KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The soon-to-be-departing commander of the Canadian army isn't about to retire, but Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie wouldn't say Wednesday whether his next assignment will involve a peacekeeping mission in the Congo.
Leslie, speaking publicly for the first time since word of his forthcoming departure sparked speculation about his future, said it's up the chief of defence staff and the defence minister to tell him what's next.
"No soldier gets to pick his or her next job," Leslie said in an interview with The Canadian Press following a nearly four-day visit to Kandahar. "When they're ready, they'll let me know."
Leslie also wouldn't bite on questions about just how seriously Ottawa is contemplating a UN request for a peacekeeping force in the African nation, which has been torn asunder by violence since 1996.
"The government of Canada is the sole authority and will decide where their Armed Forces will be used," he said after a tour of front-line Canadian bases, his last as head of the army.
A massive shuffle of the senior ranks two weeks ago left Leslie, who was considered a leading candidate for the country's top military job of defence chief, without a command.
A release from the defence minister's office said Leslie's "next appointment would be announced at a later date," touching off speculation that he would head the Congo mission. He is to be replaced by Maj.-Gen. Peter Devlin, but a date for the change of command has yet to be determined.
Leslie, 52, made it clear he considers himself too young to retire.
"I have every expectation of a full career, which under normal circumstances is 35 years," he said. "And that is 4-5 years away for me."
Leslie, whose grandfather led the Canadian army in Second World War, commanded the Kabul Multi-National Brigade in Afghanistan from July 2003 to January 2004 and was deputy commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
He was appointed chief of land staff in 2006, and said that remains his focus until his successor takes over.
A foreign affairs spokeswoman said last week a decision on whether Canada will take part in the Congo peacekeeping mission would be made within a couple of weeks.
The UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, has been in the African nation since 1999. It is the largest in the world with about 16,500 troops and 3,000 civilian staff.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the poorest and most violent places in the world, has been shaken by wars since its inception in the late 1950s. But the latest wave of fighting has claimed an estimated five million lives since 1998.
The government in that country has asked the UN force to leave by mid-2011.
Leslie got a first hand glimpse of the buildup of NATO forces for the planned offensive in Kandahar later this spring.
The influx of U.S. troops has allowed Canada to focus its attention primarily in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar city, but also the Dand region. The difference startled him, he said.
"I've seen more progress in the last five months than I have in the last three years."
There are more troops providing security over a wider area and more money is flowing into the hands of villagers for reconstruction and an attempt to restore governance, he noted.
"Let's not forget for a couple years, we were lonely here in Kandahar province and our main (goal) was not to lose," he said.
"I think the future does not look positively glowing, but it certainly looks better than it ever has before."
