The article Canada's Kandahar Legacy Rests On A Shift In Strategy, But Is There Enough Time? (front page, Jan. 2) considers how the security situation might develop in Kandahar province. It is important to mention the presence, since the summer of 2009, of the U.S. Army's 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and the fact that a second U.S. Army brigade combat team will be coming to Kandahar this spring.
By this spring some 10,000 soldiers from these two teams will be on the ground. By comparison the total force under Canadian command numbers around 5,000, including more American combat troops than Canadian. In addition a U.S. Army combat aviation brigade, with over 100 helicopters, has been at Kandahar since spring 2009 (our Air Force has 14 helicopters there).