I recently had the great pleasure to chat via Skype with LCol Jeff Smyth in Kandahar. Not only is he the CO of 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Edmonton, but he's also currently Commanding Officer of the Canadian Helicopter Force (Afghanistan). Anyone interested in what our Tactical Helicopter crews flying Griffons and Chinooks are up to will find the three videos I've put up of interest.
The videos are about twenty-two minutes long in total, and touch on everything from the type of training and missions Smyth's Griffon and Chinook crews are flying, to little known Air Force interactions with the fledgling ANA Air Corps, to the reliability of the helicopters under his command - a couple of which might have flown in Vietnam!
I also think it's notable that Smyth's choppers have moved, on average, 2800 troops and 170,000 lbs of cargo - or over 300 trucks' worth - per month this past year. That's a lot of personnel and materiel put out of the reach of the insurgency's biggest weapon: IEDs.
Our troops continue to be underrated and unsung heroes.
The Lt Col Jeff Smyth interview is wonderful - especially segment #3.
Kinda puts Olympic Gold in perspective. Canadians should be cheering for these folks.
Thanks Damian
MM
Of course the Griffons and Chinooks beat the hell out having transport trucks running the IED gauntlet.
The LIEberals managed to sell our Chinooks to the Dutch until we had to repurchase some replacements.
Another short sighted master stroke of 'genius'.
Now about those "Sea King" replacements...
another 25 year odyssey...that deserves a well placed boot to the Her Majesty's government backside.
The guys in the purchasing dept. couldn't organize a beer garden in a brewery.
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North"
In the interests of fairness, Hans-Christian, while the Chretien Liberal government was disastrous for the CF on a number of levels, it was the Mulroney PC government that sold our old Chinooks to the Dutch.
Did your mom did not tell you
do not give gun in hand of any child?
those babies may back and shoot to your feet at you first
--
what we remember from Reagan was
he is the one who gave gun in hand of baby
First he gave gun in hand of Sadam then we saw war of Iraq-Iran
second was Iran and Hebeollah to help Hamas and Fatah
THen we saw war of US_Iran
third we saw they gave weapon in hand of Taleban and Ben Landen-Alqadeh
then we saw war of US-Alqadeh
4th they are now give wepon in hand of Pakistan
soon we see new war Pakistan and Afganstan
5th we saw they gave weapon in hand of Afgani
can this circle get stopped by US armies?
even
://ezralevant.com/2010/02/ann-coulter-to-tour-canada-ema.html
even Ann COulter come soon to teach
how Canadian women be prepare to fight within
bikini war soon we have inside Canada
(lol)
Sure isn't any New Info @1:34 pm!
Same old, same old....
I stand corrected Damian.
The boot to Her Majesty's government when it comes to various and sundry helicopters still applies...
:)
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North"
Info thinks repeating the same lies make them become the truth.
The Taliban and Bin laden NEVER RECEIVED ANY MATERIAL SUPPORT FROM ANY US AGENCY.
The Taliban NEVER FOUGHT THE RUSSIANS IN AFGHANISTAN. They sat out that war in Pakistan and only entered Afghanistan during the chaos following the Russian withdrawl.
The Mujahedin who defeated the Russians became the Northern Alliance and are now the legally elected government of Afghanistan.
Don't forget that "Info" is lying about US arms sales to Iraq too - France and the USSR were by far the largest suppliers of weaponry to Saddam. US sales were a drop in the bucket by comparison.
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