New Commander in Afghanistan

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http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=f73fbcb8-9700-4ae7-91b4-508369d9096c

New C.O. in Afghanistan well prepared
Brig.-Gen. David Fraser will lead multi-national force of 6,000 in Kandahar

Duncan Thorne
The Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, February 08, 2006 (Picture in original article)

EDMONTON - The soldier who leaves today for Afghanistan to command a multinational force has prepared for the job throughout his career, says his former boss.

Brig.-Gen. David Fraser has extensive experience working with multinational forces and is a skilled consensus-builder, said Bob Meating, a retired major-general.

"Most people are thrown into those jobs because they have been in the service for 30 years or 35 years," Meating said Tuesday. "In his case, every step along the way has been one of grooming him for this job."

Meating commanded the Edmonton-based 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in the 1990s, when Fraser was a lieutenant-colonel. Fraser, 48, assumed command in of the group in July.

He served in Cyprus and Bosnia and played and helped plan Canadian participation in Kosovo.
He speaks French, which allowed him to work as the military assistant to the French major-general commanding multinational forces in Sarajevo in 1994-95.
He helped to develop a new role for the army reserve and serves as co-director of the Bi-National Planning Group, which oversees Canadian and American efforts to improve security in the two countries.

In his previous roles, Fraser has not faced the prospect of suicide bombings, which are becoming commonplace in Afghanistan's Kandahar region.
But much of his experience has been in crisis-management, said Meating, now with the Calgary-based Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.
"He knows his business," Meating said. "He's ruthless in doing his business correctly but he is very much a communicator.

"He seeks to build consensus with people around him. When he can't build consensus then he will take the difficult decision."

Fraser is normally a colonel, the rank for brigade commanders.

He has temporarily moved up to brigadier-general while he commands 6,000 soldiers in Kandahar, mainly from Canada, Britain and the Netherlands.

It's quite possible the promotion will become permanent, Meating said.

Fraser is married and has two teenage sons. He looks on duty in Afghanistan as an evolution for Canadian soldiers.

He said the role has gradually shifted from peacekeeping in Cyprus, through hostilities in the Balkans to supporting U.S. counter-insurgency in Afghanistan.

The commander, who said he plays golf "really poorly" and is "even worse" at taekwondo, acknowledged that taking the lead in the dangerous Kandahar area of southern Afghanistan will be different.

His main concern is suicide bombers, he said, citing the deaths of 12 people in Tuesday's bomb attack on a Kandahar police station.

"My second concern will be explosive devices on roads and things like that," Fraser said. "And finally, people running around with AK(-47)s shooting at us.

"But we've got the training and we've got the people to deal with it."

An added complication is the violence that has spread among Muslims outraged about cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

"It does illustrate some of the cultural sensitivities," he said. "I just spent a lot of time training with my soldiers, making sure that we are culturally sensitive to the Afghan way of life and respect for their religion, because this is not Canada.

"We are a different culture and we've got to make sure that we are sensitive to their way of doing business.

"This is not just a military mission. This is a Canadian mission. This is Canadians helping Afghans."

dthorne@thejournal.canwest.com

Stay safe sir, and thank you.