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This page has been put up on behalf of a group of volunteers within the Canadian Forces who felt there ought to be a legacy album created to share with Canadians the story of the boots on the ground in the Canadian Afghanistan Mission. A publication team has been assembled under respected Canadian Publisher John McQuarrie, and now we are looking for the funding to make this project a reality. Current volunteers include: Capt Susan Magill, deploying with the Mission Transition Task Force, as Editor; Capt Ed Stewart, deploying with the training mission, as Liaison with embedded media; Major David Muralt, will oversee volunteers reviewing submissions for accuracy and validity; Emilie Faucher will validate French submissions; Capt Dennis Power and Capt Denny Brown will assist publisher John McQuarrie with photography. Retired CF member Chuck Pitre, plans to take the lead on fundraising. Capt Christine Salt will be reaching out to those who served with the Air Force and Lt(N) Dragana Bjelica will be reaching out to the Maritime element. Additional volunteers are also welcome.
The project team originally submitted a project proposal to Directorate of Army Public Affairs (DAPA) in the summer of 2010 and while it was acknowledged as a worthwhile undertaking, was informed that no funds were available. This is not a DND funded initiative and no funds are being drawn from DND to support the project beyond the periodic use of DWAN email to correspond. Volunteers are working on this in their own time, using their own resources. DHH is also aware of the project.
This page will eventually be replaced by a dedicated site www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca that will include resources for uploading soldiers stories and images. It may also be possible to set up a process for ordering advance copies at this web site. More to follow.
Questions regarding this proposed plan may be directed to project coordinator: Lt (N) Melanie Graham
We have recently agreed to a mutually beneficial relationship with the Military Family Resources Centre (MFRC) in Edmonton. They will establish and administer a fund to both receive donations (and provide a tax receipt) while covering project costs out of the donations. It may also be possible with this financial administrative support to find a way to presell 1500 copies of the book, including the taxes on pricing, and see the project successfully on its way. The MFRC will redistribute the net from the book, after costs and a retention of a percentage for their own not for profit, to the Boomers Legacy Foundation, the Military Families Fund , and the Soldier On Fund.
Publishing costs for 5000 books is $50,000. The writing fee for Dr. Bercuson to write the historical introduction to each section is $6,000. Proposed retail price for a hard copy of the book is $48. I would anticipate that demand will eventually exceed 5,000 books and would like to see a copy go to each family of the fallen. Additional copies past the first 5000 would cost less to produce.
Current Project Information Resources:
images/ppts/Afghanistan Album Presentation.Nov 2011.pptx
pdfs/Afghan Book Project Pamphlet Final.pdf
A Soldier's Story_6.1.2011.pdf (Book Dummy)
Afghanistan A Soldiers Story Business Plan.pdf
Project Proposal: Afghanistan – A Soldiers Story
The Concept:
"Afghanistan – A Soldiers Story" is to be a compilation of the very human stories and photographs of Canadian soldiers, sailors and air men and women who deployed with the Canadian Afghanistan Combat Mission between 2002 and 2012. The aim is to create a commemorative album that will allow those who served Canada in Afghanistan an opportunity to share their experiences with the Canadian public. Net proceeds from book sales will go to the Boomers Legacy Foundation, the Military Family Resources Centre, the Military Families Fund, and the Soldier On Fund.
The Content:
The stories and images for "Afghanistan – A Soldiers Story" will be arranged in a chronology that follows our engagement in Afghanistan. As such it will be a welcome and positive legacy for the CF members who served, for the families and friends of the fallen, for schools, and for the Canadian public.
The book will be a large, hard cover publication, organized in chapters by year and operation, to share with Canadians the stories, reflections and images produced by CF members and CF agencies such as Army News and Combat Camera. Contributions from journalists who embedded with the mission will also be incorporated.
There will be an afterword section of the book where key sponsors and major contributors in kind will be credited, with an opportunity for each to include a few paragraphs on why they chose to support the project and what the efforts of our soldiers mean to them.
Each chapter will be introduced by a summary of the relevant historical events that shaped and inspired the subsequent soldier’s stories and images. Dr. David Bercuson of the University of Calgary is a noted military historian in Canada and will be providing the historical summaries.
Most of the material for the proposed book already exists so the bulk of the initiative would involve gathering, sorting and organizing the best of the available content. This will be accomplished through a mid July media campaign to launch the project web site www.afghanistanacanadianstory.ca (still under construction) where CF members, retired and serving, as well as civilians and media that deployed, will be able to upload content according to carefully explained guidelines and protocols.
Current projected costs for a run of 5000 books is approximately $60,000 but this figure does not include possible travel and accommodation costs related to a two part media campaign. Web design and server support is being donated. The first media campaign, to commence mid July 2011, will be to launch the web site and solicit CF stories and photographs from serving and retired CF members, and DND employees who served in Afghanistan as well as Canadian Media who embedded with our troops. The second media campaign, to commence November 2012, will be to launch the finished book 11 November 2012. In the event that submissions exceed the space available in the book, there will also be an accompanying DVD of images, stories, and video clips.
The Audience:
Historically, the Canadian public has had limited awareness of or interest in the Canadian military unless or until there is a domestic or international crisis that calls for the involvement of our soldiers, sailors and air men and women. This has resulted in a corresponding ebb and flow of government support for the military that has made it difficult, between crisis and conflicts, to maintain a credible, flexible, combat capable, rapid response, deployable military in accordance with Department of National Defence policy and mission statements.
The CF is at the most robust and capable it has been for decades and while it is withdrawing the combat mission from Afghanistan this year, overall Canadian support for the CF remains high. It is important to capitalize on current strong public support and provide Canadians with what would be a popular legacy product to help them remember the accomplishments of their military in Afghanistan. It is particularly important to do so in the face of the pending change in operational tempo to ensure that the CF does not fade from view and drift to the background of the Canadian community landscape once again, to resurface every November 11 and for ceremonial events.
The publication of a legacy album like Afghanistan; A Soldier’s Story will do more than allow our CF members to share their boots on the ground experiences serving Canada in Afghanistan. It will also provide Canadians with new insights and a better understanding of the culture that is unique to the Canadian military. The book is expected to have wide appeal, from the friends and families of our CF members, to schools, communities and corporations, as well as Canadian Consuls around the world and Foreign Consuls here in Canada.
Designated Charities:
Net proceeds from Afghanistan – A Soldiers Story will go to the Edmonton Military Family Resource Centre, for subsequent sharing with Boomers Legacy, the Military Families Fund and the Soldier On Fund. Copies of the book will also be made available, as gifts, to the families of the fallen.
All participants in the project, except the publisher, and Dr. Bercuson, are volunteers.
Conclusion:
The Afghanistan mission was very defining for Canada and for the CF. In many ways it has represented a coming of age for our military. We are faced with a much changed twenty first century climate of international conflict. A book on the achievements of the Canadian Afghanistan Combat Mission would help us redefine what it really means to be a “Peacekeeper” in this new and highly dynamic global community.
Afghanistan – A Soldiers Story will be well received as more than a “coffee table book” – It will be a valuable chronicling of the successes and very human stories of our soldiers, sailors and air men and women in Afghanistan. As such it also stands as both a well deserved tribute to their efforts and an opportunity to share with the Canadian public a real glimpse into what the CF and its supporters have accomplished in that mission. This will be increasingly important as the Afghan combat mission, once concluded, drifts into the back corners of collective Canadian memory.
Our Volunteers:
pdfs/Lt(N) Graham Bio.Sep 2011.pdf
pdfs/Bio LCdr Kris Phillips.pdf
pdfs/Captain Ed Stewart Bio September 2011.pdf
pdfs/Charles Pitre October 2011.pdf
pdfs/Capt Susan Magill_Bio 2011.pdf