In Kandahar: Afghan Army Lt. Col. Sheren Shah (with phone) coordinates his men as Canadians Col. Jean-François Riffou and Maj. Bob Ritchie check the map during an operation. Andy Nelson – Staff

Making the Leap: A Canadian soldier jumps a creek during an operation in Kandahar Province. The Canadians and the British have the largest troop presence in the southern region, where they are training Afghans to lead missions on their own. ANDY NELSON – STAFF

Vantage Point: Afghan National Army soldiers watch from a roof after clearing a supply house during an operation in Kandahar Province in early April. Taliban attacks on coalition forces are frequent. ANDY NELSON – STAFF

Somber Duty: Canadian soldiers bear the coffin of Pvt. Terry John Street of Hall, Quebec, to an aircraft in Kandahar. The Canadian public has become increasingly critical of Canada’s presence in Afghanistan. Andy Nelson – Staff

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An Afghan officer, NATO behind him, leads an assault

In Afghanistan's troubled south, one mission shows how far the Afghan Army has come –and what remains to be done.

from the April 30, 2008 edition

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Staff photographer Andy Nelson shows Canadian Army officers mentoring Afghani army soldiers in Afghanistan.

Canadian mentors	An Afghan officer, NATO behind him, leads an assault
The new commandos	Americans build elite Afghan commando force
Lessons for a secure future	Linchpin in Afghan security: a better police force

Needed: good commanders

More than 30 years of war have deprived Afghanistan of many good military commanders. With a 20 percent national literacy rate, little materiel, and lack of professional training, even the good ones can't function at a high level. Afghan fighters' ability to famously beat back their Russian invaders in the 1980s only came with weapons and other support provided covertly by the US and other allies.

While no leader is without his flaws, Shah, who joined the mujahideen to fight the Russians after they killed his father, gets high marks from the Canadians. Tall, abrupt in speech, and handsome, he has courage and force of will, advisers here say. Still, Shah will need the institutional knowledge of his Canadian advisers for his mission amid the poppies and fruit trees.

That doesn't seem to bother him. "It takes time," Shah said the day before, referring to attaining the skills needed to fully direct the show.

For Shah's men, all of whom have been through some form of basic Army instruction, their training largely will end with this day's operation.

As the morning progresses, the Afghan commander and a battalion of about 200 men fan out in two directions along rows upon rows of mud walls that prop up the farmers' plants but make it difficult to see. The supply line they're trying to secure is a small dirt road barely big enough for a small pickup, but used by large flatbed trucks to transport food, ammunition, and other supplies to small bases throughout these fields.

The insurgent safe house they target is thought to have six men inside. Later, it's found to be a small bombmaking factory. Directing his men by radio from an abandoned earthen compound less than a mile away, Shah aligns two rifle companies around the building.

With the help of the Canadians, Shah orders his men to flush out the house. At his side is Major Ritchie, who tips the battle on the ground by calling in an airstrike. In minutes, an unmanned US plane known as a Reaper drops a 300-pound bomb on the house, killing five men. The firefight continues as the soldiers pursue a sixth man who has run away.

It is later learned that one of the dead men is Loy Lala, whom the Canadians and Afghans had been looking for for some time. Shah's men find motorcycles used by the dead insurgents and Shah decides they should be burned.

Ritchie cautions against exploding gas tanks in the middle of the mission, but his objections are overruled by Shah. He wants to prevent them from being used again – but also is eager to allow his men to leave a pointed reminder that they won this battle.

Later, as Shah's men reposition themselves, another group of Taliban is found in the green thicket. But the Afghan forces don't move quickly enough. Ritchie makes another call and a British Harrier Jump Jet arrives, flying low in a show of force, but fails to flush them out.

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