I made this illustration of a Canadian JTF2 (Joint Task Force Two) soldier bravely breaching the compound in order to win an art contest.
However, I realize that I am missing a much larger context with this piece. Last week saw the official end of the Canadian war in Afghanistan where our final remaining troops were airlifted out of Kabul and returned home. Our military commitment lasted twelve years, the longest foreign deployment in Canadian history. 158 soldiers died during the war, and many more have been scarred and injured.
Did we further the causes of imperialist aggression? Did we stamp out international terror? Did we accomplish our mission? Our politicians are evasive with these answers. Did we even win the war?
Our soldiers were sent into harm's way. No matter what you feel about their operations, they did not at any point deny their duty, nor did they ever pass their share of effort on to another army. Canadian soldiers will go to the places that we civilians dare not. For this, I am most grateful.
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