in 2006 she was in kandahar, afghanistan, covering the war while embedded with the 1st battalion princess patricia’s canadian light infantry.
“she demonstrated to all of us that there was no place too remote or austere for her to live with us in, no situation too dangerous, no canadian soldier too rough or crude for her not to win over with her unique directness, toughness and impeccable common sense,” said col. ian hope, who commanded the battalion.
blatchford spent weeks in the mountains of north kandahar with soldiers who were hunting taliban groups.
“month after harrowing month she accompanied us through firefights, attacks and ambushes, witnessing the most intense combat canadians have seen since korea, and filing incredibly vivid and accurate reports.”
blatchford recently said she valued her time in afghanistan.
“the most profound stories of my life, probably, the ones that had the most meaning for me at the time and now, is afghanistan,” she said in november. “it was scary, so raw and so important at the time, that nothing else will really match that experience. i loved being with the soldiers, i loved the fear, i loved the excitement, the whole thing.”
her experiences with the soldiers and their families are detailed in one of her five non-fiction books, fifteen days: stories of bravery, friendship, life and death from inside the new canadian army, which won the governor-general’s literary award in 2008.