Canadian Air Force officer returns from helping Afghans rebuild

By Mike Cope and Kristina Davis

Major Heather DeChamplain visiting with Afghan men and women during her six month deployment to the country.

"We are there solely to help the people of Afghanistan develop the capability to do it on their own."

This plain and simple statement sums up the recent visit to Afghanistan by Major Heather DeChamplain as part of Operation Argus. Since September 2005 the Canadian Forces has, on a bi-lateral basis, provided a small team of strategic military planners to support Afghanistan in its efforts to rebuild.

Maj DeChamplain, an Aerospace Engineer (AERE) currently assigned to the Chief of the Air Staff at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, recently visit the country and described her experiences during a recent address to the Defence Women's Advisory Organization last month.

"As a woman I truly wondered how I would be accepted – would I be listened to and respected. Amazingly, there were no problems with any of the people I worked with – I felt truly welcomed and my help was constantly sought."

Just over a year ago the Maj DeChamplain and the rest of the team (known as Canadian Strategic Advisory Team – Afghanistan (CSAT-A) deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan under the direction of General Rick Hillier, Chief of the Defence Staff, and at the request of President Hamid Karzai.

Originally consisting of 13 and now 15 military members, one civilian defence analyst and an employee of the Canadian International Development Agency, the team is tasked to bring two main areas of expertise to the Government of Afghanistan: strategic planning and capacity building.

The CSAT-A is not part of the military presence in Afghanistan most Canadians would associate with the soldiers they see on TV who work under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) or the Combined Force Command - Afghanistan (CFC-A), but works directly within the central Government of Afghanistan.

"Our focus could be stated as 'leading from behind' with the goal of assisting the Afghans in developing their own documents and processes. For them, ownership of the end result of these efforts is very important. Value for the Afghanis is to witness equality in action – both men and women accepted that I could do just about anything but there was a lack of belief that Afghan women could or even in some cases should be able to do the same."

Throughout her six-month tour, Maj DeChamplain was directly involved with several issues, most notably:

• Public Administrative reform
• Strategic and Corporate implementation plans
• Work plans and responsibilities
• Performance assessments
• Gender equality policy for civil servants, and
• Strategic intent for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development

During her tour, Maj DeChamplain says she met many Afghans and formed some close friendships. Some she still e-mails and she was even invited to a wedding while she was there. She says the people are ready to move forward and they want "it" now.

The "it" are things Canadians take for granted. She met some 20-somethings who wanted "something more". If they were not at work, they were at home. They had no "social life". And they weren't pining for a Western existence, just something more than work and family.

Maj DeChamplain says it's a common misconception that security woes are everywhere. And while it's true of the south, not so elsewhere, she says. "Development is happening," she adds and there are victories, albeit small and relative ones. She points to the notoriously bad traffic. One day members of the Afghan National Police force started directing traffic. After a time, traffic flow improved—a small, but significant victory.

She knows there are enormous challenges still, but is proud of the work the team did. She's especially proud of their true advisory role, often staying in the background, as local and workable solutions were hammered out.

She's also pleased with the kind of work they did: "It's the value of helping in a different way."

Besides Maj DeChamplain, two other officers from the Directorate of Air Strategic Planning are currently deployed in support of the Afghanistan mission. Lieutenant-Colonel Derek Joyce is currently assigned to ISAF while Major J.P.Regnier is deployed to Camp Mirage, the hub of Air Force operations in Southwest Asia in support of Canadian Forces operations in Afghanistan.