The Project:

First, a reminder on a few points.

“Afghanistan: A Soldier’s Story”  is not a DND project. Instead it is a volunteer, not for profit project, in partnership  the Edmonton MFRC.

The mission is to develop a legacy coffee table style book chronicling the 10 years Canada has been engaged in the Afghanistan conflict. We do not intend to create another academic dissection of the conflict or present the mission from the polished perspective of a professional writer. It is our objective, instead, to gather the stories and photos, your stories and photos, that capture the honest reflections, insights, and pivotal experiences of those who served.

Why you should get involved:

Help us share with Canadians the human face of the Afghan Mission, the insights and reflections of the Boots on the Ground who represented Canada and Canadian values so well in Afghanistan. Don’t leave these recollections to fade until some graduate student of Canadian Military History or a junior archivist from the Military Museum calls you up 30 years from now to ask for your story. It is not enough for Canadians to remember their military once a year on Remembrance Day. Our military is best served when it is a part of the day to day identity of Canada and Canadians.

For those who served:

Whether you deployed as a member of the Canadian Forces, as a civilian, or embedded with our troops as media, you each have a unique personal perspective worth sharing with Canadians. Why? Because many Canadians  still struggle to understand why we were there. Because Canadians tend to turn away from their military when the conflict is past confident the soldiers, sailors and air men and women will be there, ready, when the next conflict presents. This legacy album is an opportunity to provide  a better understand  of and appreciation for the extraordinary work done by ordinary serving Canadians.

For the friends and families of those who served:

We would like to provide  the children, partners, parents and siblings of those who served with a legacy album all would be proud to share, to show off, at school, at work, and in your homes. We want to make it easy for you to say with pride, “look what my Dad, Mom, partner, kid, did”

For the media who embedded with our troops:

You put yourselves at risk, alongside our soldiers, in order to bring home to Canadians a taste of the conflict. Perhaps not all of your stories and images were published. Perhaps you have never had an opportunity to share with Canadians the human face of the Canadian Afghan Mission. Now you can.

The Web Site www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca

The volunteers on the project have created this web blog so you can share your stories and images, feedback on the project, and watch it as it unfolds. Submissions started to come in after the project launch in November 2011 but many of you appear to be pretty shy about sharing your experiences. We have 200 pages to fill folks! To make it easier, we have borrowed images and captions from Combat Camera from 2002 through to 2012. Who knows, perhaps your picture is already at the site? Have a look. We’ve also included a news timeline, borrowed from the National Post, so that you can better place your own stories within the context of the greater events happening around your individual experiences.

Facebook:

We have established a Facebook Group http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Afghanistan-A-Soldiers-Story/310244442351004 and encourage you to “like” the project, “share” the project, and contribute your ideas, suggestions and even submissions to help make this book a reality. Help us make it go viral!

Youtube:

We have established a Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ASoldiersStory and encourage you to help us build a collection of video clips here. Either by sharing your favourites or uploading your own. There is a documentary filmmaker currently interested in compiling video submissions into a film about the human face of the Canadian Afghan Combat Mission.

Linkedin:

We have created a group http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4256579&trk=hb_side_g where you can discuss the project, pass it along, and help to gather the stories and images essential to a successful publication.

Flicker:

We have created a group here too http://www.flickr.com/groups/canafghanstory/ so that it is easier for you to share your photos and videos.

Contact Us:

Share the web site www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca and drop us an email contact@afghanistanacanadianstory.ca

We need your input, through feedback, stories, images, and video clips in order to build this worthwhile publication. Proceeds will be shared through the Edmonton MFRC with Boomers Legacy, the Military Families Fund, and the Soldier On Fund.