Special video report: Leaving Afghanistan

Mark Kelley travels with the Canadian military and visits bases in Afghanistan as troops prepare to end their mission and return home.

CBC News · Posted: Jun 30, 2011 11:36 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 20, 2011

Canadian soldiers walk toward a Canadian air force C-17 aircraft as they prepare to leave Afghanistan, at Kandahar Air Field, June 30, 2011. (Baz Ratner/Reuters)

A CBC team, led by Connect' s Mark Kelley, traveled with the Canadian military and visited bases in Afghanistan in late June to get an inside view of the Canadian mission as it winds down and troops prepare to return home. Using the links below, view the team's video reports.

June 27: Was it worth it?

A soldier lowers the Canadian flag for the last time at Forward Operating Base Zangabad. (Murray Brewster/CP)

In this segment, Mark Kelley looks at Canada's mission in Afghanistan and asks, "Was it worth it?" He visits a Forward Operating Base and talks to soldiers about whether Canada's mission in Afghanistan has made a difference. Is Afghanistan's military ready to take over the job of protecting the nation's people? And Romeo Dallaire weighs in on the real cost of war... for soldiers.

He also talks to Captain Trevor Greene who was struck in the head with an axe in 2006 while talking with a group of elders in Afghanistan. Tonight, Greene opens up about what happened to him, his recovery, and whether his mission was worth it.

June 28: What comes next?

Canada Day in Kandahar

Mark Kelley reflects on what it's like to celebrate Canada Day in Kandahar.

As Canada's combat mission wraps up in Afghanistan, Mark Kelley is there talking to the soldiers about the mission, the decision to pull out, and what's next for the country they leave behind. In this segment, he is at the the hospital at Kandahar Air Field. That's where Mark spent a day learning first-hand what happens when coalition soldiers encounter this war's deadliest enemy, the IED.

Mark also meets a civilian who deals every day with the sacrifice some Canadian soldier have made. For two years now, she's cleaned and polished the monument at Kandahar Air Field that honours those who have died in the war.

June 29: A Soldier's Homecoming

Canadian soldiers prepare for an operation at sunrise on June 27, 2011. (David Goldman/AP)

As Canadian soldiers get ready to pack up and head home, Mark Kelley looks at whether Afghanistan is ready to take over its own security. Serious doubts were raised June 28 when suicide bombers attacked the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul, and Mark talks with New York Times Magazine contributor James Traub about the state of the Taliban.

Mark also spends the day with a soldier who's packing his bags and leaving the base. But when our soldiers do come home, what are they coming home to? Tim Laidler served in Afghanistan and knows firsthand what it's like to try and come back and adjust to life back home.

In portraits of honor, meet a Canadian who has made it his personal mission to never let us forget the soldiers killed in battle. (See the video profile of artist Dave Sopha and his project).