The Torch: An Ottawa police officer in Kandahar

Mentoring the Afghan police (a pity this article was relegated to the Ottawa Citizen's "City" section; it was also run at canada.com online):

Afghan mission a lesson for Ottawa officer
Constable learns more about Islam, Canadian troops

Ottawa Police Const. Steve Forsythe hopes that mentoring Afghan police officers at the epicentre of the war against the Taliban has been a positive experience for them. He knows it has been one for him.

"It has put me outside my comfort zone and has really helped me to learn how to solve problems in different ways," said the 38-year old explosives specialist, one of four Ottawa police members in Kandahar, along with 23 police officers from across Canada [emphasis added].

Ten months into his 12-month tour, Forsythe encouraged police at home who might be interested in coming to southern Afghanistan to be part of the RCMP-led monitoring [mentoring?] team [more here, here and here]. "I say to everyone, 'Come!' but realize that this is the most dangerous place in the world."

Canada's police mentors work with members of the Afghan National Police [now officially the Afghan Uniformed Police]. Many of the mentor/monitors such as Forsythe live at the Canadian provincial reconstruction centre. A few work out of smaller army forward operating bases. Most of the classes involve about 10 students.

[The CF do most of the mentoring in the field:

Cpl Gordon Martin supervises
Afghan National Police members from
the Pashmul area in a session
of pistol marksmanship training
designed to improve their confidence,
ability and safety on duty]

There is also a lot of field work with students in the bomb-plagued streets of Kandahar City and some of the towns to the west that are notorious Taliban strongholds because many of the students are working police officers with regular duties.

"Most guys we deal with are somewhat trained," he said. "The problem is that they have a high attrition rate and that some of them are not as trained as others. It is difficult to deal with a group dynamic when it is like that. It is better to teach an advanced class or a class of beginners, not a class that is mixed."

Concrete lessons that had been learned by Afghan police during Forsythe's time in the south have included how to set up an effective cordon at a crime scene and how to effectively question witnesses.

"Some great strides have been made," he said. "They get a lot more information from witnesses now, for example, than they got 10 months ago."

"But if your goal is an end state like Canada, forget it [emphasis added]. We do what we can. Maybe the pistol program that I start will lead to a broader program or someone I taught will one day become an internationally accredited pistol instructor."

The mentors do not go out to incidents that already involve troops in combat, or, TICs [actually "troops in contact" - MC], as they are called in military parlance "but if the TIC happens when we are out, that is different," Forsythe said. "If the ANP are involved and there is a value for us to be there to train them, we're there. We won't go far out of the city but in the city, depending on what has happened, we'll roll."

The immense risks police in Afghanistan run were brought home sharply to Forsythe by a double suicide bombing that killed eight at the city's police headquarters.

"You have to put on their shoes before you pass judgment on them. They have a very dangerous job," Forsythe said of a police force that many Afghans have historically dismissed as ineffective and riddled with corruption.

Out of 77,000 police officers, 1,215 were killed last year and another 2,600 were listed as wounded or missing in action [emphasis added]. Most casualties were in the south. Referring to those shocking numbers, Forsythe wondered how motivated police in Canada would be if they faced such peril.

"I have been amazed by how much they invest in their faith here," he said. "If it is their time to die, so be it, inshallah (If Allah wills it). You cannot question their bravery."

Among the lessons that Forsythe thought Canadians could learn from Afghans was their deep respect for their elders.

"I think that having been here, I also understand Islam a little better," he said. "They have got a lot of different beliefs about their faith here, a lot like Christians do in Canada.

"I am learning the ground experience of those who are on their prayer mats every day."

There also have been lessons absorbed from working alongside the more than 350 Canadian troops, 60 civilians and a small number of American troops stationed at the PRT since Forsythe arrived here early last summer. In that time, six members of the PRT's Quick Reaction Force have been killed while "outside the wire. [emphasis added]"

"I have no regrets about having chosen policing, but I had thought that I had put to sleep the idea of joining the forces, which I sometimes had when I was younger. I have so much respect for these guys and gals from places in Canada that you do not hear about much. They are very mission-focused.

"It may sound corny, but one thing that has impressed me about the Canadian and American troops here is that even when they are dead-assed tired, they help each other."

Meanwhile, Forsythe was conflicted about whether he would return to Afghanistan again for another mentoring tour.

"Part of me says yes and part of me says no," Forsythe said. "I'm not personally worried because I am not married and don't have kids.

"But my parents are pretty worried. They are politically astute and I can't just tell them that it isn't dangerous over here because they know that it is. I have probably shaved a few years off their lives by being here, so I would probably say no to coming back."

Another factor that possibly could keep Forsythe at home was that he really enjoyed his work with Ottawa police's tactical unit.

"I will not leave a huge footprint here, but I hope that I have made a difference to someone," he said. "I am not leaving a legacy, but maybe something I taught someone will keep them alive. So, I am going home happy."