ANTI-TERRORISM UNIT EFFICIENT, BUT LOW-PROFILE

Byline: By PAUL MOONEY The Canadian Press

The Canadian Armed Forces unit Joint Task Force 2 is a shadowy, highly skilled counter-terrorist force of undetermined size, based somewhere near Ottawa with an anonymous commanding officer.
And that's the way the military wants to keep it.
But enough is known about similar units deployed by Canada's allies to establish a general profile of the crack force.
The Armed Forces set up Joint Task Force 2 when they took over anti-terrorist duties from the RCMP in April 1993. Its size, weapons, training and location of its base aren't disclosed.
``We don't talk about it because we are not going to tip our hand about the unit's capabilities,'' Maj. Ric Jones said Wednesday. ``Those the unit is designed to counter could use that kind of information.''
Joint Task Force 2 drew attention Wednesday after reports it was sent to Bosnia five months ago to rescue Canadian troops taken hostage by Serb forces. The unit was not used, the Ottawa Citizen reported.
The Forces won't comment on the report.
But Task Force 2 - the Forces never refer to it as a commando unit - was on alert for the Commonwealth games last year in Victoria.
And it will no doubt be on alert for the G-7 summit of the leading industrialized countries next month in Halifax, although that does not necessarily mean its soldiers will patrol rooftops over the summit or even be in the city.
The unit's primary mandate is ``to be ready to respond as a force of last resort to terrorist events or major disturbances of the peace affecting national security.''
As a unit of the Armed Forces, it can also be sent on whatever other missions commanders deem necessary.
The all-volunteer unit is drawn from the three services of the Forces and commanded by a lieutenantcolonel. Some experts put unit strength at between 200 and 250 men but the Forces will not confirm the size.
Its highly fit soldiers and officers would be trained to re-take buildings or aircraft held by terrorists. They would be deployed with a variety of special equipment such as stun and flash grenades, automatic assault weapons and other equipment needed to storm fortified positions.
Each member would have nightvision equipment for himself and for his weapons; the unit would include skilled marksmen and explosive experts.
At least part of the force would be on alert at all times, equipment packed and ready to go on a moment's notice.
Western countries began forming such units after the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in which 11 Israeli atheletes died in a hostage-taking by Palestinian terrorists.
Western units are usually trained using methods developed by the Special Air Service, the famed British force. After the Munich tragedy, Germany formed a crack unit known as the GSG-9.
The Canadian government earmaked $20 million in start-up costs for the Armed Forces unit over two years. That included the purchase of land and some equipment it bought from the RCMP.