Canada's former top officer in Afghanistan, Brigadier-General Daniel Menard, pleaded guilty Thursday to having an affair with a female corporal under his command on active duty.

At a court-martial in Montreal, Menard pleaded guilty to having had an "intimate personal relationship" with a corporal under his command and to seeking to impede the military police investigation into the affair.

Four obstruction of justice charges were dropped, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Luc Gaudet told AFP, confirming the pleas.

Menard, who is married with two children, was relieved of his post as commander of the Joint Task Force Afghanistan, responsible for the Kandahar region, in May due to the affair with a female master corporal.

The Canadian Forces forbid intimate relationships during deployments.

"I can probably name a half-dozen generals who have married, divorced and married, junior ranks people and such, so the question of fraternization is a very broad one," Pat Stogran, former Veterans Ombudsman, told Canadian public broadcaster CBC.

"But in an operational theatre, absolutely no question, it's reprehensible conduct of the highest order and you know he's got no business being in command."

Master Corporal Bianka Langlois, with whom Menard had the affair, was convicted last year, reprimanded and ordered to pay a $700 fine.

It is the second time that Menard, whose wife is also in the Canadian Armed Forces, has been before a court-martial. In May 2010, he was fined $3,500 for mishandling a weapon.

Canada ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last week, closing the curtain after nine years and the death of 157 men, saying it was "extremely proud" of gains made against the Taliban.

The departure of nearly 3,000 troops, who took on some of the heaviest fighting in the southern province of Kandahar, comes as Western forces begin to announce gradual drawdowns of troops ahead of a full withdrawal in 2014.

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