In their own words

Over the course of the 10-year Afghanistan combat mission, many Postmedia reporters and photographers visited the country and interviewed the men and women of the Canadian Forces. The soldiers we interviewed left indelible memories. Several Postmedia writers got back in touch with the soldiers they spoke to during their tours.

Kelly Cryderman, Calgary Herald

At the dusty Afghan border town of Spin Boldak, Sgt. Brangwyn Jones remembers how travellers looking for a ride needed to wait only a few minutes before being picked up by a tottering hatchback or van headed northwest to Kandahar. Looking back at his two tours in Afghanistan – where he was fortunate enough to emerge shaken but unscathed from an IED attack on his armoured vehicle – it’s the hospitality and decency of many Afghans that sticks with Jones. That’s why as soon as the long-serving Canadian Forces member returned to his native Montreal following his first tour in 2008, he decided to put on a backpack and test his own country’s willingness to open car doors to a stranger. “I wanted to see if Canada was similar to Afghanistan,” says Jones, 37. “Why can’t we do something like that in Canada?” Three cross-country treks later, Jones says he’s continually surprised at the help he gets travelling on the cheap. A Westjet pilot gave him two buddy passes to help him fill in the gaps, and a Newfoundland volunteer firefighter and his wife cooked him dinner and gave him a room in their house for a night. “It’s the knowledge there are still good people,” Jones says. “There’s still people who don’t judge, who aren’t afraid of everything.” Jones, a member of the 12e Régiment blindé du Canada, tells his stories and shows his photos of Afghanistan in schools around Montreal. This spring he will travel across Canada again, this time for a job in Calgary with the 41 Canadian Brigade Group.