page_title: Military history of Canada
section_title: Afghanistan War
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of Canada / 21st century / Afghanistan War
caption_attribution_description: English: Soldiers from the Canadian Grenadier Guards in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.
context_page_description: The military history of Canada comprises hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Canada, and interventions by the Canadian military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. For thousands of years, the area that would become Canada was the site of sporadic intertribal conflicts among Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries, Canada was the site of four colonial wars and two additional wars in Nova Scotia and Acadia between New France and New England; the conflicts spanned almost seventy years, as each allied with various First Nation groups.
  In 1763, after the final colonial war—the Seven Years' War—the British emerged victorious and the French civilians, whom the British hoped to assimilate, were declared "British Subjects". After the passing of the Quebec Act in 1774, giving the Canadians their first charter of rights under the new regime, the northern colonies chose not to join the American Revolution and remained loyal to the British crown. The Americans launched invasions in 1775 and 1812.
context_section_description: Canada joined a US-led coalition in the 2001 attack on Afghanistan. The war was a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and was intended to defeat the Taliban government and rout Al-Qaeda. Canada sent special forces and ground troops to the conflict. In this war, a Canadian sniper set the world record for the longest-distance kill. In early 2002, Canadian JTF2 troops were photographed handing shackled Taliban prisoners over to U.S. forces, sparking a debate of the Geneva Convention. In November 2005, Canadian military participation shifted from ISAF in Kabul to Operation Archer, a part of Operation Enduring Freedom in and around Kandahar. On May 17, 2006, Captain Nichola Goddard of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery became Canada's first female combat casualty.
  One of the most notable operations of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan thus far was the Canadian-led Operation Medusa, during which the second Battle of Panjwaii was fought. At the end of 2006, the Canadian soldier was selected by the Canadian Press as the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year because of the war in Afghanistan. On November 27, 2010, the 1st Battalion of the Royal 22ᵉ Régiment took over operations in Kandahar, marking the final rotation before Canada's withdrawal from Afghanistan. In July 2011, a small contingent of Canadian troops was transferred to the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan to continue the training of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, until 2014.
caption: Soldiers from the Canadian Grenadier Guards in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.
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