Description

Red-Painted Stone: After the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, military action was initiated against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. An important objective at the start of the conflict was control of Bagram Airfield. It was secured by British troops in October and U.S. troops moved in by December to provide force protection.

From the beginning, the base was an exceptionally dangerous place. It was originally built by the Soviets during their occupation of the country. During that period, the airfield, and much of the country, was mined by the Soviets to help in their fight against the Mujahideen. After the Soviets left Afghanistan, conflict in the country continued. This time Taliban and Northern Alliance forces battled for control of Afghanistan. Clashes around the airfield were intense.

When the U.S. and Coalition troops began to build up the airfield for logistical support, they needed to begin clearing the minefields. At the time, Afghanistan was considered the most heavily mined nation in the world. The two decades of war with the Soviets left an estimated 5-10 million mines scattered around the countryside.

During 2002 the military cleared over 5,000 mines from around the Bagram Airfield. The crews estimated another 15,000 were probably in the surrounding fields. Military specialists and NGO groups were brought in to clear the ordinance. Any areas not cleared would be marked off with triangular mine signs or, when those were unavailable, rocks were painted red and placed around areas that were not cleared.

The red-painted rock in the collection was picked up from a site at the Bagram Airfield in early 2002. It was a gift from a mine clearing crew, given to me after I spent the morning videotaping someone clearing a mine by hand.