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Defence Minister Peter MacKay addresses troops at Kandahar Airfield in advance of the end of combat operations in Afghanistan on July 2, 2011.Murray Brewster/The Canadian Press

The Canadian military is moving to ensure its global reach as it adjusts to life after the combat mission in Afghanistan, plugging a hole in its supply lines in the Middle East as it tries to secure access to "hubs" in regions around the world.

The Canadian Forces signed a deal on Monday to open access to a new hub in Kuwait to replace the once-secret Dubai base that they had to leave - a facility that will house more than 200 troops at its peak later this year, when combat equipment is sent home from Afghanistan and trainers are heading in.

It's part of a broader plan to arrange hubs, perhaps just a warehouse at an air field or a deal to use one in Africa or South Korea, so that a changing Canadian Forces can maintain its expeditionary capability to take on missions around the world.

"This is about improving our flexibility, and yes, our reach, our capacity to do more, and to respond in times of crises and to contribute internationally," Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in a telephone interview from Kuwait City. "But this is not about building big logistical bases around the globe."

He added: "It's a light footprint that allows us to refuel, to maintain and to forward on equipment. … We're in discussions with a few countries, but [Kuwait]is the focus right now because of Afghanistan."

It's a sign of the shifting nature of Canada's military now: With combat in Kandahar over and the government hoping that Libya's bombing mission won't last long, training soldiers and police in Afghanistan is its main midterm mission. But so is reworking its plans to be able to respond elsewhere in the world, whether disaster or conflict.

A Canadian general who has been a deputy commander of NATO's mission to train Afghan soldiers and police, Major-General Stuart Beare, is expected to return home for a promotion to head Canada's Expeditionary Forces Command, responsible for all military operations overseas.

Gen. Beare has served in the former Yugoslavia and Cyprus, but his experience as an organizer and as an overseer of major training efforts in Canada and Afghanistan is expected to be key in the immediate aftermath of the Afghanistan combat mission, which ended formally last week.

The Canadian Forces are already heavily involved in a fighting mission in Libya, now mandated until the end of September, and the Canadian government hopes it will not be a long-term engagement.

'Yes, we've put a time frame on our efforts there, in keeping with parliamentary agreement. That role is one that we hope will wind down," Mr. MacKay said. But Afghanistan training will be a three-year operation, and a sizable one.

"The [Afghanistan]training is really a continuation, and I would say a natural extension, taking a lot of that combat experience and imparting those lessons learned and injecting into the Afghan security forces that degree of professionalism, of hardness, of communication … in the hopes of preserving those hard-fought gains down in Kandahar."

The training mission to increase the size and skills of Afghanistan's army and police forces is one reason Canada has signed a three-year deal for access to two ports, one military and one civilian, a civilian airport, a military air field, and barracks. But a big part is also the return of heavy equipment and kit from the combat mission.

At its peak, after September, the Kuwait hub will house more than 200 Canadian troops loading equipment onto ships and planes to be sent back to Canada, Mr. MacKay said, while a new training mission, expected to number 950 troops, is being geared up. The Canadians in Kuwait will be housed alongside U.S. troops already based there. By the end of the year, when most of the combat-mission equipment has been moved, the numbers in Kuwait will drop below 200, although Canada will still have cargo planes there for transporting trainers and equipment for training.

Setting up a new Middle East hub was a priority because the Canadian Forces were kicked out of their previous staging base, Camp Mirage, in October in a dispute with the United Arab Emirates over more extensive landing rights in Canada for its two airlines, Emirates and Etihad.

But the Canadian Forces are looking for small outposts in other regions, reportedly in Senegal, Kenya, South Korea and Singapore. The military already has a small logistics base in Germany for Afghanistan operations, and a military training centre in Jamaica, which was used for some earthquake-relief operations in Haiti.

"Canada, looking out into the future, will be asked to shoulder more of the load. And places like Jamaica have strategic importance for us. Our reach into the Americas, into our backyard, is important, as we saw in Haiti, during times of crisis," Mr. MacKay said.

He insisted that the overseas missions in Afghanistan and Libya have brought international recognition for Canadian sacrifice and leadership, and those roles will not disappear. "These roles are enduring and I believe they have enhanced, and, in fact, projected Canada's image into a new level of engagement."

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