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By MICHAEL STAPLES
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com

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Combat engineers from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, who will be heading to Afghanistan later this month, will see a Canadian effort more focused on the people, says the commander of Task Force Kandahar.

Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, a former commander of The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2RCR) at Gagetown, said local soldiers will see an environment that is "kind of different" because of the greater focus on Kandahar and the increased number of U.S. troops.

"It's an environment that is kind of exciting right now because of the magnifying lens that Kandahar is under," the commander said in an interview. "A lot of people are looking at Kandahar as sort of the canary in the mine, in terms of how Afghanistan is going to go."

About 30 combat engineers from Gagetown are set to deploy to Afghanistan this month for six months of duty.

The personnel are part of 4 Engineer Support Regiment (4ESR).

They will be involved in locating and destroying Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and will be part of an expedient route opening capability (EROC) element. They will be working directly for the squadron commander from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment from Petawawa.

Teams are given the task of detecting, uncovering, and neutralizing mines and IEDs using a trio of vehicles - one detects, another uncovers, while the third neutralizes.

Vance said the teams help maintain freedom of movement in theatre by keeping the roads free of mines and IEDs.

"They will work in an environment where we (also) have American EROC teams," the commander said. "We have got two EROC teams; they have got 17. It's an environment where a lot of work is being done to maintain freedom on the roads to protect Afghan civilians."

The brigadier-general said the population appreciates the presence of Canadian soldiers and their efforts in the region.

Instead of just going into areas, fighting insurgents and leaving, soldiers are staying, he said.

"When we stay and while we stay, we create secure conditions so that the PRT (provincial reconstruction team) and our civilian partners can start working on stabilization, which includes getting the Afghan government to extend certain services, improve employment and quality of life stuff. The population reacts just as you would expect, they love it."

Keeping roads clean of IEDs is part of creating those conditions and that's why the work of combat engineers from Gagetown is so important, Vance said.

"They'll be busy and they're very welcome. We love those guys."