During Canada’s involvement in the Afghanistan War, Canadian soldiers returning home at the end of their tour went first to Cyprus for “decompression leave.” A reprieve on the sunny Mediterranean island, punctuated by briefings about mental health, gave soldiers a chance to ease the transition from war in Afghanistan to life in Canada. Of course, the irony of choosing Cyprus as a spot for this transition was that Cyprus itself is still technically a conflict zone, one which Canadians had a major hand in policing from 1964 until 1993 as part of the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
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