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Once again my first thanks go to Kathy who continues to support me in these efforts notwithstanding that mentally they take me all too far away from her.
There is now a small group of volunteers from the forums at Army.ca who have provided me with fact checks from time to time. Thanks to all of you.
Research material is abundant although sometimes hard to winkle out.
Again LCol Ian Hope’s Dancing with the Dushman provided much worthwhile material about TF ORION’s operations in Helmand and Panjwaii. LCol Stuart Tootal, in his book Danger Close – Commanding 3 Para in Afghanistan provided the point of view of the Brit’s battle group. In effect these two books reflect the recollections of the two senior combatant commanders in the South during this time. Where there were conflicts in the narratives I often looked to my favorite reference, Sean Maloney’s Fighting for Afghanistan: A Rogue Historian at War.
Patrick Bishop’s Ground Truth offers an excellent grunt’s eye view of 3 Para’s operations while honorable mention goes to the following for their reports about Canadian troops: Lee Windsor’s Kandahar Tour; Chris Wattie’s Contact Charlie; Christie Blatchford’s Fifteen Days; Kevin Patterson and Jane Warren’s Outside the Wire;
For a good view on the role of the Embedded Training Teams see Michael G Brooks’ Eyewitness to War Volume III – U.S. Army Advisors in Afghanistan
For a candid view of the life of a civilian contractor doing development work in Helmand see Holly Barnes Higgins To Helmand and Back; Drugs and Development in Afghanistan The American Interest Nov/Dec 2007 Issue
Up on the Roof is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King recorded in 1962 by the Drifters