Thank you and good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
It's my pleasure to be here with you today.
I would also like to thank you for your visit to Afghanistan in June of this year. It was appreciated by our men and women in uniform.
I believe that going on these visits is very important. One of the lines I used to use when I was on operations is that the farther you were from the sound of the guns, the less you understand about the mission; therefore, when you go into Afghanistan you can see the full context first-hand and get the experience and you can also see how things have changed.
The United States uplift of forces is causing things to change rapidly in Afghanistan; they have changed even since your own visit in the spring. Since your visit, the U.S. has continued to surge more forces into theatre. Last year there were 3,000 NATO troops in Kandahar province, mostly Canadian, and three Afghan National Army battalions or Kandaks.
Today, the number of NATO troops in Kandahar province has quadrupled, and they've been joined by an additional 10 battalions or 10 Kandaks from the Afghan National Army. With the surge have come more of the essential enablers needed to change the direction of the mission. For the first time, what we're seeing is that NATO is finally approaching the point where it has the troop density and enabling capabilities needed to mount an effective counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism strategy.
Also, thanks to NATO's training mission we have seen the Afghan army leadership and capability continue to develop. They've always been brave, but now they're assuming greater responsibilities with confidence. In more and more cases they are planning, mounting, and leading their own operations.
During our Thanksgiving visit, it was compelling to see Afghan battalion and company commanders step up and brief the minister and me on the tactical situation in the Panjwaii and Dand districts.
While the road ahead remains long and hard, I think we're seeing some encouraging signs that the context of the mission may be changing favourably. We're beginning to see some signs of success. We can thank our men and women in Afghanistan, military and civilian, for the changes we are seeing. They're doing absolutely fabulous work, they're motivated to be there, and they can see the difference they are making.
I'd also like to talk about the mission transition.
We have nine months left in the mandate for the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan, and I've been very clear with all members of the CF that we will work to implement the direction and timelines as directed in the parliamentary motion. We understand orders. The combat mission will end in July and we will completely withdraw from Kandahar by December 2011. This is a big task, but I want to assure you that the planning for the withdrawal of the Canadian Forces troops on this timeline is already well underway.
We'll continue to fulfill our operational responsibilities in cooperation with our NATO and our ISAF partners until the end of our military mission in July of 2011. I've told our folks that I want them to focus on making a difference each and every day—next week, next month, right until the end of our military mission. What we aim to achieve in Kandahar is a seamless transition from the Canadian Forces to our allies that will allow our partners—that is, our other government departments, ISAF members, and Afghan security forces—to continue building upon the progress made to date.
Our planners at Canadian Expeditionary Forces Command and Canadian Operations Support Command have been working on end-of-mission planning for months in consultation with all of our many stakeholders. Their planning will determine what we will do with the equipment and materiel we have in Afghanistan. Some of this equipment will be returned to Canada and some of it will be sent for repair and overhaul to facilities both at home and abroad, depending on what makes most sense. If analysis demonstrates that the materiel is deemed surplus, then we'll dispose of it. We are well on the way to developing a plan that makes good sense and has the required authorities and the appropriate oversight needed to make the right decisions about what we do with our equipment and materiel. The bottom line is that all of these decisions will be focused on delivering the best value for Canadians.
Of course, the return of materiel and equipment will be challenging. Our planners have been hard at work, and I'm confident that we have a plan that will work. Our operations in Afghanistan will not be affected during this period. We anticipate meeting all of the mission close-out timelines. We're planning to move low-priority and low-value materiel overland to a seaport, where it will be shipped by sea. But sensitive material, such as communications equipment, will be shipped directly to Canada by air. The remainder of our equipment will be transported by air to a processing facility through to Europe, where it will be processed, cleaned, and then shipped by sea to Montreal.
As we are still in negotiations with prospective partner countries, it would be inappropriate for me to provide more detail until negotiations are concluded.
Allow me to conclude, Mr. Chair, by stating that none of our current and future basing or logistic considerations changes the fact that I expect the Canadian Forces to continue making progress in our mission right up until July 2011, and we will be ready to respond elsewhere in Canada or the world when so asked by the government.
The Canadian Forces, along with our civilian partners, have made an enormous contribution and at the same time great sacrifices in Afghanistan since 2001. For this, we have heard that the Government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people, along with our NATO and ISAF partners, have expressed their gratitude. Our men and women in uniform continue to perform outstanding work, and I could not be prouder of them.
Thank you.