Elite troops bound for Afghanistan (JTF-2)

[Spazito]

The Canadian Forces is sending up to 100 commandos from its elite Joint Task Force 2 to Afghanistan this month, the largest contingent of special forces Canada has ever sent overseas, the National Post has learned.

Between 75 and 100 soldiers of JTF-2 will arrive just ahead of a 2,000-member Canadian battle group that is deploying to the restive southern province of Kandahar amid growing warnings of high casualties and a looming enemy offensive in the region.

Defence sources familiar with the mission said the commandos will arrive in the Kandahar region by the end of the month, part of an unprecedented surge of troops by the secretive JTF-2. "They're coming in in a big way," one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "This is more boots on the ground than they've ever had in one place before."

Captain Stephanie Godin, a military spokeswoman, would neither confirm nor deny the unit's deployment to Afghanistan. "We can't confirm the numbers or specific missions of JTF-2 for reasons of operational security," she said.

more

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=42f8826a-fba4-483e-bda6-fa351644ff2f


(Geez, the U.S. troops are pulling out, abandoning bush's "Dead or Alive" promise and our troops are going in to clean up the friggin mess, I disagree with this decision of the government. If other NATO contributors like the Dutch are pulling out, we should re-think our participation as well, imo.)