The Elgins in Afghanistan
Our collections relating to Afghanistan primarily reflect the participation of members of our community who served with 31 Combat Engineers Regiment (The Elgins) carrying on a tradition of service that dates back at least as far as 1866 as a unit.
Members of the Regiment rotated into the Regular Forces in Afghanistan in 2005 as part of Task Force Kabul (2 members) and later Kabul Camp Closing (5 members); 2006 (10 members) including Operation Zahar (1st Battle of the Panjwai) and Operation Medusa (2nd Battle of the Panjwai, 2008 (2 members) and 2010 (7 members) on numerous operations. The Museum welcomes input from those who served in Afghanistan in other capacities. |
Warrant Officer Art Churcher, Sgt. Timothy Longo, Lt. Col. Scott Smith, Capt. J.P. Hachey and Warrant Officer Rodney Milburn of the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins) at the Armouries on National Day of Honour 2014. Each man is wearing the South West Asia Star (see below). |
The Elgins served under the auspices of UN Resolution 1836 (2001) which established a commitment to support efforts of the Afghan Transitional Authority to take back their country from the Taliban. Originally confined to the area around Kabul, the mandate was expanded to include all of Afghanistan in 2003. NATO assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2003 after a period of rotating commands proved difficult to engage. The Canadians, originally assigned to the northern area around Kabul later took on extremely dangerous tasking in the south around Kandahar and even to the gates of Pakistan.
The images and artifacts donated to the Elgin Military Museum by local servicemen provide a absorbing window into the contrasts of that conflict. |