Yellowknife (May 29/06) - It was still 30C in Kandahar at 9:24 p.m. this past Tuesday and longtime Yellowknife Mountie Al McCambridge was winding down after another long day in Kandahar City.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Al McCambridge and members of the Afghan police provide security around a roadside bomb. These "improvised explosive devices" have killed and injured dozens of Afghan security forces and Canadian Forces personnel. McCambridge will spend a year in Afghanistan helping train police there. He's a member of a provincial reconstruction team based in Kandahar City. - photo courtesy of Al McCambridge

Half a world away from his family, McCambridge talked about his mission with a provincial reconstruction team (PRT), training Afghan police.

"There's no question, this is a combat area," said Staff Sgt. McCambridge, who took up this posting after a couple of years in Inuvik.

"There have been IEDs (improvised explosive devices) that have detonated. There has been what I consider a high loss of life for Afghan security forces.

"There are people that I have met who are no longer with us."

He went to Kandahar in March and will spend a year there, working out of Camp Nathan Smith as part of a 250-member team that includes police, Canadian Forces, Canadian International Development Agency and Foreign Affairs staff.

Before he left, McCambridge carefully explained what he was about to do to his family members in Yellowknife and Ontario.

"I could not do what I am doing without the family support from Dawn, my better half," he said.

"They understand the risks."

He's in regular contact via e-mail with his family and is collecting plenty of photographs, memories and souvenirs of his time overseas to bring home.

McCambridge chooses his words carefully, as much for security purposes as anything.

He says he's never been shot at, but regularly hears the sounds of fighting, some of it involving the 2,000-strong Canadian military contingent based out of Camp Julien.

Kandahar province has been the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks. It was the home base for the Taliban that ruled the country for many years.

When he leaves the PRT base, McCambridge says they go prepared for any contingency, with body armour and C-8 automatic rifles. They travel in armoured vehicles, accompanied by members of the Canadian Forces.

"I've seen the military and their level of professionalism and their skills are second to none."

For security purposes, he can't disclose the frequency of his patrols, but he's been out more than 30 times.

McCambridge said he has a good working relationship with Afghan police, one of whom has worked with the Russians, Taliban, Americans and now Canadians.

"He really takes pride in that partnership," he said.

The job doesn't come with a lot of interaction with the general public, but McCambridge said 18 years as an RCMP officer in the North has helped him adapt to the job of policing Afghanistan.

"In some ways, it's very much similar to (policing in the North), to the unpredictability of where we're going to go and what we're going to do next.

"It's not a drastic leap for myself. You have to respect the language and culture and accept that things are done differently."

He noted that Afghanistan is a Third World country, where little advances like "being able to go to school" make his and his family's sacrifices worthwhile.

"It definitely gives me a renewed appreciation for what Canada has to offer."

He said most of the people he has met are grateful the Canadians are in their country to help provide security.

"Some are frustrated at the pace of change."

A second Yellowknifer, Leigh Clements is also in Kandahar. She arrived there in January for a six-month tour with the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency.

News/North was unable to interview Clements by deadline.