Afstan: It's complicated for the CF to say goodbye--as the government's dance continues

Matthew Fisher of Canwest News gives a lot of important details about the nuts and bolts (note the rather, er, provocative headline):

Pullout from Afghanistan to cost hundreds of millions of dollars

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — When Canadian Forces quit Afghanistan in July 2011, at least $2 billion of gear must be brought home, and hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure at Kandahar Airfield and at forward operating bases must be torn down, sold or donated to allies or to Afghans.

Although nobody will yet hazard a guess about what the pullout from Kandahar will cost, getting everything back to Canada will cost many hundreds of millions of dollars. That figure does not include the wages, expenses and transport costs for a dedicated force of about 500 soldiers who will work all-out for up to one year to complete the job.

Canada does not possess nearly enough military airlift for an operation on this scale, so hundreds of flights by outsized Russian and Ukrainian cargo jets will have to be chartered at a cost of as much as $1.5 million per trip. Those aircraft will take home 1,072 vehicles and dozens of helicopters and other very large or dangerous items such as artillery guns.

The "order of battle" to be designed by logisticians will also include arranging for the movement by air and by road of between 2,000 and 3,000 sea containers that will be packed with thousands of different spare parts, as well as tents, communications systems, satellite equipment, field kitchens and tons of body armour...

As Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of defence staff, told a parliamentary committee last week, getting out of Kandahar — where Canadian soldiers have been stationed since 2002 — is going to require a massive effort the likes of which has not been seen for more than half a century [more from the CDS here]. This is not only because Canada has 2,800 troops here, but because this is a landlocked country halfway around the world where the nearest sea ports require travelling by road through some of the most insecure territory on the planet...

Another important detail about Afghan mission planning, from a related Dec. 12 story by Mr Fisher:

Military studies what to keep, toss out, as pullout approaches
...

Many factors have influenced what soldiers in Kandahar say about a "drop dead" date for a final decision on the future of the Afghan mission.

For example, the military normally identifies which troops will be assigned to Afghanistan about 12 months before they deploy, with intensive formal training for the mission beginning about six months before their departure...

As for that "drop dead" date, see this post from three months ago:

Afstan mission planning--"Gotcha!"?

Looks like the CDS is doing everything possible to avoid such a moment until the government finally gets up the spine to direct the CF as to what they are to do--or definitely not do--post-2011. One just hopes that some of the necessary withdrawal planning will not in the end prove wasted effort, depending on what the government at long last decides.