JTF2 & AFG (merged)

[Pte. Bloggins]

From http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/07/afghanistan_cdn051207.html

EDIT: See the link has already been posted. Ah well, here's the full article anyway.

3 Canadian soldiers wounded in Afghanistan
Last Updated Wed, 07 Dec 2005 14:24:11 EST
CBC News
Three members of Canada's elite commando unit have been injured in Afghanistan.

One Joint Task Force 2 soldier is being treated in hospital, while two others have been treated and released, the Defence Department said on Wednesday.


None of the injured has been identified.

"For reasons of operational security and for the safety of those Canadian special operations forces members and their families, no other information on this incident or on the special operations being conducted in Afghanistan will be released," said a Defence Department statement.

It's believed the Canadians were taking part in operations with Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces. American military reports said 22 militants were killed in the attacks.

In late November, a Canadian soldier was killed in Afghanistan when the armoured vehicle he was riding in rolled over near the Afghan city of Kandahar.

Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, 24, was the eighth Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002.

 

[Pte. Bloggins]

Also, here's the DND news release...pretty much the same info.

News Release
Afghanistan Operations Update
NRâ “05.100 - December 7, 2005

OTTAWA -- Three Canadian Forces (CF) soldiers, members of Canadian Special Operations Forces, were recently wounded while conducting operations in Afghanistan. One soldier is being treated in hospital. The others were treated for their injuries and have returned to their unit.

Elements of Canadian Special Operations Forces are deployed in Afghanistan. They comprise carefully selected and highly skilled members of the Canadian Forces who are trained and ready to carry out a wide spectrum of special operations throughout the Afghan theatre in support of the Government of Afghanistan.

The CF mission is part of Canada's contribution to the multi-national efforts in Afghanistan. The overarching goal is to help the Afghan people achieve peace by preventing their nation from relapsing into a failed state that gives terrorist and terrorist organizations a safe haven. There are significant risks involved in these missions, but CF members are fully prepared because they are well equipped, well led, and among the best trained and most experienced soldiers in the world. Canadians should be extremely proud of the work they do.

For reasons of operational security and for the safety of those Canadian Special Operations Forces members and their families , no other information on this incident or on the special operations being conducted in Afghanistan will be released.

 

[Navalsnpr]

Three Canadian soldiers wounded in Afghanistan

CTV.ca News Staff

Three Canadian special forces soldiers have been wounded on operations in Afghanistan, the Defence Department reported on Wednesday.

The department says one Joint Task Force 2 soldier is being treated in hospital while the other two have been treated for their injuries and have returned to their unit. The department has not identified the soldiers.

"Normally the word 'wounded' is used when (the injuries are) as a result of hostile action," Former soldier Scott Taylor, the editor-in-chief of Esprit de Corps magazine, told CTV Newsnet.

"In this case it could have been one of those improvised explosive devices, it could have been a roadside bomb, or it could, in fact, have been that they were involved in a fire-fight," he said.

It's unclear when the soldiers were wounded.

"The fact that we are getting told that two of the wounded personnel have been returned to duty would imply that it didn't just happen hours ago," Taylor said.

Meanwhile, the Defence Department remained tightlipped on any details involving the wounded soldiers.

"For reasons of operational security and for the safety of those Canadian Special Operations Forces members and their families, no other information on this incident or on the special operations being conducted in Afghanistan will be released," the department says in its release.

Meanwhile, there is speculation the soldiers were taking part in operations in which 22 suspected militants were killed in two clashes with Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces this week.

The U.S. military also they include the 13 who died in an attack on a cell believed responsible for several bombings in southern Afghanistan.

Last Sunday, a Canadian soldier suffered relatively minor injuries in Afghanistan after a coalition convoy was attacked as it passed through the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Ottawa is in the process of shifting its military presence from the capital Kabul to the more volatile southern region of Kandahar, which is considered the heartland of the Taliban.

By February 2006, about 2,000 Canadian soldiers will be based in Kandahar and a Canadian general will take command of a multi-national force to fight insurgents.

In total, some 20,000 coalition troops are fighting Taliban and al Qaeda-linked insurgents in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

The highly secretive JTF2 has been in Afghanistan almost continuously since early 2002.

"The overarching goal is to help the Afghan people achieve peace by preventing their nation from relapsing into a failed state that gives terrorist and terrorist organizations a safe haven," the Defence Department said.

"There are significant risks involved in these missions, but CF members are fully prepared because they are well equipped, well led, and among the best trained and most experienced soldiers in the world."

Increased violence has killed nearly 1,500 people this year alone -- the bloodiest death toll since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.

 

[Blakey]

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1399094.php
Special attention to para's 1 and 2.

 

[blacktriangle]

 

[Kev T]

Hopefully all the soldiers involved will make full complete recoveries and will be good to go. Good luck to all the troops deployed overseas. 

 

[big bad john]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20051208.CDAAFGHAN08/BNPrint/theglobeandmail/Canada


Three JTF2 soldiers wounded; secrecy shrouds Afghan attack
Defence Department won't say anything about elite commando unit's operations
By MICHAEL DEN TANDT

Thursday, December 8, 2005
Posted at 9:43 AM EST

OTTAWA -- Three soldiers from the Canadian military's elite JTF2 commando unit were wounded in action against Afghan rebels earlier this week, but "operational security" prevents any details of the engagement from being made public, the Department of Defence said yesterday.

Two of the men were lightly injured and have returned to their unit, while the third is being treated in hospital.

The three are thought to have been part of a U.S.-led assault on a rebel cell in a small village north of Kandahar, in which 13 rebel fighters were killed.

No names were released and Defence officials refused to elaborate on the circumstances in which the soldiers were hurt.

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"For reasons of operational security and for the safety of those Canadian Special Operations Forces members and their families, no other information on this incident or on the special operations being conducted in Afghanistan will be released," the department said in a statement.

According to a news release issued by Combined Forces Command in Kabul, the Dec. 4 action was targeting "an enemy cell responsible for a number of improvised explosive device attacks in southern Afghanistan."

The U.S. news release said three allied Afghan, three U.S. and two "other coalition soldiers" were wounded in the fighting. It did not identify the nationality of the non-U.S. personnel but said one had been wounded seriously and airlifted to Germany. He is listed in stable condition.

"Obviously our thoughts at this point are with the well-being of the troops and their families," said Renée Filiatrault, a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Bill Graham.

"The minister has said there are significant risks involved in these missions, but these troops are tremendously skilled and they do their work with great courage and professionalism."

Virtually every aspect of JTF2 is shrouded in secrecy, including its numbers.

However, the Ottawa-based unit received $120-million in new multiyear funding after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. It is believed to have grown to about 500 members.

The unit is also known to be the vanguard of Canada's new, more aggressive military posture in Afghanistan -- an effort that Mr. Graham and Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier have said will result in combat casualties.

As part of that effort, Canadian troops in the country are moving to a new base in Kandahar, and are expected to number 2,000 by early February.

Steven Staples, an analyst with the Polaris Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank, questioned whether the extreme secrecy surrounding the commando unit is justified.

"Minister Graham has to explain to Canadians what JTF2 is doing there, what are the circumstances around these injuries? Were enemy combatants killed, were prisoners taken, and under whose control are those prisoners now?"

The U.S. government has been embroiled in controversy for several years over its alleged mistreatment of enemy prisoners, in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

In 2002, former defence minister Art Eggleton took some heat too after it emerged that members of JTF2 had taken prisoners and turned them over to the U.S. military.

That same year, Mr. Eggleton's replacement, John McCallum, said he wanted to partly lift secrecy surrounding JTF2 so that its exploits could be made known to Canadians.

As of yesterday, that hadn't happened.

Asked why the U.S. military apparently sees no security risk in releasing basic details of an engagement with enemy combatants, but the Canadian military does, Ms. Filiatrault of Mr. Graham's office had no ready answer.

"We have nothing further to say on that," she said.

© Copyright 2005 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=964ccd6e-020b-4397-9fd8-667e4f8faa09

JTF2 soldier seriously hurt in firefight
Two other members of secretive Ottawa-based commando unit injured in Afghanistan
 
David ********
The Ottawa Citizen


Thursday, December 08, 2005


A member of the Canadian military's secretive special forces unit is believed to have been seriously injured and two others wounded in Afghanistan in a firefight that erupted earlier this week.

The soldier from Joint Task Force 2, which is based in Ottawa, is in hospital, while the two other injured troops have returned to duty. It is thought to be the first time a JTF2 soldier has been injured in combat operations.

The Canadian Forces issued a news release yesterday, acknowledging that three JTF2 commandos had been wounded and that one was in hospital. Officials refused to release any other details about the incident.

The news release followed a similar statement from U.S. officers in Afghanistan that three coalition troops had been wounded during a Dec. 4 attack on enemy forces in a small village north of Kandahar. Thirteen insurgents, believed to be responsible for a number of bombings in southern Afghanistan, were killed in that battle.

According to the U.S. officers, the coalition soldier was seriously wounded and was transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. He is listed in stable condition.

Two other coalition soldiers, three Afghan and three U.S. military personnel, were also injured in the fighting. All of them have been treated and released. U.S. officers did not specifically identify the coalition soldiers as Canadian, but it is known that JTF2 is working with American forces in Afghanistan in the Kandahar area.

U.S. Brig.-Gen. Jack Sterling Jr., deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force 76 in Afghanistan, praised the troops for their efforts. "Afghan and coalition forces are going to continue to bring the fight to the enemies of Afghanistan no matter where they are, no matter where they are trying to hide," he said in a statement. "This is a resounding victory for Afghan forces and for the Afghan people. We located and closed with the enemies of this nation and, as we have said we would in the past, brought them to justice. The nation and the people of Afghanistan are moving toward a better, brighter future."

Canadian brass have remained silent about the mission, citing the need for security. Canadian Forces spokeswoman Capt. Stephanie Godin declined yesterday to say whether the JTF2 members were wounded by hostile fire or in an accident, adding that such details would jeopardize the security of the unit. She declined to give the ages of the individuals involved.

Military officials also refused to release information on when the incident happened, the extent of the injuries or whether the JTF2 member is in hospital in Canada or elsewhere.

Defence Minister Bill Graham has promised on several occasions to release more information about the secretive commando unit, but that has been successfully resisted by the military.

In September, Brig.-Gen. Mike Ward told journalists that JTF2 members had captured and killed individuals in Afghanistan. But he declined to give any other details. "Our aim in all of these operations is to capture where possible in order to use the intelligence value that any of these detainees may have for us," he said at a press conference. "We have not suffered any casualties at this point, but casualties occurred on the other side," he added.

But documents obtained by the Citizen show that military officials had earlier this year prepared a statement to be read to the news media in case a member of JTF2 was killed or wounded. It noted that the Canadian Forces must be cautious about releasing any information and that a board of inquiry would be held in the event of JTF2 casualties.

It's not the first time that an announcement by U.S. officials has forced the Canadian military to play catch-up on releasing information. In March 2002, U.S. Gen. Tommy Franks announced at a televised press conference that Canadian special forces were involved in Operation Anaconda, a major assault against enemy troops in Afghanistan. Canadian military officials, however, refused to confirm what Gen. Franks announced, only later having to reverse that stance and acknowledge JTF2 was indeed involved in the mission.

Other countries, ranging from the U.S. to Poland to Australia, are more open with information about their special forces. Canadian officers, however, argue that since JTF2 is on a par with the secretive British Special Air Service and the U.S. Delta Force, little if any information should be released.

Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier and Mr. Graham have suggested Canadians should prepare for casualties in Afghanistan since the Liberal government has committed approximately 2,000 troops to the Kandahar area in support of the U.S-led war on terror. That mission will get under way in February although there are a number of regular Canadian soldiers in the area now. An unknown number of JTF2 commandos are also working in the Kandahar region.

Gen. Hillier has advocated expanding Canada's special operations force so it can play more of a role in U.S. and coalition missions as well as domestic operations.

Defence analyst Steve Staples said it is time for Mr. Graham to provide the Canadian public with more information about the injuries of the JTF2 personnel. He also questioned whether the troops were under U.S. or Canadian command at the time and whether they took prisoners on this latest operation.

"With Canadian soldiers' lives being put at risk, the government must limit 'operational security' concerns and provide a public response to these and other questions," said Mr. Staples, an analyst with the left-leaning Polaris Institute in Ottawa.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2005

 

[tomahawk6]

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Dec2005/20051207_3568.html

Article about the action. Glad that the wounded will recover.

 

[CSA]

Raise a glass to the operator who is hospitalized in the hopes he makes a speedy recovery, and thoughts and prayers to him and his family

 

 

[Brad Sallows]

"With Canadian soldiers' lives being put at risk, the government must limit 'operational security' concerns and provide a public response to these and other questions," said Mr. Staples, an analyst with the left-leaning Polaris Institute in Ottawa."

Because soldier's in harms way are at risk, we should set aside risk mitigation so we can gossip about them. F*cking brilliant.

 

[Blue Max]

Brad, did you notice that the Pentagon report had roughly twice as much information then the CF release did, and IMHO without risking OPSEC. 

The difference is that the Americans are proud of their military and want to remind the people at home (possible the bad guys as well) of what a great job their men/women in country are doing.  Canadian DND seems to be embarrassed when our boys get a win against Hajji! ???

MHO.

 

[Brad Sallows]

I trust DND and the US DOD to be mostly circumspect about what they release.

I'm not sure tugging the skirts of government to lift the veil of secrecy so we can troll for "gotchas" will do much to save soldiers' lives.  I guess its a hobby or it pays the bills for some people.  I admit I don't really understand commando porn.

 

[HDE]

I'd imagine Staples would be hoping to further his "lackeys of the U.S. spin".  Goodness knows having JTF 2 troops co-operating with our allies has got to be bad, right?  :  I'm always intrigued how certain "experts" become the flavour of the day in the media.

 

[KevinB]

The US does not release Delta/CAG or DEVGRU stuff - and the Brits do not give out info on 22SAS if they can help it.

 The US NAVSOF and ODA's operating amongst the Coalition SOF do not have the same issues of OPSEC and PERSEC as do JTF.

Since JTF is both small and involved in missions of national importance - they require the same PERSEC/OPSEC issues that CAG and the DEVGRU do.

*CAG is the Combined Action Group #rd TF's of Delta and Ranger Regt per
*DEVGRU - Developement Group the USN NAVSOF replacement to ST6.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

To become an "expert" in the media a person needs only one thing...a recognizable name, nothing else really matters.

 

[mdh]

I trust DND and the US DOD to be mostly circumspect about what they release.

Brad and KevinB

I'm not sure that denying even a scintilla of detail about this action makes much sense - it only invites ever greater scrutiny and suspicion from organizations like the Polaris Institute - not to mention media curiosity.   My guess is that  it's only a matter of time before the lid comes off JTF2 operations in the Ghan (some reporter will get the inside scoop with lurid details taken out of context or a retired operator will publish his memoirs - or something of that nature - and they in turn will be able to define the Canadian mission - not the CF) - Wouldn't DND would be better off allowing some information to flow to the public?    ???

cheers, mdh

 

[TCBF]

"Canadian mission - not the CF) - Wouldn't DND would be better off allowing some information to flow to the public?"

To the press, all info is a lever to gain, adapt, or disrupt other info.  Any info we give is a foot in the door and will be used to troll for opposite and countering info, so it can be thrown in our faces with "But you said..."

Give them nothing.

"Look concerned, act surprised, deny everything."

You might be the best soldier in the country, buy any decent reporter or editor is a much better liar than you.

Tom

 

[KevinB]

In the interests of not getting sued I will not give you my opinion about journalists that dig into DHTC and the JTF.

 

[Sf2]

Thoughts go out to the wounded - as far as media and OPSEC goes, enough already.  You life isn't going to end if you can't get the juicy gossip - their's might.

 

[HDE]

Bruce

  A friend of mine attending "Journalism School" (!) says they're told the aim is to provide two "sides" to whatever topic is being reported on, so as to appear unbiased.  Actually determining the quality of the analysis is apparently beyond the job of journalists.  Not reassuring!  I think there's a need for a few army.ca DS in the media world  ;D