Service Battalion - Operational Employment

Operational Employment

Although Canadian service battalions were a product of the Cold War and were expected to operate as complete units in support of Canadian Army brigades and brigade groups in the field, the recent move to Fourth Generation Warfare has altered their role. Combat service support to ongoing operations, e.g. in Afghanistan, is now generally provided by 'National Support Elements', tailored to the task at hand and not necessarily formed of just one service battalion. This change has made service battalions largely force-generation units, which admittedly also provide essential support in garrison.

LCol John Conrad bleakly described the evolution of Canadian logistics in his book, "What the Thunder Said: Reflections of a Canadian Officer in Kandahar". He deployed to Afghanistan with an establishment capped at 300 all-ranks that almost failed to fuel, fix and feed troops during Op Medusa in the summer of 2006. The doctrine, he describes, was unprepared for the intensity of mobile 360 degree warfare. At one point the planners lost count of LAV III cannon ammunition just as the battle group was firing much more ammunition than any tables predicted. In another section, he wrote about his own command group hitting an IED west of Kandahar City, conducted the response drills then summoning his administration clerk with mock gravity to draft CF52 General Allowance Claim to replace the underwear he soiled! Conrad's book is surprising but rare glimpse inside the logistics function in battle.