The days are long and sometimes crazy, but without them the Canadian Forces would not be able to operate overseas or at home. For the most part, the men and women filling these days—and nights—work behind the scenes and rarely get recognized for turning seemingly impossible tasks into reality. All of them fall under the umbrella of the Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM) and they have been extremely busy helping to close out Canada’s five-year combat mission in Afghanistan.

A major part of their work in the wartorn country involves bringing soldiers and equipment home, a massive undertaking that began months ago—well before the decision was made to switch Canada’s role from a combat mission, which will end in July, to a training mission. Over all, Canada’s military presence in Afghanistan stretches just under 10 years, an experience shared by thousands of military personnel and supported by CANOSCOM through everything from operational logistics, engineering, communications, equipment maintenance to health and military police services.