The "New Crew"

During my time home for Christmas, I attended the Canadian Police College and made a presentation to the new group of police officers slated for deployment to Afghanistan in mid-February. I thought it was great timing as they had just started their course and it gave me an oppourtunity to introduce myself and make a presentation about our Police Mission in Afghanistan.

The two pictures were taken by one of the guys in training....and of course I can't recall his name. I feel terrible as I promised I would give him the photo credit. No doubt I will be reminded when I see him.

Currently there are 23 folks in training and this is the first rotation where the majority are coming to Kabul and not Kandahar. We are beginning to transition all of our CivPol resources north so that come July, we will no longer be in the south. This is in response to the new Canadian Engagement Strategy for Afghanistan.

We are working hard behind the scenes here in Kabul getting ready for their arrival as there are so many issues to be worked out as everything is a challenge here. Something as simple as picking up 23 people at the airport and transporting them to their respective work locations, is a big deal. Just when we think we have it nailed down, something changes which has a ripple effect through all the plans.

That being said, we are very much looking forward to the "new crew" as I know they all bring unique skills and experience to the Mission which are in critical need as we continue to train and mentor the ANP.

Jamaica - Part 2

I was going through my Jamaica pictures trying to decide which ones to post and it really jumped out at me just how vastly diverse our world is. Quite simply, all the pictures from Jamaica are green and the ones from Afghanistan are brown. What a difference....didn't even need to enlarge the photo's, one quick glance and it was readily apparent where they were taken.

I have included pictures of the "Honeymoon Cottage" where we stayed. The cottage was split into four seperate suites and we shared a small private pool in the back. Each morning Debra and I would have a cup of coffee on the patio and take in the amazing sights and sounds of Jamaica. Then we would make our way down to the main manor and decide if we were going to spend the day beside the pool or the beach....what a great trip.

White Guy at the Pool!

Well, as you can clearly see from the photo above, the title of this post is readily apparent....even with a couple of pre-tanning sessions in Ottawa prior to going to Jamaica, I stood out at the pool like a marshmallow in a bag of coal!

I am now back at work in Afghanistan after my three week break back home. As I sit here in my room and type out this post, I can close my eyes and smell the Christmas turkey, Debra's cinnamon buns, the tropical flowers in Jamaica and of course my after sun lotion. Can't believe how fast the time went and how much fun we had.

We were extremely fortunate that I made it home for Christmas. Seemed like everything was against me as I tried to get home on Dec 22nd. First the EU banned all Afghan airlines from EU airspace. This had a trickle down effect on all flights from Kabul and numerous were cancelled. Then the weather chaos in Europe and Frankfurt shutting down and finally an insurgent attack in Kabul the day before I left which threatened to shut down the Kabul airport.....I was literally counting the minutes until I got on the plane. But, all worked well and we had a wonderful Christmas at home with Jennifer, Brandon, Sarah and Joel. It really recharged my batteries (soul) spending time with my family and friends enjoying great food, wine and moments where we laughed until we cried.

Debra and I headed off to Ocho Rios in Jamaica right after New Years and had a splendid week of sunshine at the Resort. It actually took us a couple of days to slow down and get into the groove...more importantly the Jamaican or possibly the Caribbean pace of doing things. In other words, no rush, slow down and enjoy the moment. The service and staff were outstanding and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

We really played tourists and signed up for a Mountain Bike tour on one of the days and you can see from the photo's, the "fabulous beach cruisers" as described in the brochure, didn't quite stand up to the description. I actually think I recognized one bike as being Steve's old bike from when we were kids in Kelowna (I knew it was his because of the bent handlebars and dented fenders resulting from when he raced down the hill down onto the carport, could not stop in time and ran off the end, went down the stairs and crashed on the hill below).

I will be posting additionally pictures from Jamaica, Christmas family pictures and of course future exploits as I complete the next half of my Mission in Afghanistan. I sincerely wish everyone to have an outstanding 2011 and you enjoy what we are trying to bring to the people of Afghanistan.....Peace and Prosperity.

Cpl. Steve Martin

Last night I attended a Ramp Ceremony for Cpl. Steve Martin who was killed by an IED while on foot patrol in the district of Kandahar. Cpl. Martin was part of a larger patrol that was in the area to protect a major road construction project.

Cpl. Martin's death is tragic in so many ways. Tragic in that he died 2 days before his 25 birthday. Tragic as he had been deployed three times, once to Haiti right after the earthquake and twice to Afghanistan. And finally, tragic as we are entering the season where we celebrate the birth of a child who came to earth to spread Peace.

I will be heading home today to be with my family and friends...Cpl. Martin has also left Afghanistan for home where he will be met by his family and friends...may he rest in Peace.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Cpl. Martin's family and friends during this difficult time and may the rest of us embrace the season of Peace and truly appreciate and be thankful for all that we have and hold dear.

Kandahar University

Good morning everyone.....today is Friday and a "Low Ops Day" so I managed to sleep in a little bit and have a slow joe (coffee). I had a busy week as I was back down south in Kandahar with our Ambassador for a couple of events. This series of pictures is taken at the Kandahar University where the Ambassador, the RoCK (Representative of Canada in Kandahar) and Governor Wesa had a ground breaking ceremony for a new building Canada is funding.

The University provides programs such as Medicine, Agriculture and Education. The new building Canada is providing support for is a Agricultural lab. The University has quite extensive grounds and in the one picture, you can see how many buildings the University has. All of the white three story buildings belong to the University and are the classrooms as well as the dormitories for the students...which of course are all men.

I just had to take the picture of the one ANP with his white leather gloves, complete with chrome studs! It is such a challenge to try and get the ANP not to "Jingle up" their uniform and kit. You can't quite pick it out in the picture but he has a small flower sticking out of the end of the barrel. These poor guys have absolutely nothing, so when they do get something of value, they want to dress it up. If you think of young men back home, they all have clothes, cars, their own rooms, etc. , to express their own personality...these guys have nothing.

I am always struck by how harsh the environment is. You can see how dusty and dirty everything is. Add to this incredible heat, pollution, poverty and violence. It is truly speaks to the determination and tenacity of the Afghan people. Perhaps some of the students rioting in London should come to Kanadahar and apply to Kandahar University.

Kandahar Officer Course

This past week I spent a couple of days down south at our Training Centre located at Camp Nathan Smith. The photo straight above is of the "Three Amigo's" who run the place for us. Supt Vic Park from RCMP Ottawa is on the right, Insp. Pierre Landry from Montreal Police Service is in the middle and Insp. Gary Stafford from the Toronto Police Service is on the left. Three absolutely outstanding guys who are doing an amazing job.

The main reason I headed south was to congratulate the guys on starting up a new course at the Training centre. We have just recently started a six month ANP Officer Course which is usually held only in Kabul and this marks the first time that it is being held in Kandahar. There has always been a challenge in getting recruits from Kandahar to go to Kabul for a six month course. The recruits do not want to leave their family for such a long period of time and of course travelling from Kandahar to Kabul is very difficult. We are hoping that by holding a course in Kandahar we can attract higher quality students who will stick with it and make a career out of policing.

I have included a couple of pictures of the Centre to try and give a sense of what it is like. For security reasons I really can't post any great shots, however you can see a classroom, a small courtyard and a small area outside where exercises are held.

In the top photo I am standing with Col. Shaw of the ANP. Col Shaw has been in the ANP for 37 years and is currently assigned to the Regional Headquarters in Criminal Investigations. He is an instructor on the Investigators Course. He explained to me that the reason he was not in uniform was because he had just arrived from his home and could not wear his uniform as it is much too dangerous for him to travel through the city alone in a police uniform.

You will also see that I am wearing a jacket...it really cools down at night this time of year. It actually dips below freezing at night but still gets fairly warm during the day. Quite pleasant actually, except for all the dust of course.

Kabul "Think Tank on Policing"

This week I attended a three day "Think Tank" sponsored by the Canadian Embassy. The meeting took place at the Serena Hotel located in downtown Kabul. The event took place over three days and included international policing experts and of course our Afghan partners.

The conference was held at the Serena Hotel which is part of an international chain and is very modern and where most westerners stay when they come to Kabul. I wanted to take some photo's of the inside, however they are extremely sensitive to photo's being taken as they suffered an attack several months ago. Insurgents breached the exterior and started shooting people inside before they were killed by security guards. I did manage to grab a couple of pictures of the street right outside the hotel (after I had cleared it with the security manager). The street was extremely quite as the police had basically shut it down for the conference.

The intent of the conference was to discuss the challenges of building a police force in a conflict situation. Trying to address the challenges of fighting an insurgency while at the same time building a police force that responds to the communities requirements for policing...policing with the community. Additional challenges include "quality versus quantity" of the Afghan National Police. Do you spend more time training the ANP recruits, or do you shorten the training to allow for more recruits? There is an incredible demand for police officers, however the current ones are poorly trained and require leaders....

The picture of the folks sitting at the table includes Dr. Markus Ritter who is wearing the tan uniform. Markus is the Commander of the German Police Project team (GPPT) and also heads up our Senior Police Advisory Board (SPAG). He is a great guy and has provided us with the occasional meal of Schnitzel.

In two of the pictures you can see Supt Konrad Shourie who is part of our contingent and is the Senior Police Advisor to MGen Beare. MGen Beare is responsible for all the police training in Afghanistan and Konrad has an extremely demanding job trying to keep up to the pace of the military and the General's advisors. The military plans, then plans again and then does another plan.

It was a very interesting three days with a lot more questions being posed than answered. It always intrigues me that there are many, many more folks who can tell you what not to do, but far fewer who will actually roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty doing the actual work.