Minister of National Defence Gordon O'Connor promised the newest batch of Afghanistan-bound soldiers Friday that Canada will support the mission until the job is done and the war-torn country can stand on its own.

"We will support this mission until progress in Afghanistan becomes irreversible," O'Connor said to the troops and thousands of supporters at CFB Gagetown's Red Friday rally.
 
"The job this country has bestowed upon you is far from an easy one, and yet you are prepared to go above the call of duty."

Roughly 2,000 people holding red placards stood in the snow Friday to create a human Canadian flag outside CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. Supporters turned up to bid farewell to soldiers who will go to Afghanistan this month.
(CBC)

Against a backdrop of white New Brunswick snow outside the base gym, 2,000 people held up red placards and clustered together to form a human Canadian flag in honour of the first 1,200 troops readying for deployment at the end of January.

The troops will replace returning Canadian soldiers whose mission it has been to rebuild and re-establish law, order and good government in the war-torn country.

Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier said Friday the soldiers should anticipate a spring offensive from the Taliban, "but we don't believe they will use the conventional tactics they used last summer."

So far, 44 Canadian soldiers and a Canadian diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since the first major wave of Canadian troops landed in the country in 2002.

A man in uniform wiped away tears as he listened to O'Connor speak on Friday. Husbands and wives of soldiers sat in the audience holding fidgeting children.

"I see healthy, happy children," O'Connor said, looking at the crowd. "Children who are safe and secure in their homes and community. Free to skate, play music and attend school.

"Not all Afghan families can take these things for granted. Not yet, anyway," he said.

O'Connor lauds soldiers' achievements

O'Connor assured the crowd that Afghans' lives were improving and listed soldiers' accomplishments over the last five years, including the installation of new roads and electricity for thousands of civilians and the return of 4.6 million Afghan refugees.

"These are real achievements and as the progress continues, the momentum will build and the chances of the Taliban regaining their hold on this country will be more and more remote," he said.

New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham was also at the ceremonies, along with other Atlantic provincial representatives wishing the troops good luck.

The new rotation of Canadian soldiers will continue working alongside 36 other nations and 16 UN agencies on projects that are already underway in the region.

About half of the new wave of 2,500 soldiers heading to Afghanistan comprise military men and women belonging to units from Atlantic Canada.