Afghanada

Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. (3:30 p.m. NT) and again at 11:00 p.m. (11:30 NT) on CBC Radio One.

Afghanada: Episode Guide

Season 4

Episode 56
Written by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: September 10, 2009

Sergeant Kinsella and 3-1 Bravo are engaged in an intense firefight in a village in Panjwai District. 3-1 Charlie is pinned down, and Pat, Chucky, Dean and Jakes move in to attempt an extraction. 3-1 Charlie’s section commander takes a bullet that pierces his Kevlar vest: it’s an armour piercing round, a deadly new addition to the Taliban arsenal. A journalist, Claire Adams, arrives at KAF, doing an investigative piece on how these high-power weapons are finding their way into Taliban hands. 3–1 Bravo is ordered to act as security detail as Adams meets with a warlord for information on the new arms. It all goes wrong, and Claire is abducted.

Episode 57
Written by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: September 17, 2009

We pick up the story from Claire’s perspective. Her fixer in Kandahar, Ali, a man with deep connections on all sides of the conflict, offers to arrange a meeting for Claire with Jabari, a powerful warlord. Jabari is looking to settle some old scores, and is prepared to describe how a new generation of lethal weapons is making its way into Taliban hands. Escorted to the meeting by Pat and 3-1, Jabari’s men suddenly turn hostile, and they abduct Claire. Her life hangs in the balance.

Episode 58
Written by Hannah Moscovitch
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: September 24, 2009

The final part of this three episode arc. We pick up the story from Chucky Manson’s perspective, in the moments just after journalist Claire Adams (Krista Bridges) is abducted. 3-1 Bravo desperately tries to find Claire, but with every passing minute, the trail grows ominously colder. Chucky’s face-to-face encounter with a sniper – armed with a Dragunov with armour-piercing rounds – almost ends in his death. From this point forward, Chucky becomes convinced that his fate is inextricably tied with Claire’s: if she dies, his own number may well be up.

Episode 59
Written by Nicolas Billon
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: October 1, 2009

Master Corporal Jakes takes over 3-1 Charlie Section, leaving space in Bravo for a battlefield replacement. The section is assigned Private Gilmore, a reservist who’s worked extremely hard for a tour of duty in Kandahar. The challenge for Gilmore, and ultimately his tragedy, is that no amount of training can fully prepare a newcomer for the extremes of life "outside the wire."

Episode 60
Written by Emil Sher
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: October 8, 2009

3-1 Bravo returns to Khakrez to investigate an boarded-up school, originally built two years before by a Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team. Their shocking discovery not only places them in danger, but the whole community as well.

Episode 61
Written by Barbara Samuels
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: October 15, 2009

On a presence patrol north of Shah Wali Kot, Pat and 3–1 Bravo are ordered to investigate Taliban activity in a nearby village. They discover a school they had visited a year before destroyed by the Taliban, the school caretaker hanging from a tree, and the teacher, Atia — a woman who had become a friend of Kinsella's — clinging to life. But Pat knows that the local insurgents will not rest until the teacher has been killed. The clock ticks down as Kinsella desperately tries to find a way to get Atia out of the country, and away from sure death.

Episode 62
Written by Greg Spottiswood
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: October 22, 2009

Chucky, Dean and Jakes are assigned to assist in the training of Afghan national Army soldiers. Chucky has his doubts about the success of this mission: the new recruits are not quick studies. But when the unit is ambushed, and most of the recruits abandon the field, Chucky finds himself face-to-face with a severely wounded Taliban sniper, who thrusts Chucky onto the horns of profound dilemma: the dying sniper is asking Chucky to kill him.

Episode 63
Written by Greg Spottiswood
Produced and Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Date: October 29, 2009

It has been two weeks since Private Manson came face-to-face with a dying Taliban sniper, begging Manson to end his suffering and kill him. The officer commanding the unit, Captain Irvine, asked Manson to leave the scene and call in a medevac. Once outside, Manson hears two gunshots from inside the compound. Irvine emerges. The sniper is dead. Private Manson finds himself on the horns of a deeply troubling dilemma: should he file a report, or remain silent about what may, or may not have happened.

Season 3

Episode 40 – Part 1 of 3 “Man of Iron”
by Emile Sher
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: September 3 and 4, 2008

Returning with a NATO official to Kandahar Airfield, Sgt. Kinsellas vehicle strikes an improvised explosive device. Fighting a battle against time, Pat and her translator struggle to save the life the driver, Master Corporal Matt Crowder.

Episode 41 – Part 2 of 3 “Man of Iron”
by Emile Sher
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: September 10 and 11, 2008

Back in Canada, Crowders wife Kelly (played by Megan Follows) receives the fateful news that her husband has been grievously wounded.

Episode 42 – Part 3 of 3 “Man of Iron”
by Emile Sher
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: September 17 and 18, 2008

Master Corporal Matt Crowder is recovering from the loss of both legs after a suicide bomber attack on his convoy in Peshawar. But while his physical wounds heal, the emotional and psychological scars prove to run much deeper as he and his family face a challenging and uncertain future. Megan Follows and Peter Outerbridge join the Afghanada cast for the conclusion of this three-part episode.

Episode 43 Over the Ridge, Far Away, Part One
Written by Jason Sherman
directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: September 24 and 25, 2008

Series co-creator Jason Sherman returns to Afghanada with an intense trilogy of episodes. Private Chuck Manson is assigned to work with a unit of American soldiers fighting in the Korengal Valley in North Eastern Afghanistan. What he discovers is another dimension of the war on terror as Battle Company fights the best armed, best trained insurgents back and forth across the Pakistan border. There’s another aspect to Battle Company’s war: they are going to travel across enemy lines to rescue one of their own, believed captured, but who they discover is still alive.

Episode 44 - Over the Ridge, Far Away, Part Two
Written by Jason Sherman
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: October 1 and 2, 2008

Specialist Ramon Feliz is alive. He’s been heard broadcasting insurgent propaganda by his former colleagues in arms of Battle Company, an American unit deployed in the Korengal Valley. Pvt. Chucky Manson, embedded with the Americans as part of a unit exchange, discovers that the rules of engagement in this part of Afghanistan are far from clear, but always deadly as casualties mount.

Episode 45 - Over the Ridge, Far Away, Part Three
Written by Jason Sherman
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: October 8 and 9, 2008

The conclusion of this searing trilogy of episodes, written by series co-creator Jason Sherman. Defying orders, the members of the U.S Battle Company descend on the notorious no go zone known as Kolkiss Gal. Their objective, to rescue and American soldier, Specialist Ramon Feliz. As Pvt. Chucky Manson, who is embedded with the unit, discovers, the mission ultimately becomes one of sheer survival.

Episode 46 - The Fixer (Part one of two)
Written by Barbara Samuels
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: October 15 and 16, 2008

An exploration of the life of a 'Fixer,' an interpreter/translator working with the Canadian forces in Kandahar, and of the lives of his Afghan family. The section welcomes Nazim, the new IT. Everyone takes a shine to the bright young man, articulate in English, Dari and Pashtu. Nazim also keeps a blog, which not only provides insight into his off-duty life, but into the lives of Sgt. Kinsella, And Pvt's Donaldson and Manson. What we discover, though, is that Nazim’s work with the Canadian has placed his and his family’s lives at risk of grave reprisals.

Episode 47 - The Fixer (Part two of two)
Written by Barbara Samuels
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: October 22 and 23, 2008

Sgt. Pat Kinsella urges Nazim, the company's interpreter/translator to consider a safer position in Kabul after he is recognized by a Taliban prisoner. The Taliban's intention to seek retribution for Nazim's 'collaboration' with NATO forces is proven by an attack carried out on a school run by his sister. His staunch refusal ultimately leads to tragic consequences for him and his family.

Episode 48 - King of Comedy
Written by Bruce Clark
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: October 29 and 30, 2008

Chucky and Dean are recruited to work with a new embed, a celebrated Canadian comedian known as "Buddy from the Rock," who is visiting KAF to give a show for the troops, and tape an installment of his comedy program. Dean is floored. He thinks Buddy's is the funniest show on television. Chucky, however, is less impressed, and, as reality sinks in, even Dean begins to realise that they're becoming the butt end of the joke. They decide to set things right.

Episode 49 - Van Doo (wt)
Eritten by Nicolas Billon
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: November 5 and 6, 2008

A young Van Doo, Pvt. Piquette, on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, joins Sgt. Kinsella and Pvt. Donaldson on the trip home from FOB Rochleau to KAF. He takes Manson's gunner position in LAV turret. They're almost home when a civilian vehicle appears to take a run at them. Piquette fires, resulting in civilian deaths. An investigation is launched: did Piquette follow standard operating procedures? While Sgt. Kinsella tries to decide whether or not to protect him as the investigation heats up, and risk her own integrity in the process, no one realizes that the young soldier at the heart of the controversy is not faring at all well.

Episode 50 - The Looking Glass
written by Emil Sher
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: November 12 & 13, 2008

The section is called to reinforce an ANA unit taking heavy fire in an Afghan-led mission in Pashmul. Kinsella, Manson and Donaldson are joined by Captain Alberta Jameson, an artillery officer whose job it will be to coordinate artillery and air support once they arrive. In the two hour journey to the village, Pat and Alberta realize that they share very similar experiences. Both are the only women of their rank in battlefield roles. Both were restless as teenagers, and both share a sense that military life answer a lot of unasked questions about life paths. Both spark off the adrenal kick of being ‘in the shit.’ When they arrive at their destination, they discover the ANA soldiers have abandoned the field: they have been drawn into an ambush and are taking heavy fire from all sides. In a second, Jameson is dead, and Pat, Chucky and Dean are fighting for their lives. Their ultimate survival is a matter of luck, and Pat is unable to shake the feeling that Jameson’s death ought really to have been hers.

Episode 51 - Three's a Crowd
Written by Abigail Kinch
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: November 19 & 20, 2008

The section escorts cartographer assistant Cpl. Jessica Peters on a mission to survey and map village streets north of Kandahar City. It's her first tour of duty, and both Chucky and Dean find themselves smitten by her, and very eager to help her 'acclimatize' to Afghanistan. When she makes a social blunder with a Pashtun woman, the section finds itself under fire, and Manson is wounded. When Dean later tries to offer her friendly support, attraction abruptly escalates into 'engagement.' But there's an edge, and Dean grow concerned that her sexual interest - apart from breaking 'non conjugal' regulations - may suggest deeper trauma. And then, there's his now fractured friendship with Chuck...

Episode 52 - The Lotus Eater (Part 1 of 3)
Written by Greg Spottiswood
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: November 26 & 27, 2008

Sgt. Kinsella, Pvt. Manson and Pvt. Donaldson pay a courtesy visit to Chief Khan, a former warlord who now heads an Afghan Police detachment. Their arrival coincides with a dogfight, pitting the Chief's prize Mastiff against the one belonging to The Turk, a general contractor engaged by NATO to oversee many of the reconstruction projects underway in Kandahar province. Donaldson places a 'friendly' bet on The Turk's dog, only to discover that he wagered and lost 2000.00 Canadian dollars. Now on leave, to repay his debt Donaldson accepts a job as a private security guard - strictly against regulations - escorting the The Turk and one million dollars cash between Kandahar City and Kabul. It all appears to be straightforward, until the convoy is attacked.


Episode 53 - The Lotus Eater (Part 2 of 3)
Written by Barbara Samuels
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: Decemeber 3 & 4, 2008

Pvt. Donaldson is stranded in Kabul. Fearing his actions as a security freelancer have ended his military career, he elects to stay on to plan what he should do next. Very much a stranger in a strange land, he stumbles into the murky world of Kabul's demi-monde. An Australian, a former Doctor Without Borders who seems to have abandoned any active helping role, guides him. Dean himself finds himself on a perilous path downwards.

 

Episode 54 - The Lotus Eater (Part 3 of 3)
Written by Bruce Clark
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: December 10 & 11, 2008

Pvt. Lucas "Chucky" Manson is very concerned: Pvt. Donaldson has not returned from leave, and is now technically AWOL. Manson tracks down Gene Mackey, one of The Turk's private security guards, who, when they had all attended the dog fight, Dean had identified as having been, at one time, JTF2. He tells Manson that Dean failed to return with The Turk from Kabul and may well still be there. However, it also seems Mackey has been operating under deep cover for NATO, and Dean's disappearance risks revealing Mackey's surveillance mission. The clock is ticking: Dean has been implicated in a murder investigation, and Chucky, Sgt. Kinsella and Sgt. Mackey must travel to Kabul to extract him before he is arrested or killed.

Episode 55 - Faith
Written by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Produced and directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Air Dates: December 17 & 18, 2008

3-1 Bravo are all 'home' for the holidays, but for Sgt. Kinsella,Pvts Manson and Donaldson, and MCpl. Jakes, the festive season at KAF is far from jolly. They are restless and out of sorts. Rather than engage in festivities, Kinsella requests that Major Pellieux assign them to a mission outside the wire. They draw an escort detail to an FOB, where they discover Hannah the Healer is treating a Talib with knowledge of where to find a Taliban leader. The four head out to apprehend him, only to find themselves separated from Manson and surrounded by insurgents.

Season 2

Episode 23 – “The Death of Jack Daniels”
by Adam Pettle and Greg Nelson
Directed by Bill Lane
Air Dates: September 5 and 7

The section is recovering from the death of their fellow soldier, Stu Darcy. Pat in particular feels torn between her duties as a soldier and her human emotions. While searching a compound Dean, Lucas and Pat stumble upon a horrific scene of death. In the midst of it there is life, a baby. Pat, Dean and Lucas are teamed with an ANA unit that is disparaging of how the coalition does things. Pat is at odds with the ANA leader and has to make some tough decisions. She questions what she is doing in Afghanistan when those decisions end badly.

Episode 24 – “The Jirga”
by Paul Aitkin
Directed by Bill Lane
Air Dates: September 12 and 14

It’s hot, dry and dangerous in Helmand Province. Our section is helping to supply security for a Jirga, a meeting of village elders. There is concern insurgents are going to sabotage a real chance for progress towards peace. Dean and Lucas befriend a young ANA soldier whose family was killed by the Taliban. Once again our section is at odds with the ANA. They have to deal with the difficult questions; how far do you go to find out the truth? Can torture ever be justified?

Episode 25 – “The Opposite of Death”
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Bill Lane
Air Dates: September 19 and 21

Pat, Dean and Lucas are back at Kandahar Air Field stocking up on supplies and preparing to head out for a three month mission. Pat’s feeling she might be pregnant grows stronger and she knows she must find out before leaving the base. She enlists the help of her medic friend Hannah who is willing to bend the rules.

Episode 26 - “Jake’s World”
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Chris Abraham.
Air Dates: September 26 and 28

Master Corporal Cucumber-up-his-butt Jakes has taken over the section while Pat is away on leave and Lucas and Dean are none too happy about it. They are in dangerous territory having been relocated to Strong Point Baden, a primitive post in Helmand Province, deep in the heart of Taliban country. Jakes works by the book and our soldiers question if he is up for the job or if Jakes’ incompetence is going to have them all killed.

Episode 27 - “A Good Lie”
by Jason Sherman.
Directed by Chris Abraham.
Air Dates: October 3 and 5

The section enter a surreal world when they are ordered to provide security for Major Campbell while he attends a golf game in Kabul. Tension between Chucky and Jakes rises when Jakes finds out Chucky is responsible for a You Tube video. The video stars Jakes and, needless to say, the video doesn’t project a good light on the Major Corporal.

Episode 28 “The Four Pound Bass”
by Adam Pettle and Greg Nelson
Directed by Gregory J Sinclair
Air Dates: October 10 and 12

Our episode starts in Porcupine, Ontario. We see the world through the eyes of Joe Keeler, a young private about to be shipped over to Afghanistan. The celebration send-off party is barely over before Joe is having his doubts; has he made the right decision? As the clock ticks towards the hour when Joe has to report for duty, he has to ask himself the ultimate question… Is this the right thing to do?

Episode 29 “The Kid”
by Bobby Theodore
Directed by Gregory J Sinclair
Air Dates: October 17 and 19

Tragedy strikes Two Section and our men are racked with guilt. Jakes tries to pull the section together but his attempts only makes the situation worse. Dean, Lucas and Jakes are sent off on a recce mission to scout out a German de-mining NGO who refuse to abandon their mission even though the area they are de-mining is considered too hot to stay. Our men reveal that the de-miners have an unusual relationship with the Taliban.

Episode 30 " Drug of Choice"
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Gregory J Sinclair
Air Dates: October 24 and 26

Pat returns to action at Strong Point Badan after being on leave, recuperating in Prince Rupert BC. She struggles with who she is as a person outside of the army and decides she'd rather be back with her men, fighting the Taliban, than facing the struggles of day to day life back home. But she also know she is keeping at bay some deep daemons, for the life of a soldier is hardly simple. But it is straight forward: do your job, keep yourself and your men alive.

Episode 31 "Dear Jakes"
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Beverley Cooper
Air Dates: October 31 and November 2

Corporal Jakes finally gets to make a call back home on the satellite phone but when he speaks to his wife Penny back in Petawawa she doesn't seem too pleased to hear from him. Jakes fears she is having an affair with neighbour Steve. With his personal worry on his mind Jakes tries to stay focused as the section attempts to prove the authenticity of their new informant. But distraction can be lethal.

Episode 32 "The Rain"
by Paul Aitken
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Airing November 7 and 9

On a routine presence patrol in a local village the section is looking forward to a break back at KAF. But in Afghanistan nothing is routine. In order to clear a building Corporal Jakes throws in a grenade only to find he has disabled the village pump-house and their only source of water. Desperately trying to make amends the section is sent on a mission to find
the parts to fix the generator. But the mission seems turns surreal as they have to travel through hostile territory on a desperate search for a spark plug.

Remembrance Day Special 2007
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Airing November 11
This special was produced before a live audience at the Canadian War Museum

Sergeant Pat Kinsella is to receive a medal for "acts of valour and self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy." The military are giving it lots of exposure with a special public ceremony and major media coverage. Kinsella should feel honoured, but instead is upset. She is holding something back about the action, suggesting that she thinks receiving this honour is a mistake.

Episode 33 "Hannah the Healer"
by Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Beverley Cooper
Airing November 14 and 16

Hannah, two section's medic, has set up a make-shift clinic in village, right in the heart of Taliban country, giving its citizens the first proper medical treatment they have ever received. She is treating a boy for gangrene when gunshots are heard and the section has to pull out. The situation creates friction between Coach and Hannah and Hannah has to
confront her role as a soldier versus that of a medic.

Episode 34 "One Bullet"
by Adam Pettle and Greg Nelson
Directed by Beverley Cooper
Airs November 21 and 23

The section is clearing out of Strong Point Badan and Coach, Dean and Jakes are looking forward to a much deserved break back at KAF. But at the last minute new orders come in and our soldiers have to flush out a local village of Taliban, the same village in which they had cleared only weeks before. The village is the scene of a horrific sight. Nerves are frayed and Jakes and Dean are at each others throats. Coach tries to hold the section together but she has her own daemons to deal with. What she would really like is a drink…

Episode 35 "Pink Mist"
by Greg Spottiswood
Directed by Beverley Cooper
Airs November 28 and 30

The section is working out of the village of Badwan. Lieutenant Petrovsky is operating on the edge, making bad decisions and Coach has to figure out a way to keep the section safe. Add to that a Taliban-bomber, code named "The Sith", working in the area. His weapon of choice…land mines.

Episode 36 "Special Forces"
by Adam Pettle and Greg Nelson
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Airs December 5 and 7

The section is teamed with a new interpreter, Ali, who wants to interpret what he sees in his own way. A very attractive Lieutenant from Special Forces gets Pat's hormones hopping. And Coach continues to blame Hannah for Lucas getting wounded. If only Hannah hadn't hesitated before shooting then Lucas wouldn't be in hospital. But in a twist of fate Coach realizes that sometimes we need to hesitate before we act.

Episode 37 "Fun Life"
by Adam Pettle
Directed by Gregory J. Sinclair
Airs December 12 and 14

Dean gets leave to go home to Sudbury for his sister's wedding. Before he goes Coach gives him orders, to have fun. But having fun on a Sudbury Saturday Night proves hard to find for our soldier. Dean makes a side trip to South Porcupine, the home of Joe Keeler, a fellow soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. Dean wants to return Joe's journal to Mr. Keeler, Joe's
grieving father.

Episode 38 "The Christmas Letter"
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Greg Nelson
Airs December 19 and 21

It's Christmas Day in Kandahar and Chucky is writing a letter home to his Gram in Cape Breton. Chucky has just returned to the section having been recuperating from an injury for the last few weeks to find his section only barely holding it together. With only a few weeks left in theatre Pat just wants to get her boys home alive. Emotions rise to a boiling point when Dean disobeys a direct order to save a boy from abuse.

Episode 39 "Clearing Out"
by Greg Nelson and Adam Pettle
Directed by Beverley Cooper
Airs December 26 and 28

Final episode of series two.

With only four days left in their tour of duty Coach, Dean and Chucky prepare to say good-bye to Afghanistan. They look back over how far they have come in the last couple of years and question the role they have played in the war…have they really made a difference? Have they really accomplished anything?


Back to Top


Season 1

Episode 1
Five Canadian soldiers and their translator head out from Kandahar to establish contact with a local village and deliver supplies to a school. The meeting with village elders, a shura, is successful but the delivery to the school is intercepted by the Taliban and one of the unit disappears.

Episode 2
Pat Kinsella, the female combat soldier in the unit, becomes Temporary Section Commander when the Sergeant goes missing in action. They are ordered back to base, but their LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) topples into a dry river bed during a sandstorm leaving them marooned in the desert. A strange encounter with a lone American soldier points them to a cave up the mountainside where they make a surprise discovery.

Episode 3
The unit is heading back to base on a medical mission when an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) explodes, disabling their LAV and cutting short their journey. An attempt to borrow a tractor from a local farmer goes wrong and brings the section under attack, only to be rescued by American firepower.

Episode 4
The section is assigned to American command to hunt for suicide bomb factories in Kandahar. A raid on an Afghan family, who may or may not be suicide bombers, leads the unit to a mosque where they confront a rogue American unit that they suspect is involved in shady operations. They must chose whether to blow the whistle or not.

Episode 5
In advance of a major offensive, Pat Kinsella is replaced as Temporary Section Commander by a new Sergeant who has been diverted from the Provincial Reconstruction Team. He has to gain the trust of his new soldiers in the midst of battle. Every decision he makes has consequences for his unit and he is not helped by the fact that this is his first experience under fire.

Episode 6
While the NATO offensive against the Taliban continues, the unit comes upon a small group of ANP (Afghan National Police) who are doing their best to keep law and order with no equipment or supplies. Their attempts to aid the ANP by blowing up some Taliban weapons caches embroil the Section in local tribal politics, and end by worsening the local situation.

Episode 7
The Section heads outside the wire providing security on a VMO – Village Medical Outreach – aimed at improving conditions in rural areas, and winning some Afghan hearts and minds along the way. Their efforts are jeopardized when they run afoul of Islamic law during an attempt to save a teenage girl dying from an infection.

Episode 8
Christmas at Kandahar Airfield looks good when you are marooned at an abandoned American Firebase deep in the mountains on the Pakistan border with only a half bottle of creme de menthe for merriment. Just down the valley is a madrassa, a radical Islamic school that doubles as a Taliban training base. As a possible attack looms, Private Donaldson wrestles with some psychological demons brought on by killing an enemy fighter.

Episode 9
The Section splits up for the first time in months to take a few days leave. Dean and Lucas fly out to blow off steam in Bangkok and Sergeant Kinsella heads home to Prince Rupert to see her parents and her boyfriend. The boys have a great time sampling many delights forbidden on the job in Afghanistan. Kinsella on the other hand finds re-integration into civilian life a complicated experience.

Episode 10
Outside the wire once again, the Section heads out on a clandestine operation to find and destroy a Taliban command post. This time they have a new interpreter recruited from a local village. When the “terp” begins to consider the risk his family faces from the Taliban now that he is helping the NATO forces, he makes a decision that endangers the Section. Private Manson rushes to his defense even though it means disobeying a senior officer.

Episode 11
After barely surviving a river crossing when the bridge collapses under their LAV, the Section finds itself marooned in a remote village. A Canadian aid agency has been hard at work here and the village has been turned into a thriving community, the likes of which they have not seen before. One of the aid workers takes a shine to Dean, but the Taliban are not impressed with the success of this village and things go horribly wrong.

Episode 12
A hearts and minds mission to deliver food aid turns into a quest for the elusive Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban. Along the way they encounter a former Russian soldier and a strange group of women farmers. Do they get Omar in the end? Only time will tell.

Episode 13
Hockey Night in Kandahar. An argument over the merits of the Leafs vs. the Habs leads to a not-so-friendly ball hockey match between our combat unit and the Rear Echelon Supply Section - the boys who man the base at Kandahar Airfield and never have to risk their lives outside the wire.

Episode 14
Events take a drastic turn when a Canadian MP meets a Afghan warlord, now a "politician", about arranging direct negotiations with the Taliban. At the press conference afterward, some of the warlord's private thugs object to remarks a Canadian journalist makes about their boss and take matters into their own hands.

Episode 15
With a wounded Sergeant Kinsella on her way to hospital at Kandahar Airfield, the remaining Section is sent on a house-to-house search for the kidnapped Canadian journalist. They are assigned a new officer who it turns out has a "history" with Dean Donaldson that goes back to their high school years together in Sudbury.

Episode 16
With a "newbie" assigned to the Section, the soldiers head out to re-supply an Australian Patrol Base. The Aussies have not seen a Taliban fighter in months, and they have been forced to entertain themselves. The Section discovers that they are succeeding admirably there, but something in their gut tells them that things aren't quite right.

Episode 17
A routine presence patrol lands the unit on security duty in a Kandahar market place following a suicide bombing. Section newbie, Corporal Darcy, doesn’t seem to be up to his new responsibilities "outside the wire" and Coach is determined to get to the bottom of his problem before it endangers the safety if her men.

Episode 18
A helicopter crash strands the Section without their weapons while on their way to deliver an unusual prisoner to the Americans. The prisoner convinces them to seek refuge in an enemy Afghan village, but even he is surprised by the consequences.

Episode 19
The Section has been pulled out of combat for a special task deep outside the wire. Meanwhile, Coach is struggling with some unexpected feelings that could threaten the performance of her duties.

Episode 20
A controversial NGO brings Romeo and Juliet to Kandahar City. It’s intended as a sign of hope to the locals, an alternative to the Taliban, but staging the production proves to be a risky proposition. Then the Section is ordered to provide security for the opening of a school built in Taliban territory by the same NGO. In the midst of all this, Private Manson finds his own Juliet.

Episode 21
A visiting Master Corporal joins the Section on a reconnaissance mission. Intelligence has indicated that the Taliban are about to move in and take over a town controlled by the Afghan Army. The battle goes badly, and in the aftermath things turn ugly when the visiting soldier’s actions put him at odds with the rest of the Section. Meanwhile, Dean becomes increasingly worried as relationships within the unit spiral downward.

Episode 22
Morale is at an all time low in the Section as they move in to retake a town from the Taliban. The unit takes a devastating blow when one of their members is killed in a surprise ambush Coach blames herself and begins to doubt her ability to lead. This is the final episode of the first season of Afghanada.

Back to Top

Radio OneRadio 2R3Sirius