Canadian Chinook and Griffon operations in Afstan

Further to this post,

CF enjoying doing the job in Afstan

another good article by Bill Graveland of CP on what the CF are actually doing:

Canadian Chinooks make a difference for troop safety in Afghanistan: pilot

A Canadian Forces CH-147 Chinook lands at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Sperwan Ghar in Kandahar Province. The Chinooks are used to transport troops and materiel. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Handout photo/ Corporal Jonathan Barrette, DND

Getting from Kandahar Airfield to any of the forward operating bases in this troubled province has always been hazardous for the Canadian military.

Road convoys loaded with fresh troops and supplies were the lifeblood of the remote outposts - and a constant and easy target for the Taliban, who would attack with suicide bombers, small-arms fire and improvised explosive devices.

And then came the Chinooks.

Long awaited and much anticipated - even though they were "previously enjoyed," as one Canadian soldier joked - the six Chinooks purchased from the Americans have been seeing almost non-stop action since they began flying in Afghanistan in February.

On a recent day, a Chinook flanked by two CH-146 Griffon escort helicopters [see here and here] made about 15 stops, each for just a few minutes. It transported close to 200 Canadian and American soldiers to locations in the dangerous Panjwaii, Zhari and Arghandab districts, as well as one load of water.

"It is pretty cool when we see the actual results of the job we're doing," said Maj. Darryl Adams, 34, who has logged 60 missions in Afghanistan.

"You see the smiles on the faces. You see the effect on the ground as well, making sure the guys are getting from one place to another safely. I can't think of anything better than that."

"It is actually a career highlight for us because for years in the air force we've been saying as helicopter pilots that we knew we could make a contribution over here, and finally we're being able to do that."..

"We got five or six Chinooks that take off in all directions and they can land in the bad guys' backyard in a matter of minutes, and it catches them off guard [first such operation here]. That effect is pretty amazing," he added.

At each stop for the Chinook, the coalition soldiers crammed in tightly, their dufflebags and backpacks stacked almost to the ceiling. Each time one of the gunners [some of them are from the Army] writes the name of the destination on a white board and holds it up, letting the passengers know whether it's time to get off.

"The numbers over a six-month period is by the thousands," said Lt.-Col. Marc Bigaouette, the commanding officer.

"I think we're coming close to 10,000 soldiers being moved. And it's not only the people that we move - it's the fact that we bring equipment, we bring supplies, food, all that stuff to them which they would have to get by road otherwise."..