COBOURG -- After 22 years in the Canadian Forces, Major Lee-Anne Quinn has a lot to say.

She'll find plenty of interested listeners at the Cobourg Legion on Sunday, April 5, at 2 p.m., when she hosts a presentation about her time in the military and the trials she faced during her two decades as a nurse practitioner. The high risk career took her all over the world in support of Canada's troops, with stints in hot spots like Somalia, Rwanda and most recently, Afghanistan.

Now retired from the military, the Peterborough resident has spent the last year (she returned from Afghanistan in March, 2008) telling her story and opening eyes to what the Canadian Forces are facing in their ongoing battle in the Middle East.

"Number one, I want the general public to know we're not in a peacekeeping mission - we're in a war," she said. "Our soldiers are teaching the Afghan military and police how to properly protect their people. We're well aware of the death toll, but that's the price you pay when you go to war. The Canadian military is willing to take it on."

The extent to which she can talk about the war is limited due to security reasons, as Canada is, of course, still active in Afghanistan. Canada's involvement has remained a hot topic since the start of their mission in 2002. The majority of the commentators have not witnessed the conflict with their own eyes, though, and so Major Quinn brings a truly unique perspective to the ongoing debate; that of someone who has "been there and done that". In treating the Canadian Forces, the Afghan military, injured civilians and even enemy fighters, the Major witnessed the full breadth of what most Canadians only see glimpses of on the news.

"You could never be prepared for what you'll see over there. What you see are catastrophic injures because of the weapons that are being used," she said.

Aside from first-hand tales of the high costs of this war, Major Quinn bore witness to the difference Canadian troops are making in Afghanistan and to exactly what the support of the Canadian people means to them.

"You can't imagine how important that support is. It means the world to you over there," she said of such gestures as the repatriation gatherings on bridges over the Highway of Heroes. "Everything the Canadian public is doing, my message is, continue to do it."

She'll no doubt have more than one message to share on Sunday. There's no charge to attend, but the Legion will collect donations for the Troop Morale Fund. Major Quinn anxiously awaits the opportunity to speak both with Legion members who can relate directly to her experiences, as well as community members who simply want to know more about what the Canadian troops are doing in Afghanistan.

"I'm just one soldier who has been at war, and I want to tell the story. And people want to hear it."