Veterans of the war in Afghanistan were influential in choosing the final design for a monument that will memorialize Canada’s contributions in the conflict.

After narrowing it to five choices, the federal government asked a jury to select the winner and asked the public for input.

More than 10,000 people responded to an online survey, and a great many of them served in Afghanistan or were family members of those who served, said Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

They overwhelmingly preferred a design put forward by Team Stimson: a circular space inspired by an Indigenous medicine wheel, sectioned into four parts, with an inner sanctuary featuring four bronze flak jackets hanging from crosses.

So when the jury made a different selection, it was overruled.

Artist Adrian Stimson, a member of Siksika First Nation in Alberta, is perhaps uniquely qualified to create such a monument.

A former member of the Armed Forces, Stimson joined the Canadian Forces Artists Program as a civilian in 2010 and spent time in Afghanistan, observing how the troops lived and interacted with their surroundings.

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