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Volume2 Issue1
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ews and
E
vents
The Royal CanadianDental Corps:
THEWAR INAFGHANISTAN
Canada’smilitarydental serviceshave lookedaftertheoralhealth
needsofCanada’stroops inbothWorldWars,Korea,Afghanistan,
andservedonmanyotherpeacemaking,peacekeeping,humanitarian
and forensicoperations. Inthe lead-uptothe100thanniversaryof
theRoyalCanadianDentalCorps(RCDC) in2015, thisarticle isthe
seventh inaseriesthatwillbringto lightthehistoryoftheRCDC
overthe lastcentury,celebratingtheheritage,accomplishmentsand
dedicationofthedental servicespersonneloftheCanadianArmed
Forces.
OperationAPOLLO,
2002
In2002, Canadaentered the longest
sustainedconflict in itshistory. Operation
APOLLOwasCanada’s contribution to
theUS-ledoperationagainst terrorist
elements inAfghanistan—acampaign that
included sea, landandair forces. RCDC
teams (or CanadianForcesDental Services
as theDental Corpswas then known)
weredeployedwithHMCSPreserver and
HMCSProtecteur. The land-basedmission
deployedadental teamwith1Canadian
FieldHospital in theKandahar regionof
southernAfghanistan,where theharsh
climate—temperatures in the40–50°C
range, dryanddustyconditions, and
frequent highwinds—challengedNATO
personnel.
Thedental teamwas alsocalledupon
toassist themedical teamswithmass
casualties.Whena friendlyfire incident took
four lives andwoundedeight others, the
dental teamprovidedparamedical careand
supported thevictim identificationprocess.
OperationATHENA,
2003
In2003, Canadacontributed to theNATO-
led International SecurityAssistanceForce
based inKabul. Two thousandCanadian
troops, includingadental team, deployed
to thecapital city inAugust,with the
contingent reduced to600 troops for
Rotation2. TheCanadianswerehoused
inacampalongwithAmerican, Belgian,
Hungarian, SlovenianandNorwegian
troops. TheCanadiandental teamwas
inhighdemand: they treatedpatients
fromeverynation in thecamp, civilian
employees, Afghan interpreters, civilians
from theCanadian, BritishandAmerican
embassies, andBritish troops flown in from
Mazar-e-Sharif for treatment.
In late2005, theCanadiancontingent
movedback toKandahar andbecame
the leadnation for amultinational field
hospital that includedBritishandDutch
forces. Thenumber of patientshadgrown
tomany thousands and thedental team
spent longhoursprovidingemergencycare
until other dental resources arrived. The
hospital’s twomilitarydental teamswere
ledbyanoral andmaxillofacial surgeonand
acomprehensivedentist or general dentist
fromRCDC,withassistanceprovidedby
dental technicians.
Dental technicianswerealsodeployed
toKandahar towork in thepatient
administrationdepartment. They
coordinated themovement of patients
within theatre,medical evacuations to the
Americanmilitaryhospital inGermany, and
one servedas crewof aBisonarmoured
ambulance.
MajorMikeKaiser,whowas awarded the
Meritorious ServiceMedal, andMajor
AnnickGingrasboth servedasDeputy
CommandingOfficersof theCanadian
HealthServicesUnit. Colonel KevinGoheen
deployed to themultinational Role3
hospital at KandaharAirfieldas theDeputy
CommandingOfficer of the thenUS-led
fieldhospital.
