serving on military exchange programs in the US and other countries to participate in US operations in Afghanistan. Eggleton summed up the dominant thinking in the government at the time: "Any Canadian military deployment to Afghanistan may well be similar to a situation in Eritrea and Ethiopia where we went in on the first wave, we helped establish the stabilization, the basis for ongoing peace support operations that would come after ... but then turned it over to somebody else." The operations were aimed at identifying and neutralizing Al-Qaeda members in that country, as well as toppling the Taliban regime, which was supporting international terrorism. In addition to standard combat training, mission-specific training has been part of a Canadian soldier's preparation for service on peacekeeping, peacemaking, and stability operations since the 1960s. This played a significant role in the war in Afghanistan. Soldiers needed to be aware of local traditions, beliefs and social institutions, and why groups "might oppose the establishment of peace and order." This training, accompanied by psychological triaging with a soldier's family, made the Afghanistan deployment the most-prepared of any overseas CAF mission. There was a clear goal during training: that success of the mission was a sustainable Afghan government that could serve the needs of its peoples. It was this notion that shaped the Canadian and NATO approach toward reconstructing Afghanistan. 2001–2002: Operation Apollo, Initial deployment General Ray Henault, Chief of the Defence Staff, issued preliminary orders to several CAF units as Operation Apollo was established. The Canadian commitment to US operations in Afghanistan was originally planned to last until October 2003. Approximately 40 Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) soldiers were sent to southern Afghanistan in early December 2001. The Canadian public was not informed of the deployment, and Sean M. Maloney's book Enduring the Freedom reported that JTF2 had been deployed without Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's knowledge in early October 2001. Regular forces arrived in Kandahar in January–February 2002. In March, three Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) snipers fought alongside US Army units during Operation Anaconda. In the operation the team broke, and re-broke, the kill record for a long-distance sniper kill set during the Vietnam War. Operation Anaconda was also the first time since the Korean War that Canadian soldiers relieved American soldiers in a combat situation. Canadian forces also undertook Operation Harpoon in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. Other forces in the country provided