Task Force K-Bar  Led by the United States and composed of special operations forces from eight nations, Task Force K-Bar (originally Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - South (CJSOTF-SOUTH)) was the first major ground deployment in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, operating from October 2001 to April 2002. Originally operating out of Oman's Masirah Air Base before deploying themselves directly in southeastern Afghanistan, K-Bar was under the command of then-Captain Robert Harward, a US Navy SEAL. Harward was full of praise for the troops under his command, and later stated that the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 team was his first choice for any direct action mission. In total, K-Bar ran 42 reconnaissance and surveillance missions, and an unreported number of combat missions that resulted in the capture of 107 Afghans and the deaths of at least 115. In 2004, the units participating in Task Force K-Bar were each awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by George W. Bush for their service in Afghanistan. The Task Force was composed of U.S. Navy SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant-craft crewmen, U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers, and Coalition special operations forces from Canada, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.  Originally operating out of Oman's Masirah Air Base before deploying themselves directly in southeastern Afghanistan, K-Bar was under the command of then-Captain Robert Harward, a US Navy SEAL. Harward was full of praise for the troops under his command, and later stated that the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 team was his first choice for any direct action mission. Task Force K-Bar was part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF), under the overall command of General Tommy Franks at CENTCOM. TF K-Bar was given the responsibility of southern Afghanistan, was commanded by Navy SEAL Captain Robert Harward and formed around SEAL Teams 2, 3 and 8 and operators from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group. The task force would primarily conduct special reconnaissance (SR) and sensitive site exploitation (SSE) missions – intelligence gathering at former enemy locations, some 3rd SFG ODAs were also given the foreign internal defense and unconventional warfare role. In January 2002, another series of caves was discovered in Zawar Kili, just south of Tora Bora. Airstrikes hit the sites before SOF teams were inserted into the area. A SEAL platoon from SEAL Team 3, including several of their Desert Patrol Vehicles, accompanied by a German KSK element and a Norwegian SOF team spent some nine days conducting an extensive site exploitation, clearing an estimated 70 caves and 60 structures in the area, recovering a huge amount of both intelligence and munitions, but they did not encounter any al-Qaeda fighters. In March 2002, ODAs from 3rd SFG took part in Operation Anaconda, teams from TF-K Bar and Task Force 64 (1 squadron Australian SAS Regiment) were inserted into a valley in the area of operations and were tasked with establishing their own observation posts which "had to be tenable, afford good reconnaissance and cover the identified escape routes or 'rat lines' into Pakistan" according to one of the US planners. In total, K-Bar ran 42 reconnaissance and surveillance missions, and an unreported number of combat missions that resulted in the capture of 107 Afghans and the deaths of at least 115. In 2004, the units participating in Task Force K-Bar were each awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by George W. Bush for their service in Afghanistan. The Task Force was composed of U.S. Navy SEALs, Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen, U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers, and coalition special operations forces from Canada, Norway, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Turkey.[8] The task force comprised approximately 2,800 troops, 1,300 operating in Afghanistan and another 1,500 based throughout the theater of operations.  

Joint Task Force 2 (JTF 2; French: Deuxième Force opérationnelle interarmées) is an elite Tier 1 special operations force of the Canadian Armed Forces, serving under the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. JTF 2 is known to work with other special operations forces such as the American Delta Force and Seal Team Six, the British Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, and the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and 2nd Commando Regiment, and has distinguished itself as a world-class special operations unit. Serving as the centrepiece of Canadian special operations, JTF 2 is primarily tasked with counter-terrorism operations, both domestic and abroad, and specializes in direct action, special reconnaissance and surveillance, hostage rescue, protective security, foreign internal defence and other high-value tasks. Much of the information regarding JTF 2 is classified, and is not commented on by the Government of Canada.  In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and the American declaration of a War on Terror, approximately 40 JTF 2 soldiers were sent to southern Afghanistan in early December 2001 to be part of Task Force K-Bar, under the command of Captain Robert Harward. The Canadian public was not informed of the deployment. However, in Sean M. Maloney's book Enduring the Freedom, it was reported that JTF 2 was secretly deployed without Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's permission in early October 2001. Under Task Force K-Bar, JTF 2 worked extensively with the U.S. 3rd Special Forces Group; one of their first missions in Afghanistan was what Harward described as "the first Coalition direct action mission since the Second World War." The joint operation with a team of Green Berets targeting a Taliban command node almost ended in disaster when a Chinook carrying JTF 2 operators was forced to make a hard landing near the target site.[16] While serving with Task Force K-Bar, Harward also stated that the JTF 2 team under his command was his first choice for any direct action. Several months later, The Globe and Mail published an image on its front page showing operators in distinctive forest-green Canadian Forces combat uniforms delivering captured prisoners to the Americans. This prompted an outcry in Parliament as MPs were never informed these operations were underway. Vice Admiral Greg Maddison was called before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to address claims that Minister of Defence Art Eggleton had purposely misled the public and the government, even failing to inform the Prime Minister that JTF 2 had been operating in Afghanistan. Segments of the Canadian media made much of the special forces handing over detainees, particularly those who may have been sent to Guantanamo Bay. In January 2002, JTF 2 deployed reconnaissance teams to the series of caves discovered in Zhawar Kili, just south of Tora Bora. Airstrikes hit the sites before SOF teams were inserted into the area. A platoon from SEAL Team 3, including several of their Desert Patrol Vehicles, accompanied by a German Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) element and a Norwegian SOF team, spent some nine days conducting extensive site exploitation, clearing an estimated 70 caves and 60 structures in the area, recovering a huge amount of both intelligence and munitions, but they did not encounter any al-Qaeda fighters. In March 2002, JTF 2 reconnaissance teams took part in Operation Anaconda; they also conducted close protection tasks and participated in numerous direct action missions, allegedly including the siege at Mirwais hospital in Kandahar, where a US Army Special Forces operational detachment-A (SFODA) killed a group of al-Qaeda terrorists hiding in a hospital ward; JTF 2 also carried out numerous operations with the New Zealand Special Air Service. JTF 2's first rotation was completed when they returned to Canada in May 2002, to be replaced by a second, shorter term, deployment until October 2002. In 2004, an estimated 40 members of JTF 2 serving with Task Force K-Bar were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by the U.S. government for service in Afghanistan. Very little is known on JTF 2 operations in Afghanistan, but during a conference the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, stated that JTF 2 was in "high demand" and that they were considered to be "world class". He went on to say that the unit was providing direct support to the Afghan government and was targeting the Taliban leadership in southern Afghanistan. He stated that "trying to help neutralize those leaders is a key part of their role and that's what they will continue to do."  On 26 November 2005, members of the terrorist group Swords of Righteousness Brigade – a small offshoot of possibly Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), Ansar al-Islam (AAI), Army of Islam, or a cover name for their abduction cells, or freelance cash criminal abductors – kidnapped four members (two Canadian, one British and one American) of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Baghdad, Iraq. In response, Task Force Knight — the British special forces task force in Iraq — initiated Operation Lightwater; spearheaded by B Squadron, 22nd Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), the aim of which was to find and recover the hostages; a small team of JTF 2 and Canadian intelligence experts joined the task force for the operation whilst the United States provided technical intelligence to the operation. Together the force carried out relentless raids across the city, building up a picture by exploiting intelligence in the search for the hostages, eventually on the 23 March 2006 the three remaining hostages were rescued by the SAS. The Pentagon and the British Foreign Office both commented on the instrumental role JTF 2 played in rescuing the British and Canadian Christian Peacemaker Team that were being held hostage in Iraq. Involvement of JTF 2 was not confirmed by Canadian officials. There has been much speculation in the Canadian media on possible JTF 2 operational deployments. As of 2001, the unit had 297 members, but by the end of the year, with the War on Terror becoming a reality, the federal government announced their intentions to increase it to 600 members within four years. As of 2014, the unit was believed to be in Iraq as training personnel, under the Canadian Operation Impact which is part of Operation Inherent Resolve.[26][27][28] The Canadian Government has not denied or confirmed JTF 2's involvement. In June 2017, it was reported that a JTF 2 sniper in Iraq had shot and killed an ISIL fighter from a distance of 3,540 metres (2.20 mi), setting a world record for the longest confirmed kill. The shot was taken from a high-rise building using a standard Canadian military issued McMillan Tac-50 rifle, a .50 caliber (12.7×99mm) anti-materiel rifle commonly used by snipers in an anti-personnel role. The Canadian Forces designation is the C15 Long-Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW)..