Afstan: It's official--ISAF RC South bifurcated

Further to this post, with lots of detail and background,

Canadian to be deputy commander new ISAF RC South (East)/Brits to Kandahar 2011?

confirmation:

NATO Agrees to Split of Regional Command South, Afghanistan

International Security Assistance Force HQ Public Affairs

AFGHANISTAN - On May 21, 2010, the North Atlantic Council in consultation with non-NATO International Security Assistance Force Troop Contributing Nations [e.g. Aussies in Uruzgan], gave final authorization for the reorganisation of ISAF's Regional Command South and the establishment of an additional Regional Command South-West – RC(SW) – in Afghanistan. This new organisation will be effective later this summer.

The new RC(SW) will have responsibility for the Helmand and Nimruz provinces and will be placed initially under the command of the United States. Regional Command South, which is under the command of British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, will retain the provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan [more here], Zabul [over 1,000 Romanians there, in addition to US Army and some Jordanians--see p. 2 here] and Daikundi.

The decision was taken upon the recommendation by Gen. McChrystal, commander of ISAF, to optimize the command and control of a Regional Command that has grown exponentially since its transfer to NATO's command in 2006. With more than 50,000 ISAF troops and eight Afghan national army brigades operating in six different provinces, the strain on the span of control would have been too high for Regional Command South in its present configuration. The new structure will ease the burden of Regional Command South and enable more adapted and efficient counter-insurgency operations at the local level.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe has now been authorized to implement the restructuring. Work in-theatre has already started for the new Regional Command to become fully operational in the summer of 2010.

Via milnews.ca.

Update: As far as I can see this significant development has, shockingly, received almost no coverage in either the Canadian or US major media