The Governor General and her troops

Clad in a soldier’s uniform to symbolize her role as Canada’s honourary commander-in-chief, Governor General Michaëlle Jean wrapped up a secret two-day trip to Afghanistan on Wednesday. Among Jean’s stops were the cenotaph at Kandahar Airfield, which bears the names of 129 Canadian soldiers killed as part of the Afghan mission, a girls’ school not far from the Canadian base, the headquarters of the provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, and a local hospital. Jean said she hoped her trip would show Canadians the mission in Afghanistan is far from a lost cause. “It’s very important that Canadians realize that, yes, our soldiers are taking many risks,” she said, “but are also doing something that is absolutely exceptional.”