Graphics of canada's Involvement in Afghns

Afghan child on the way to shcool points to a IED components...proof that some education is working.

WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: BY THE NUMBERS

Over the decade from 2001 to 2011, nearly 40,000 soldiers served in Canada's largest military deployment since the Second World War - more than in Korea in the 1950s or the Balkans in the 1990s. Each had his or her own reasons for going to Afghanistan - and each returned changed, some for the better, some for the worse.

Canadians teaching Afghan National Police our skills  (the level of equipment we carry is a greatly compared in this pic.

Thousands have remained in the Canadian Forces, eagerly awaiting their next assignment, even though the Maple Leaf over Kandahar was lowered in December. Thousands more have left the military to pursue jobs, taking their experiences and applying them to the civilian world with great success.

Medical Team working with civilians and even the insurgents

For many others, however, the battle didn't stop with the official end of the combat mission. Mentally scarred and physically wounded, they have had to fight for benefits and assistance - or, alternatively, bear their pain and frustration alone.