In Praise of Afghanada
It has been a special lead up to remembrance day for me this year because my family ( in the role of civilian sponsor) has welcomed Afgan Brig-General Ahmed Habibi to Canada for on-going command and literacy training. I have spent many hours with him recently at our home and cottage hearing first hand about how much the Canadian Military mission has transformed his Country over the last 12 years. Not just in fighting the Taliban along side the troops he commands but by buil…ding roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and confidence in a home grown democracy that is still evolving.
As the dates of the Afghanistan mission are added to the National War Memorial today in Ottawa, I’d like to assure the 158 Military families of those who lost Loved ones in Afghanistan that I’m hearing first hand how much of a difference their service made. Yes, there are cynics who question Canada’s role and effectiveness but I must say, hearing the real story from the real deal resonates more deeply than the un-informed musings of low minded critics -especially today. Since May 2013, Major General Dean Milner has served as the Commander of the Canadian Contribution to the Training Mission in Afghanistan (CCTMA). (isaf, nato) He was recently quoted in EsprideCorp magazine ” Every deputy in a section and the key personnel in the police force are going to be taught how to train their soldiers and their policemen. It’s a huge focus for us. We’ve got every key institution focused on education and they get it. They know an educated force will win in the short and long term, so we’ve seen that come a long way. We’ve got a long way to go, but I could give you stats of the tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands that we’ve put through literacy training and will continue to. We’re continuing to professionalize their force. We’re taking General Habibi back to Canada for an English course. He’s going to do six months of English and the NSP (National Security Program) course with us. Another big focus is on their officer academy that we’ve just built and the British are driving it. It’s the equivalent of the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. So just like them, they’re going to do a year-long officer program, with literacy built in”.