Collecting in Action

Curating from Afghanistan : Collecting in Action program, February 2011.
As a curator of Film and Sound at the Memorial, I was greatly privileged to travel with the ADF to the Australia's area of Middle Eastern Operations. Not only did I meet with and interview an amazing range of ADF members based in or around Al Minhad, Kandahar, Tarin Kot and Kabul, but I found myself in the rare position of being a female civilian, totally immersed in the ADF's world. I trained with ADF. I wore body armour. I travelled by armoured convoy, and by Hercules aircraft. I had meals in the food halls where everybody else ate, lining up outside to wash and sterilise my hands, and slept in the same accommodation, sharing bathroom and laundry facilities. Every day brought a hectic round of new names, acronyms, places, and protocols to remember; every day was a day of early starts and late nights. Some days were marked by fun (joining in the trivia night at Camp Baker) or frustration (repeated cancellation of flights), whilst other days were memorable for their sadness -- the loss of an Australian sapper the day we left Tarin Kot; attending, with a host of coalition force members, a US ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield. There was nothing about this trip for which the standard round of office work could have prepared me.
As one of a three person team of Memorial curators for the Collecting in Action program, I spent three weeks on deployment, travelling across the Middle Eastern Area of Operations (MEAO). In keeping with the Memorial 's tradition of documenting Australians' experience at war, I recorded interviews with a wide cross section of the ADF - men and women of different ranks, performing different duties , in a range of locations on base and in the field. Their stories were fascinating and inspiring, providing a unique insight into the life and times of Australia's current serving military.
This video compiles a small selection from the many hours recorded during my deployment. The Memorial thanks all those who contributed their time and assistance in this program.
The Memorial seeks to build its collection of film and oral history with contributions from current and recently serving ADF members. Please contact the Film and Sound section if you would like to help.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Afghanistan
• ADF
• Australian Defence Force
• Australian War Memorial
• Curator