PM Stephen Harper visits the troops in Panjwai

Published On Wed June 01 2011

By Lieutenant (Navy) Jordan Holder

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay take in the view of the Horn of Panjwai from an observation post at a Canadian patrol base.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay take in the view of the Horn of Panjwai from an observation post at a Canadian patrol base.

Following an old Army tradition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper joins the kitchen staff at Patrol Base Sperwan Ghar to serve up lunch. Cpl Julie Turcotte of the Army News team deployed with the 1 R22eR Battle Group just happens to be first in line.

Following an old Army tradition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper joins the kitchen staff at Patrol Base Sperwan Ghar to serve up lunch. Cpl Julie Turcotte of the Army News team deployed with the 1 R22eR Battle Group just happens to be first in line.

The day was hot and cloudless, approaching 40 degrees Celsius, and the air was full of sand and dust. From the Canadian battle group’s position on one of the highest points in the western part of Panjwa’i District, Prime Minister Stephen Harper looked out over a scene of contrasts: the lush green of irrigated fields, surrounded by wide swaths of hard-scrabble terrain and bare mountains in the distance.

On 30 May 2011, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion Royal 22e Régiment (1 R22eR) Battle Group at Patrol Base Sperwan Ghar welcomed not only the Prime Minister, but also the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence; General Walter Natynczyk, the Chief of the Defence Staff; Ambassador William Crosbie, Canada’s Head of Mission in Afghanistan; and Tim Martin, the Representative of Canada in Kandahar. As commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, the deployed task force comprising all Canadian personnel and assets committed to the combat mission in southern Afghanistan, Brigadier-General Dean Milner accompanied the Prime Minister’s party.

It was a welcome change for the soldiers at Sperwan Ghar, near the end of their tour and accustomed spending their days taking the fight to the enemy in the austere environment of Panjwa’i District. With Major André Girard, Officer Commanding B (Bulldog) Company, as their host, the dignitaries toured the outpost, stopping frequently for smiles, handshakes and pictures as they met the troops. Then everyone sat down to lunch — after the Prime Minister helped serve, as is traditional.

“The day was a great success,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Michel-Henri St-Louis, commander of the 1 R22eR Battle Group. “The visitors were able to see the troops, see the terrain, and to see the success that we’ve been having here. This was a day to remember.”

In an observation post providing a sweeping view of southwestern Panjwa’i District — the famous “Horn of Panjwa’i’ — BGen Milner and LCol St-Louis updated the Prime Minister on the situation in this part of Kandahar Province, long the heartland of the Taliban. Coalition forces have struggled for years to control this contested terrain, but now the Prime Minister’s briefers had positive results to report: success on the battlefield, construction of tactical infrastructure throughout the area, and a force lay-down including Canadians, coalition partners and — most important — Afghan soldiers and police.

They spoke of the impact of these efforts: how local Afghans seem to be rejecting the insurgents, and are instead showing signs of trusting their government and their own security forces. After years of insurgent violence, in contrast, they spoke of hope.

Lt(N) Jordan Holder is a Public Affairs Officer deployed in Afghanistan with the headquarters of Joint Task Force Afghanistan / Task Force Kandahar.