Lt. Col Harjit Sajjan: Born to Serve

Born to Serve

How Harjit Singh Sajjan, retired police and military veteran, is on his way to become one of the Liberal Party’s rising stars.

If experience is what counts, Harjit Sajjan is ready for a challenge in Canadian politics. He is a retired Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officer, who worked in specialized units, including organized crime. He is a highly decorated retired Lieutenant-Colonel and former Commanding Officer of the British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught’s Own) who has multiple tours of duty in the Balkans and Afghanistan. He is a proven leader with the ability to connect with people from the newest recruit to senior generals. In Afghanistan he demonstrated the same abilities in his dealings with local villagers and government officials. This unique ability allows him to identify key issues in order to address grievances before they become problems.

According to Sajjan, when faced with any type of threat, “the best thing to do is pay attention to the indicators [and] identify the problem.” This approach has constantly allowed him to preserve the lives of soldiers by “[preventing] conflicts from occurring in the first place.”

 It has also inspired his decision to enter political life, as Harjit hopes to be able to not only make Canada a safer society to live in, but to change Canada’s reputation back to that of a peace keeper, by introducing approaches such as this.

These skills and approaches however, did not develop overnight. Harjit began to cultivate and hone his skills as a Detective with the Vancouver Police Gang Squad. Although reluctant to discuss in detail, for obvious reasons, Harjit Sajjan provided several examples where early interdiction avoided major problems. This was made possible through his intuition and his ability to connect with the average person. His thorough understanding of low-level issues and their knock-on effects at the community level helped him devise plans that could be easily implemented.

Traveling the world

While Harjit Sajjan’s initial deployment to Afghanistan consisted of travelling to Europe in order to help with the transition of the US to the NATO mission, he very quickly gave this up in favour of a much more demanding mission. This new mission consisted of working with the troops in Kandahar, allowing Harjit to gain the experience that he would need in order to facilitate all of the successes which would soon follow.

During his deployment to Afghanistan in 2006, as part of Task Force Aegis, Harjit Sajjan was employed as a liaison officer to the Afghan National Police. Although his job did not entail either intelligence gathering or analysis, his experience from his VPD days allowed him to identify suspicious patterns and activities. With Task Force Aegis’ main efforts to the northeast of Kandahar, if his suspicions were proven to be correct, there existed potential for a major Taliban victory. Through collaboration with the commander and his key staff, Harjit Sajjan was able to confirm the information needed in order to redirect the main effort around Kandahar City. With the confirmation of heavy Taliban presence around Kandahar City and indications of an imminent attack, Operation Medusa was launched. At its peak Operation Medusa involved personnel and equipment from Canadian, American and British Forces, along with large numbers of artillery and aircraft.

According to a letter from General Fraser, Commander of Task Force Aegis 2006, Operation Medusa resulted in the defeat of the largest Taliban insurgent cell identified to date in Afghanistan with over 1500 combatants killed or captured.

“It took convincing, but we were able to launch operation Medusa in the nick of time,” Harjit recalls. “We had to move the entire combat power of a brigade into the area because the Taliban had built up a secret base and they were about to launch an attack on Kandahar city. We did not have enough resources to protect Kandahar city at that time. We were spread out very thin and our combat power was in different areas. We literally moved everything there just in time [to save] Kandahar city from being taken over.”

While operation Medusa remains one of Sajjan’s greatest achievements, he continues to take every opportunity to fight for justice and to do the right thing. For him, the upcoming election is simply another opportunity for him to incite change, this time from a political standpoint.

“I rate him (Sajjan) as one of the best intelligence officers I have ever worked with – fearless, smart, and personable, and I would not hesitate to have him on my staff at any time in the future,” General Fraser wrote to the VPD Chief of Police after the mission. “He was the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theater (battle field), and his hard work, personal bravery, and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives. Through his courage and dedication, Major Sajjan has single handedly changed the face of intelligence gathering and analysis in Afghanistan.” The irony however, is that Sajjan was not an intelligence officer but rather a combat arms officer in the Armoured Corps.

Despite his multitude of successes, Harjit has routinely humbled himself, crediting the soldiers who fought alongside him with the true success of these missions. According to him, “the true heroes are our soldiers who never returned with us.”

Given Sajjan’s role in the success of Operation Medusa in 2006, and the resurgence of the Taliban in 2008, he was requested to deploy once again in order to help define the ground truth in Kandahar. Working directly for the Canadian Commander of Task Force Kandahar he quickly established links with local and regional leaders. Sajjan identified key grievances which allowed Task Force Kandahar to devise and implement the “key village approach” strategy, thereby reducing the negative influence of the Taliban.

Harjit also developed what a friend of his, a colonel in the US Special Forces, calls the Grievance Model. The Grievance Model allowed Harjit to identify subtle indicators early on, ensuring that they were dealt with before they became a massive problem. It was through the use of this model and a variety of other approaches that he employed, that Harjit very quickly developed the reputation of being one of the people who, if you went out with him, would bring you back alive.

In 2010, Harjit Sajjan was requested yet again to deploy to Afghanistan, this time as an advisor to the Commander of the 10^th Mountain Division (US).

Unlike with his previous deployments, Harjit was denied a leave of absence from the VPD. He felt so strongly about “doing the right thing” that he resigned from the VPD in order to deploy where his experience and expertise could be gainfully employed for the benefit of Afghans and coalition forces.

“People thought I was nuts to leave a good job and a very good pension but I had joined to serve. I believed that any chance that my efforts could save a coalition life or better the life of the Afghans was worth it,” Sajjan stated matter-of-factly.

Leadership and stellar reputation

As a result of his extraordinary leadership and dedication to the Canadian Armed Forces, Harjit was presented with the honour of becoming the first Sikh to command a Canadian Army regiment. Not only did this mark a historical moment in Canadian history, but it has also served as source of inspiration for young people across the country. Harjit was also portrayed as a Canadian role model in the federal government’s last Welcome to Canada booklet for new immigrants.

As a veteran military man, Sajjan does not agree with the approach that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has taken towards foreign conflicts. Rather, he views the Prime Minister’s approach as being detrimental to Canada’s long standing and hard earned reputation as an honest peace builder.

“We need to create [a] reputation for Canada [where] the US and other countries view us as the credible, honest opinion,” Sajjan argues. “It’s not about talking tough, it’s about solving the problem. If we do not take a proactive approach, the threat will hit us here…we have to put out the fire at the source. Why didn’t we see ISIS being formed at its infancy, where it could have been dealt with [using] a smaller intervention that would have prevented innocent minority groups from being terrorized?”

“When I was in Afghanistan I got to choose my boss and the role I played,” Harjit explains when asked about his reasons for entering politics. “I had an open and frank discussion with Mr. Trudeau. I liked what he had to say and his vision. He has great leadership qualities. I’ve been very fortunate to work with great leaders and I think I’ve done some stuff where I could be considered a leader myself. He’s got the qualities of a leader that I would follow. A good leader surrounds himself with a strong team and I am very impressed with the team Mr. Trudeau has recruited.”

In terms of what entering a life of politics means to him, Harjit said that not only is “[politics] the best way for [him] to honour the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers,” but it also provides an amazing opportunity “to make a difference.” Something that Harjit has proven capable of time and time again.

When asked about his current strategy for being elected, Harjit expressed deep gratitude towards his team, and also had the following to say:

“When I go door knocking I’m asked ‘Why should I vote for you?’ I say ‘I’m not asking for your vote. I’m asking you to get to know me. Learn about me and at the same time learn about the other candidates.’”

Harjit Sajjan’s success in connecting with people comes from his genuine interest to do the right thing despite the personal cost. He is a personable and caring leader who people can easily relate with. Encouraged by his faith and the personal desire to do what is best for people, Harjit Sajjan has maintained a life of service since graduating from high school. A large part of this drive to serve comes from his experiences as an immigrant to Canada in 1972. A new Canadian subjected to intolerances based on his ethnic background and religion, Sajjan learned to persevere and overcome the obstacles faced by many immigrants when they first arrive in a new country.

His humble start in Canada included growing up in the Moberly Park area, a tough upbringing which forced Sajjan to confront social issues such as racism, violence and gangs, from a very young age. It was this tough upbringing that steered him towards a life of service, initially with the VPD, and also helped him understand the importance and value of having strong mentors from an early age. Interestingly enough however, while it was religious and cultural diversity that proved to be a barrier for Harjit earlier in life, this same diversity proved to be quite useful later on.
“What I quickly learned was that my background as a Sikh was opening doors to key Afghan officials,” Harjit explained. “My diversity opened doors in a very big way.”

As a child he accompanied his parents, in the summer, to farms to conduct menial labour and pick berries as a means of income for the family.

“We were probably the only kids that hoped for a longer school year and wished it rained every single summer because that was the only way you’re not going to go berry picking,” Sajjan said.

His humble beginnings have allowed him to relate with people and understand their basic needs. His extensive police and military experience have given Harjit Sajjan the confidence and competence to do the right thing. His personal successes are exactly why Harjit Sajjan is on his way to become one of the Liberal Party’s rising stars.