The Battle of Panjwaii was fought in mid-2006 with primarily Canadian and Afghan soldiers, supported by small elements of Dutch, American, and British forces against the Taliban. There were two separate times in which the forces were involved in heavy fighting in the region. The first phase was fought in July 2006, and the second encounter lasted from September to October 2006. Prior to the summer upsurge of violence and fighting, there were limited contacts in the Panjwai district. On May 17 there were a number of battles between Canadian soldiers and Taliban fighters. One of the contacts claimed the life of Captain Nichola Goddard, Canada's first female combat arms casualty. In another contact on the same day, Sergeant Michael Thomas Victor Denine's acts of heroism resulted in him being later awarded the Medal of Military Valour. After this initial fighting Task Force Orion operated as a Battle Group in Panjway and Zharie Districts from 23 May until June 14, and were involved in a classic "running fight" with numerous Taliban groups (each containing 30–40 fighters). The Task Force recorded 37 firefights in that period. Then, between June 14 and July 7, 2006, B Company of 2 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) remained in Panjwyai to keep the Taliban from seizing the initiative there while the remainder of the Task Force operated in Northern Kandahar. In mid July 2006, Canadian and Afghan forces involved in Operation Mountain Thrust came into the Panjwaii area to help clear the area of Taliban strongholds. On July 8 heavy fighting broke out in the mud wall complexes where Taliban forces decided to dig in and fight for control of this area of Panjwaii. Canadian and Afghan forces on the offensive quickly gained control of the battlefield while heavy fighting was still ongoing. One complete Taliban group was destroyed in this fighting, another received casualties. Taliban groups in Pashmul and eastern Panywayi were forced to withdraw by July 12, when fighting waned.

During the following day Canadian forces were called to support Operation Hewad – a combined endeavour by a complete brigade attempting to clear Taliban from Sangin in Helmand. Canadians were tasked to relieve British soldiers besieged in Sangin district centre, and at the same time pressure Taliban command and control throughout the lower Sangin and Gereshk districts of Helmand, operations that again involved multiple firefights each day with dozens of Taliban casualties, but no Canadian deaths. On July 17 Task Force Orion was ordered to retake the captured towns of Nawa and Garmsir, which they did after intense fighting on July 18. They stayed for another week in Helmand. All these operations affected Canadian operations in the area of the Panjwaii region. The Canadians were assisted by three US special forces teams.

B company continued operations in Panjwayi while Task Force Orion was in Helmand. The task force began concerted operations in Panjwayi again on August 2, and fought fierce battles in Pashmul again on August 3, resulting in 4 Canadians killed and 11 wounded. This battle resulted in numerous Canadian personnel earning Medals of Valour and decorations of Mentioned in Dispatches. Sgt William MacDonald received the Star of Military Valour and Cpl Bryce Keller, one of the soldiers killed on August 3, received the Medal of Military Valour. This marked the first time in Canadian history that the medal was awarded posthumously. Sgt Vaughn Ingram, Cpl Christopher Reid and Pte Kevin Dallaire all received Mentioned in Dispatches decorations posthumously. An estimated 90 Taliban – included three commanders – were killed and wounded in this fighting. The action arrested Taliban plans to launch attacks upon Kandahar City in August. Instead, they attacked Panjwayi District Centre on August 19 (Afghan Independence Day). A tough defensive fight by Afghans and soldiers from A Company 1 PPCLI held the enemy at bay, causing up to 70 Taliban casualties. There was then a lull before fighting recommenced in September. After the fighting in July, Canadian and Afghan forces left the Panjwaii region and it once again became a Taliban stronghold and a thorn in the side of Canadian forces in Kandahar province when the Taliban consequently poured back into the deserted district. The beginning of September saw the beginning of much more intense fighting in the Panjwaii region again. And once again it was Canadians spearheading the Operation. Canadian forces on the first day strategically surrounded the Taliban and called in heavy artillery and air strikes while taking no casualties themselves. On the second day, company-sized elements of the Canadian forces moved in to directly challenge the Taliban. Four soldiers were killed in two attacks. Three were killed while assaulting a Taliban position and one was killed in a bomb attack. The day after was another deadly day, a Canadian soldier was killed and more than thirty others were wounded when an American A-10 accidentally strafed Canadian troops who had called in air support while fighting the Taliban.

For the next few weeks there was more heavy fighting on a daily basis and the Taliban who had begun fighting the battle in a conventional way of trenches started to retreat from the battlefield. Canadian forces then faced sporadic resistance until Canadian forces gained the upper hand. Reconstruction efforts began immediately and small cells of Taliban fighters returned to their deadly tactics of suicide and roadside bombings. After the fighting of Operation Medusa ended, the Taliban were no longer in the district in any large numbers but attacks were still occurring fairly regularly against the Canadian forces. Mortar and bomb attacks as well as some gun battles were a stark reminder that the Taliban, although no longer massed, were still a real threat. Bomb attacks in November claimed the lives of two Canadian and one American soldier in the area. On December 2, a squadron of Canadian Leopard C2 tanks which were deployed as reinforcements during Operation Medusa made their way from Kandahar Airfield to a Canadian forward operating base in the Panjwayi district. The Canadian tanks are the heaviest piece of equipment, both in weight and firepower, that have been seen in the Panjwayi district since the Soviet fighting during the 1980s. The day after being deployed to the forward operating base, the first shots from a Canadian tank in a combat zone since the Korean War were fired. Taliban fighters attacked the Canadian base with rockets and quickly received cannon fire from the Leopard tanks.

Operation Falcon Summit was launched on December 15, 2006, when British, Canadian, Danish, and Estonian troops began massing in the Panjwayi district the morning after NATO airstrikes hit a Taliban command post. The operation was aimed at keeping up the momentum that was gathered during Operation Medusa. The first operation-related casualty was a Canadian soldier who, while en route to a meeting with tribal elders to discuss reconstruction that would be happening during and after the operation, stepped on a landmine. The soldier, Private Frederic Couture of the Royal 22e Régiment (the "Vandoos") suffered severe but not life-threatening injuries from the blast. The landmine had been planted the night before by Taliban troops that were shot and killed by Canadian soldiers who then attempted to clear away all the landmines in the area. On December 19, the Canadian forces in the area began a massive artillery and tank barrage on Taliban positions in the area of operations. Canadian Leopard tanks, M777 howitzers and heavy machine guns fired on Taliban positions for forty-five minutes before the barrage ended and Canadian ground forces advanced and secured a perimeter around the town of Howz-e Madad without firing a shot. 

2021 Update: The fall of Panjwaii casts a long shadow over Canada's Afghan war veterans. After years of bloodshed, the Canadians who served are asking themselves whether any of it was worthwhile. The declaration that Panjwaii — a wild, angry district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan — had fallen to the Taliban was greeted this week with a mixture of shock, numbness and resignation by many of the Canadian soldiers who fought in that part of the country for the better part of five years. A lot of Canadian blood was spilled on that lonely, scorched patch of land. Some of it belonged to former corporal Bruce Moncur. There was also a lot of sweat and heartbreak folded into the gnarled, sun-bleached grape and marijuana fields in this region west of Kandahar City. When soldiers referred to the killing fields of Kandahar, more often than not they were talking about Panjwaii — where Canadian troops did most of their fighting and dying amid endless fields, mud-walled compounds and empty villages. Against an often-unseen enemy, they fought for the place over and over again throughout the five-year combat mission, which formally ended a decade ago in July 2021. The Taliban — the enemy that Canadian soldiers managed to keep at bay but never quite defeat — swept through Panjwaii June,2021, handing Afghan Army troops a significant defeat and delivering a major psychological blow in the wake of the American withdrawal. .

The Special Forces Operational Detachment Alphas (ODAs) are elite teams consisting of mature, intense, highly-trained operators. SF Operators receive specialized training in advanced weapons, language, demolitions, combat medicine, military free-fall, and advanced combat tactics. Special Forces Soldiers rely on stealth to do their jobs. Teams are organized in small, highly trained groups. This ensures maximum efficiency during a mission. Teams are made up of 12 men, called Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA). Each team consists of a commander (officer), assistant commander (warrant officer), operations/intelligence sergeant and noncommissioned officer in charge, as well as two of each of the following: weapons sergeants, communications sergeants, medical sergeants and engineer sergeants. Each Soldier in an ODA is specially trained and cross-trained in different disciplines. The ODA is led by an 18A (Detachment Commander), a captain, and a 180A (Assistant Detachment Commander) who is their second in command, usually a Warrant Officer One or Chief Warrant Officer Two.

ODA - Composition. ODAs are made up of 12 men, each with a separate Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Each ODA member is cross-trained in other specialties.

A typical 12-man ODA comprises:

• 1 x Detachment Commander (18A)(Captain) The Commander is the team leader and is responsible for outfitting his ODA, organizing missions and briefing the unit on mission objectives.
• 1 x Assistant Detachment Commander (180A)(Warrant Officer 1 or Chief Warrant Officer 2) The Assistant Detachment Commander assists the ODA's Commander, ready to take over command if needed. If the ODA splits into two teams, as happened in Gulf War I, then the 180A commands the second team.
• 1 x Operations Sergeant (18Z)(Master Sergeant) The Operations Sergeant is responsible for the overall organization, functionality and training of an SF team. He makes sure the team is outfitted correctly and supports the ODA commander (18A).
• 1 x Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant (18F)(Sergeant First Class) This team member ensures that the team has all the equipment and supplies needed for the mission. He also gathers and analyzes mission-critical intelligence.
• 2 x Weapons Sergeants (18B)(Sergeant First Class / Sergeant) Weapons Sergeants are experts in a wide range of U.S. and foreign weapons systems, from pistols and to light artillery and anti-aircraft missiles
• 2 x Communications Sergeants (18E)(Sergeant First Class / Sergeant) SF Communications Sergeants are proficient in the gamut of radio communications equipment and techniques used in the field, everything from morse code to encrypted satellite transmissions and IT technology.
• 2 x Medical Sergeants (18D)(Sergeant First Class / Sergeant)
• Special Forces Medics are first-class battlefield trauma medical technicians as well as being proficient in more general medical care. The ability of SF medics to treat the medical problems of local populations is a valuable component of counter insurgency 'hearts and minds' operations.
• 2 x Engineering Sergeants (18C)(Sergeant First Class / Sergeant)  The Engineering Sergeants are the guys you go to when you want something built or destroyed. They are experts in explosive demolitions and can blow bridges, buildings and other structures to kingdom come. SF Engineers are also proficient in military and civil construction and can carry out a range of projects from fortifications to civil engineering tasks such as digging wells or building a schoolhouse.

ODA Teams: Several ODAs within a given Special Forces Group have a specialized designation that reflects its particular skill set with regards to infil/exfil method or specific role. These ODA team designations include:

• Military Free-Fall (MFF) Team - Free-Fall ODAs are trained to high standards in military parachuting, including High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) oxygen-assisted parachute insertion. All members of a MFF ODA will have gone through Military Free-Fall Parachutist Course (MFFPC). 2 members of a MFF Team will also have gone through the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster (MFFJM) course.
• Combat Diver Teams / SCUBA Teams - Special Forces Combat Diver Teams/SCUBA Teams / Dive Teams are trained in amphibious infiltration/exfiltration, including small boat ops and SCUBA diving. All members of a Combat Diver Team will have passed through the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course (SFCDQC) pipeline. SCUBA Teams will also include at least 2 members that have gone through the Special Forces Combat Diving Supervisor Course (CDSC) and 2 that have completed the Special Forces Combat Diving Medical Technician (CDMT) program.
• Mountain Team - Mountain ODAs have been trained in mountaineering and associated disciplines such as horsemanship and cold-weather operations.
• Mobility / Mounted Team - Mounted ODAs specialize in the use of the Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV).

Both Active Duty and National Guard ODAs are required to have a minimum of three jumpmasters, two SOTIC (level 1) Soldiers, two Advanced Special Operations Techniques ASOT (level III) Soldiers. Also, all SF Soldiers will be SFAUC and ASOT (level II) qualified. Additionally, each Special Forces detachment will have a qualified Air Movement Officer (AMO) and a Soldier qualified in handling hazardous materials (HAZMAT).

Of the six ODA team members in a typical Special Forces Company, one will be a SCUBA team, one will be a MFF team. The remaining four will either be non-specialised 'Ruck' teams or designated as Mountain ODAs, Mobility ODAs etc. The Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course (SFAUC) provides additional training to members of the Special Forces Operational Detachment "A" or ODA. Teamwill attend this training once you complete the Special Forces Qualification Course and are assigned to an ODA. SFAUC is usually conducted at the group level. Each of the seven Special Forces groups (5 active and 2 National Guard) conduct their own SFAUC program. This three to four week long course started in the early 2000s and was conducted at group level. All seven Special Forces groups run the course according to a Program of Instruction (POI) provided by USASFC.

SFAUC This three to four week long course started in the early 2000s and was conducted at group level. All seven Special Forces groups run the course according to a Program of Instruction (POI) provided by USASFC. SFAUC Instructors. Instructors for the SFAUC course at the groups were usually taken "out of hide". Meaning competent instructors were detailed from their ODAs (or staff positions) and assigned to be instructors on either a full- or part-time basis. All SF ODAs are required to attend SFAUC on a periodic basis. Usually three to six teams will attend a SFAUC course. The course length is about three to four weeks depending on the specific Special Forces group. In the past few years the Special Forces groups now have permanent cadre assigned to specialty courses such as SFAUC. Program of Instruction. SFAUC is run in several phases. The phases include flat range weapons firing, Close Quarter Combat (CQB), and shoothouse drills. Some SFAUCs will incorporate an end-of-course FTX or exercise where all the skills taught are used in a complex scenairo that involves mission planning, rehearsals, and infiltration by foot, vehicle movement, or air insertion. Breaching. The art of breaching security fences, Windows and doors are taught at SFAUC. There are a number of breaching tools that can be used such as crowbars, "quickie saws", shotguns, and more. Some Special Forces members attend specialized military and civilian schools to learn breaching techniques to complement the breaching methods they learn in SFAUC. There are generally two types of breaching - mechanical and explosive. Infiltration Techniques. During SFAUC teams will move to their target in a variety of ways to include helo insert, parachute infil, and fastroping. Equipment. In addition to learning about breaching equipment other specialized equipment is practiced with to include weapons accessories, night vision devices, and more.is run in several phases. The phases include flat range weapons firing, Close Quarter Combat (CQB), and shoothouse drills. Some SFAUCs will incorporate an end-of-course FTX or exercise where all the skills taught are used in a complex scenario that involves mission planning, rehearsals, and infiltration by foot, vehicle movement, or air insertion.

It's the old system to number the ODA and ODB (in application during the beginning of OEF and OIF) :

The first number refer to Group - Ex.: ODA 525 

• "0" refers to 10 Special Forces Group (example : ODA 074,...). 
• "1" refers to 1st Special Forces Group (example : ODA 172,...)
• "3" refers to 3rd Special Forces Group (example : ODA 373,...)
• "5" refers to 5th Special forces Group (examples : ODA 525, ODA 555,...)
• "7" refers to 7th Special Forces Group (example : ODA 774,...)

The second number is a combination between Battalion & Company (see below) - Ex. : ODA 525

• ////////Alpha ////////// Bravo /////////// Charlie [= Company]
• 1 = 1st Battalion / 2 = 1st Battalion / 3 =1st Battalion 
• 4 =2nd Battalion / 5 =2 nd Battalion / 6 =2nd Battalion 
• 7 = 3rd Battalion / 8 = 3rd Battalion / 9=3rd Battalion
• - third number is Team - Ex. : ODA 525
• 0 = ODB
• 1 = team 1 (ODA)
• 2 = team 2 (ODA)
• 3 = team 3 (ODA)
• 4 = team 4 (halo capabilities - ODA)
• 5 = team 5 (scuba/combat diver capabilites - ODA).

And at this point, you can also differentiate ODA and ODB :

• ODA = Operational Detachment Alpha / A-team. It's the basic SF unit.
• ODB (= Operational Detachment beta /B Detachment / B team / SFOD-B ) : it's SF company headquarters. For ODB, the last number is always "0"
• ODC = provides command and control, and staff planning and supervision for SF battalion operations and administration. 

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