Each day, the ships of the Canadian Naval Task Group patrol an area the size of Lake Ontario. To date, Canadian ships in the theatre of operations have hailed more than 10,000 ships and conducted more than 260 boardings - almost 60 percent of boardings by the entire coalition fleet. To achieve this remarkable productivity, the Canadian ships spend a tremendous amount of time at sea; for example, HMCS Iroquois and HMCS Charlottetown were each at sea for 74 days without a break, and HMCS Vancouver completed more than 79 days, the longest time a Canadian warship has spent at sea in recent memory. The ships' helicopters and their crews are also worked very hard; between October 2001 and February 2002, the two crews of the Sea King helicopter borne in HMCS Halifax logged more than 550 flying hours, a record for a single deployment. On some days, these crews flew up to four sorties, working 14 to 18 hours straight. During her first six weeks in theatre, HMCS Ottawa distinguished herself by hailing more than 100 vessels operating in her area of responsibility. The task of patrolling and intercepting vessels can produce unexpected results. In each encounter, the action taken by the Canadian ship was to record the incident and alert the appropriate authorities. The HMCS Vancouver boarded one vessel containing electronic equipment and more than 10,000 bottles of beverage alcohol; another was fully loaded with oil smuggled out of Iraq. HMCS Toronto led the seizure and destruction of an abandoned dhow containing a load of drugs worth millions of dollars. While patrolling, Canadian ships are sometimes called on for more humanitarian interventions. HMCS Vancouver came to the aid of a disabled dhow carrying 45 dehydrated people who had been adrift at sea for about a week with nothing to eat or drink. After receiving first aid, food, water and engineering assistance from the frigate, passengers and crew were able to resume their journey in the dhow. In March 2002, the crew of HMCS Preserver also saved lives when they rescued two severely dehydrated Arab sailors found adrift in a disabled vessel. In July 2002, HMCS Algonquin co-operated with CF marine patrol aircraft and a French warship to apprehend four suspected Al-Qaeda members. On July 13 and July 17, boarding parties from HMCS Algonquin detained suspects and handed them over to U.S. military forces. On October 31, 2002 HMCS Montréal intercepted a ship bound for Iraq carrying suspicious cargo. On searching the cargo, a boarding party from the ship discovered suspicious materiel, including five 24-metre patrol boats, that appeared to be in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions against Iraq. The vessel was turned over to another coalition ship in the region for a thorough investigation. Army Deployment of the Battle Group In mid-November 2001, the U.S. asked its coalition partners (including Canada) to provide ground troops for a stabilization force to be deployed in areas secured by the Northern Alliance to facilitate distribution of humanitarian relief and supplies to the people of Afghanistan. In accordance with this request, Canada immediately placed 1,000 members of the Immediate Reaction Force (Land) (IRF(L)) on 48 hours' notice to deploy. The IRF(L) is a light, fully mobile force designed to respond quickly to overseas missions, and therefore, highly suitable for evolving operations; at that time, it was drawn mostly from the highly trained Edmonton- and Winnipeg-based battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The situation on the ground in Afghanistan changed significantly during November and December 2001. Consequently, the Government of Canada received a request from the U.S. for a contingent of about 750 Canadian soldiers to deploy to Kandahar as part of the U.S. Army task force built around the 187th Brigade Combat Team (187 BCT) from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In January 2002, Canada agreed to deploy the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) Battle Group, which included a reconnaissance squadron from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)), and combat service support elements from 1 Service Battalion. The U.S. request for Canadian assistance was based on our allies' knowledge of and confidence in the ability of the CF to contribute to international security. During their six-month deployment in Afghanistan, the soldiers of the 3 PPCLI Battle Group performed tasks ranging from airfield security to combat. The LdSH(RC) reconnaissance squadron is equipped with Canadian-made Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicles, which our U.S. allies specifically requested for this mission. With a top speed of 100 kilometres per hour and the ability to climb hills with a 60-degree slope, the Coyote is well suited to terrain such as that of Afghanistan, and it has high-technology surveillance and long-range detection systems comprising state-of-the-art optics, thermal imagery, image intensifiers, surveillance radar, and laser range-finders. Afghanistan gave the Coyote many chances to show off its unique capabilities. For example, soon after the Battle Group's arrival in theatre, two Coyotes were dispatched to defend the crews of two American Apache helicopters that had been caught in a dust storm and forced to land outside the Kandahar airfield. The deployment of the 3 PPCLI Battle Group significantly increased the number of CF personnel directly involved in Operation APOLLO. It also represented another important contribution of direct support to Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, and demonstrated yet again the importance of interoperability with our allies. The Government of Canada decided to bring the 3 PPCLI Battle Group back to Canada when it had completed six months of service in Afghanistan. The redeployment was announced on June 21, 2002, and the troops arrived back in Canada in two contingents on July 28 and 30. The repatriation of the Battle Group was synchronized with the scheduled rotation of American troops to permit the Battle Group to travel by American airlift. From the beginning, Canada agreed to deploy land forces in Afghanistan for only six months, and the CF's current high level of operational activity means that the deployment of another Battle Group is not viable at this time. Future contributions are being assessed as the international campaign continues. Events to date On February 1, the first soldiers of the 3 PPCLI Battle Group departed Edmonton for Kandahar, some by Canadian and U.S. military airlift, and others by chartered civilian air services. The movement of troops and equipment, including 125 vehicles and trailers, was completed on February 22. On March 7, the CF began deploying about 130 more soldiers to Afghanistan: a rifle company from the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Winnipeg. This augmentation brought the 3 PPCLI Battle Group to its full complement of three rifle companies, and a total strength of about 850 all ranks.
http://www.austin2600.org/mirrors/leaflets/www.centcom.mil/Operations/Coalition/Coalition_pages/canada.htmWithin the last couple of days I had heard that Canada was supplying quite a large amount of sea power patroling off Iraq. Unfortunately my google searces haven't been able to turn up much recent data. All I have found is above. Maybe some navy types could update us on the present.
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