Operation Athena was the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

' contribution to the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF) in Afghanistan. The operation was divided in two phases: the first one took place from July 2003 to July 2005 in the

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

region and the second one from August 2005 to December 2011 in the

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

area. The operation's main objective was to improve Afghanistan's security and governance. Operation Athena in Kandahar constituted the longest combat mission in the history of Canadian Forces. With over 40,000 Canadian military members that, at some point, entered the country—often several times—this operation constitutes the largest military deployment of the Canadian Forces since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Lee Berthiaume,
End of Afghan mission leaves vets grappling with their return to Canada
', National Post, February 27th, 2012, Page consulted on October 8th, 2012

Context

Following the terrorist attacks on

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the United States started a military campaign against the Taliban regime and

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

in Afghanistan. Canada officially joined this campaign on October 9, 2001. Operation Athena followed Operation Apollo, codename for the initial deployment of Canadian Force troops in Afghanistan from October 2001 to October 2003. Operation Athena was an integral part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan created by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 on December 13, 2001. Thereafter, other United Nations Security Council Resolutions have extended the ISAF's mandate. The military operation in Afghanistan was part of a government-wide effort; indeed, Canada is one of the main international donors in Afghanistan and several other ministries were involved along with the Canadian Department of National Defence.

Purpose

Operation Athena's objective was to assist the Afghan government in order to help it govern better in a more stable environment.Operation Athena
on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command website, Page consulted on January 4th, 2012 Its purpose was to deploy 5300 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, within a coalition of about forty countries.
Canadian Involvement
', Radio-Canada, October 31st, 2008, Page consulted on the January 12th, 2012 In this context, the ISAF was in charge of fighting the

insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

, and on a wider scale, was also responsible of the development and maintenance of security; Canada was, in terms of number of troops provided to the ISAF, the fifth country after the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The Kandahar Province provincial reconstruction team (PRT) aims to help the Afghan government to rebuild the country with the help of developmental projects, but also to extend its authority and to provide services to the citizens. The PRT – one of the 27 in Afghanistan – was under Canadian responsibility during Phase Two of Operation Athena. The Kandahar PRT was composed of diplomats, engineers, policemen, correctional officials and soldiers.Provincial Reconstruction Teams
on the Canadian involvement in Afghanistan website, page consulted on January 5th, 2012 It represented the Afghan government before the Province's local authorities.

Phases of the Operation

Phase One

Operation Athena began on 17 July 2003 with the installation of Brigadier-General Peter Devlin as commander of the ISAF's Kabul Multi-National Brigade. Two days later, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment began deploying as the first rotation of Task Force Kabul. The operation evolved into a 1,900 personnel task force which provided assistance to civilian infrastructure such as well-digging and repair of local buildings. ISAF's primary objective in 2004 was ensuring the safe conduct of Afghanistan's first democratic election, which was held on 9 October 2004.

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...

was declared the winner, and on 9 December 2004 he was inaugurated President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Phase one of Operation Athena ended in July 2005.

Phase Two

In 2005, ISAF began to extend its operations beyond Kabul to support the development and growth of Afghanistan's governmental institutions, especially its national security forces. In August 2005, the second phase of Operation Athena began with the Canadian Forces assuming command of Kandahar Province from a United States Army task force deployed under

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

History

Operation Athena started on July 17, 2003, in the Kabul region when Brigadier General Peter Devlin was assigned to command the multinational ISAF brigade, the troops' deployment was scheduled to effectively start on July 19, with a battlegroup built around the 3rd Battalion

Royal Canadian Regiment The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked first in the order of precedence amongst Canadi ...

. The ISAF became a coalition directed by the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

on August 11.
History
''on the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan website, page consulted on January 4th, 2012 The very same day, Major General Andrew Leslie was appointed second in command of the ISAF. The Canadian embassy in Kabul opened in August.
History of our intervention Chronology of Canada's intervention in Afghanistan 2001–2011
'' on the website of the Canadian intervention in Afghanistan, page consulted on January 9th, 2011 The ISAF's main role in 2003 was to establish and to maintain security in Kabul when the new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

was being written by the Loya Jirga, symbolizing the end of the Taliban regime.
Afghanistan: Operation Athena
'', Radio-Canada, January 29th, 2004, consulted online on January 12th, 2012 On February 9, 2004, Lieutenant-General

Rick Hillier Rick J. Hillier (born June 30, 1955) is a retired Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Forces General (Canada), general, who served as the Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada), chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) from 4 February 2005 to 1 July 2008. He pr ...

was appointed Commander of the ISAF. At this time, the Canadian military represented 40% of the ISAF. The year 2004 held the first Afghan presidential election on October 9, and it was of ISAF's responsibility to ensure that they were properly conducted. In 2005, the ISAF's efforts started to extend outside of Kabul. The second phase of Operation Athena started with the deployment of a battlegroup built around the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment in Kandahar in August 2005. This battlegroup constituted the Kandahar Task Force, taking over the American

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

deployed in this region during

.
Joint Task Forces in Afghanistan
' on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command website, page consulted on January 5th, 2012 Thus, the Canadian Forces played an important role in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous regions.Canada's military mission in Afghanistan
CBC, 10 mai 2011, Page consulted on October 8th, 2012 This second phase constituted the Canadian Forces' first participation to an oversea operation as an actor of a government-wide deployment.

Rotations

The battle groups were composed of a battalion of

regular force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, caree ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

which would normally remain in Afghanistan for about six months.

External links

CBC.ca In Depth: Operation Athena

Department of National Defence Canada – Operation ATHENA

Commander of the Army visits Operation ATHENA , by Captain Mark Gough

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athena Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Canada