Proud of Our Military's Role in Afghanistan

Tim Goddard, father of Nichola Goddard, has been blogging about his trip to Afghanistan and what he has learned about the importance of Canada's role there. An excerpt from the CBC:

When our daughter was killed, she was conducting operations against Taliban fighters in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar Province. Nichola had been in Afghanistan for only a few months, and she had written home about the beauty of the country and the people. I can only echo her thoughts. Over the past few weeks her memory has surfaced again and again...

The tenets of good development work (and essentially this is what our CF troops are now doing), however, is that impacts are seldom immediate. Relationships have to be built and nurtured. I am sure that some extended mentoring will be required beyond 2014, to provide a sympathetic ear and sage advice to the new Afghan military leadership as they experience the challenges of their work. I hope that Canadians will continue to support the CF as it contributes to nation building in this country. We have lost so many young men and women in the war to establish a peaceful civil society in Afghanistan; as this goal is now within sight, it would be sad if we were to simply walk away.