Mission Afghanistan Exhibit

Current & Upcoming Exhibitions / By

Mission Afghanistan Exhibit

18 March 2022 to 22 July 2022

Mission: Afghanistan is an immersive 1,800 square foot touring exhibit developed by The Military Museums of Calgary and the Directorate of History and Heritage in Ottawa. The RCA Museum is now fortunate to host this national exhibit.

Canada deployed soldiers to Afghanistan in 2001 as part of a multinational team to search for al Qaeda terrorists in response to the September 11 attacks in the US. The mission evolved into liberating Afghanistan from the Taliban, supporting democracy, and rebuilding the country. Over 40,000 Canadians served in combat roles until 2011, then in training roles until 2014. The exhibit examines those who served with honour and dignity from 2001 to 2014.

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Mission: Afghanistan includes over a hundred artifacts from the war, including autographs, badges, damaged vehicle parts, flags, maps, medical supplies, shrapnel, shell casings, small arms, uniforms, and much more. Also, the exhibit contains over two hundred oral histories from Canadian soldiers and military leaders, including Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Hope, Colonel David Fraser and Lieutenant-Colonel Omer Lavoie. It includes governmental decision-makers such as Stephen Harper, Peter MacKay and Bill Graham. The oral histories and artifacts shed light on Canada’s extensive role and help explain what Canadians did during Operations in Afghanistan. 

The exhibit opened at The Military Museums of Calgary in November 2021, and the RCA Museum is the second museum to display it. In addition, our curators updated our permanent Afghanistan War display to complement the traveling exhibit. We hope that the general public, including school groups, comes to visit. We also offer guided tours of the museum and are open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.

We invite visitors to come and experience Mission: Afghanistan.