Van Doos off to Afstan

The troops whose deployment to Afstan was announced recently are starting to go.

A contingent of 76 soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Valcartier left Monday evening for a dangerous mission of several months in Kandahar, the scene of violent clashes with insurgent Taliban fighters...

More than 50 of the soldiers will protect rebuilding projects in the dangerous Kandahar region during their nine-month stay...

The remaining 23 soldiers will join the Canadian contingent over four months to help to train the Afghan national army, which needs foreign support to maintain security inside the country...

Another 100 soldiers will leave the end of November for Afghanistan, increasing the number of soldiers from Valcartier, near Quebec City, to 300...

About 2,000 soldiers from the Royal 22nd Regiment, better known as the Van Doos, will head over in the fall of next year...