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OPERATION ATHENA GALLERY

 

CC-130 Hercules pilots, Captain John Gelinas (foreground) and Captain Sylvio Roy, are seen in the cockpit prior to making a final approach into Kabul International Airport. The Canadian transport was delivering troops and supplies to the Afghan capital for Operation ATHENA, Canada's contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). <p><p> Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) arrive at Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan in a CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The troops are part of Operation ATHENA, Canada's contribution to ISAF in Kabul. <p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Newly-arrived soldiers with the Canadian International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan listen to a threat assessment briefing at the Kabul International Airport.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera A soldier with the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR), mans a C-6 machinegun on a Bison armoured vehicle, during a convoy through Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Colonel Marc Pouliot (right), and Captain Harold King, go for an early morning run along the perimeter of a Canadian Forces (CF) camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. Col Pouliot is Commander of the CF's 250-person Theatre Activation Team (TAT) in Kabul.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Corporal Todd Magee, from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR), stands sentry with a C7A1 assault rifle at an observation post in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Private Cassidy Tait, of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR), searches a locally employed civilian at the Canadian International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. All persons and vehicles entering the camp are subject to search.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Soldiers with the Afghan National Army attend a change-of-command ceremony in which Canadian Brigadier-General Peter Devlin assumed command of the 3,600 soldiers of the Kabul Multinational Brigade (KMNB) at Camp Warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera A Canadian convoy rolls past the King's Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Years of conflicts have destroyed much of the infrastructure in Afghanistan and it is estimated that Afghanistan will need as much as $30 billion over the next decade to rebuild.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Company Sergeant Major Don Tupper of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR) works out at the Canadian International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. CSM Tupper is one of the first soldiers to arrive in support of Operation ATHENA, Canada's contribution to ISAF in Kabul.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian Forces Warrant Officer Brian Minor (L), and Sergeant Steve Whitwell, inspect a bunker filled with live ammunition left over from the 10-year conflict (1979-89) between anti-communist Afghan guerillas, and Afghan government and Soviet forces in Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Minefield sign at an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world and the landmines left over from Afghanistan's 23 years of war still claim more than 100 victims a month.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera A casket with the remains of Sgt Robert Alan Short, 42, a Canadian soldier killed during a roadside blast in Kabul, Afghanistan on October 2, 2003, is repatriated back to Canada by members of The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) during a ceremony in Cologne, Germany.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera A French paratrooper and Canadian soldiers prior to a change-of-command ceremony in which Canadian Brigadier-General Peter Devlin assumed command of the 3,600 soldiers of the Kabul Multinational Brigade (KMNB) at Camp Warehouse in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), man an observation point in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Afghan President Hamid Karzai (L), greets the new commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Lieutenant General Gotz F.E. Gliemeroth during a ceremony in which NATO took over command ISAF, from Germany and the Netherlands in Kabul, Afghanistan. To the right of Lt.-Gen. Gliemeroth is the outgoing commander of ISAF, Maj.-Gen Norbert van Heyst.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian soldiers in Bison armoured vehicles prepare to leave their camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. The troops are some of the first arrivals for Operation ATHENA, Canada's contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian soldiers in a LAV III (Light Armoured Vehicle) drive past the ruins of the King's Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Corporal Jason Stoneham, from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2 RCR), stands sentry with a C7A1 assault rifle at an observation post overlooking the ruins of the King's Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera Canadian Forces Bison armoured vehicles sit in a compound at night at the Canadian International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) camp in Kabul, Afghanistan.<p><p>Credit: Sgt Frank Hudec/Canadian Forces Combat Camera

Operation ATHENA

Operation ATHENA was Canada’s contribution of peace-support and combat forces to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from 17 July 2003 to 1 December 2011.

Operation ATHENA had two phases. In Phase I, it was essentially a peace-support mission in Kabul, where ISAF was concerned with ensuring security while the nascent Afghan government developed its constitution and held its first elections. In Phase II, Operation ATHENA moved to Kandahar Province to become the Canadian Forces’ longest-running combat mission.