pakistani insurgent activity. The plan called for an insertion into the area during the night, hitting the targeted compounds at first light...
27 July 2006 - Panjawi, Part 2

The temperature had risen to 138 degrees Fahrenheit. Laden with the addition of forty to fifty pounds of gear, sweat poured from our bodies soaking our clothes and boots. We couldn't drink enough, downing half liter bottles of water without a breath. Gatorade was added whenever possible, as packets of the dry mix were distributed around and shared from soldier to soldier.

It was now approaching mid-day and we were headed back along the same dirt road where we had been ambushed a few hours before. Again, we entered on foot. This time, however, we used the Canadian light armored vehicles as a moving screen as we pushed back into the area. And again, that smell of the dead filled the air as we crossed the ditch under the blistering sun.

Maj. Francis, the Missouri National Guard Embedded Trainer (ETT), and his squad of Afghan soldiers began by searching the various mud huts and living compounds along the route. A labyrinth of corridors and doorways revealed themselves from behind the gates of every entry. The process was slow, with the obvious dangers of ambush, booby traps and surprise. Success in these moments is measured in steps and inches. The squad completed the task without incident, finding nothing but empty spaces and locked doors...

Villagers usually know when the Taliban and insurgents are in the area. They also know when to flee, as the try to avoid the misfortune that will ultimately befall as the insurgents are rooted out. It is a fine line of survival for them. Being essentially powerless in this war, the villagers are placed in the middle having to choose sides between a force that lives among them and a force that has come from afar. For many, the choice is on par with rolling the dice on the table of craps. Choosing one side over the other is too often a gamble for their life as they make a choice of sides, of who will win and of who will be part their future. The insurgents know this, and use the current climate of political uncertainty in both the United States and that of the countries involved with the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) as an active part of their information and propaganda. The end result is that the insurgents too often end up winning the information campaign, swaying villagers by fear or threat of reprisal to their side. Support is given, places of refuge are taken and the insurgents gain a foothold with a malignancy of a cancer...
27 July 2006 - Hydarabad - Dawn Raid

After three days in Panjawi the soldiers and equipment were sent to a staging area an hour to the east. This was to be the beginning of the biggest phase of Mountain Thrust, a joint operation of British, Canadian, American and Afghan soldiers. The British had already moved one of their units into place, to a northern point in the Helmund Province. The Canadians coordinated the move; American and Afghan units were under Canadian command.

The assembly area seemed like any other area of deserted landscape in this part of Helmund Province. Flat, dry, and littered with stones, life seemed to have left this place long ago, offering itself now as a parking lot for the columns of vehicles lined in a row. We had left early to get here, with the instructions that we would move again in a few short hours. However, the British, in what was to become a recurring pattern during this phase of Mountain Thrust, had failed to plan, leaving their pre-positioned unit in the north without adequate supplies of water. With flights of their Lynx helicopters grounded due to its inability maintain aerodynamic stability in the hot atmosphere of the Afghan summer, the British had failed to provide effective resupply alternatives. Complicating matters further was their lack of armored vehicles. Working from a military strategy that seemed to blend imperial arrogance with the tactics of the North African campaign under Montgomery, the British were under equipped for the fight. Fielding open topped Land Rovers with two machine guns mounted forward and aft, it was not unlike viewing a scene from the series "Rat Patrol." Thus, lacking the needed assets to move supplies or to ferry troops safely, the unit that had been pre-positioned to lead the attack, became the Achilles heal. With only 67 bottles of water remaining amongst the 120 men, and with temperatures pressing above 120 degrees F., the entire operation was postponed while American and Canadian assets were coordinated to essentially, save the Queens arse...