It’s a common cliché that when a soldier goes to war, life is put on hold.

But that’s not exactly true. Life continues, but the soldier misses much of it. And perhaps no one was more aware of that Tuesday than Spc. David Singleton. When he and other members of the 62nd Medical Brigade returned to Fort Lewis after a 15-month tour in Iraq, the 29-year-old Federal Way resident was greeted by, among others, his daughter, Leanna.

Singleton had never seen or held his 4-month old daughter until then.

“It’s breathtaking. Just breathtaking,” Singleton said. “It’s my first child. I didn’t get to come home to see her when she was born. It’s just breathtaking. I can’t really explain it.”

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Fire up CBC tonight if you're interested in the future of Afghanistan's most volatile region. Canada, which has 2,500 troops in Kandahar province, is holding federal elections today, and the future of our neighbor's mission there could be influenced by tonight's outcome.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party deflated Afghanistan as a campaign issue by announcing earlier this year that the country would withdraw all forces by 2011. That was a step beyond what Liberal Party, with the second-most number of MPs, was calling for: withdrawal from Kandahar by 2011, when the country's parliamentary mandated mission ends.

But the two other opposition parties, the New Democrats and the Bloc Québécois, have pushed for a near-immediate withdrawal from the NATO-led mission. And since neither the Conservatives or the Liberals are expected to win a majority (and will thus have to work with another party to form a government), there could be pressure to limit the size of the country's contribution.

The United States has about 33,000 troops in Afghanistan. Another 5,300 or so will join that number over the next few months as a Marine Corps battalion and the Army's 3rd Battalion, 10th Mountain Division are scheduled to deploy. But the NATO commander has asked for 10,000 troops, and the issue has become a political one here.

NATO can't exactly abandon Kandahar – the historic home of the Taliban – in 2011 or sooner. So who will fill the vacuum once Canada leaves? Hint: It probably won't be Norway.