New contingents of Canadian soldiers arrive in Afghanistan

Two planeloads of Canadian soldiers arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Wednesday, the first wave of replacements for soldiers who've served in the region since February.

The soldiers who arrived Wednesday after a 36-hour flight were mostly from Manitoba and Ontario.

In all, about 2,000 replacement soldiers will be arriving in the region over the next month.

Some soldiers appeared overwhelmed by the temperatures, which had reached 45 C by breakfast, the Canadian Press reported.

Canada took on a major role in the southern part of Afghanistan in the spring of 2006 withthe battle group called Task Force Afghanistan based around Kandahar.

Canada also currently commands one of the main military forces in the area, the Multi National Brigade for Command South.

On Monday, NATO troops assumed command Monday of all military operations in southern Afghanistan.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force already had troops elsewhere in Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, and in the north and the west of the country.

Leading up to the handover in the south, some 9,000 soldiers — including Canada's soldiers — had been taking part in the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom. The U.S.-led operations will continue in eastern Afghanistan.

As part of ISAF, Canadian soldiers are not expected to experience much change in the field.