“I understand that the local Police deal with around 10,000 items per year, so for us to locate 10,000 in three weeks is a real credit not just to us but also the partnership we have had with the local Police and communities,” Commander Griffiths said.
“These extraordinary numbers are also a reflection of the high contamination of some parts of Solomons with unexploded ordnance – we are working here with global experts who estimate that some areas in Solomons have among the worst explosive ordnance contamination in the world – even more contaminated with unexploded ordnance than Laos or Cambodia.
“Given that these items have been here for around 70 years, the assistance we have had from local villages and communities in finding them has been critical.
“For instance, last week we had a Canadian team working in the mountains more than two kilometres away from the nearest logging track, while at the same time we had an Australian team working a few metres from the edge of Henderson Field airport in the capital of Honiara.
“In both cases it was information gained from the local community that led us to these sites.”

“Our Task Force members have no shortage of battlefield experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Bosnia, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan and a multitude of other conflict zones across most continents but the sheer volume of items in such a short period of time has certainly provided a challenge,” he said.
“Our teams were finding high explosive shells with pristine fuses still in their packaging so the threat of injury or death to the locals if they accidently set one of these off was, and still is, real.
“One of our clearance divers summed it up pretty well when he said that for us the war finished 70 years ago but Solomon Islanders have been living with it ever since.”

“With the local population just passing 500,000 and growing rapidly these areas will be needed so that the Solomons can grow with confidence and safety,” he said.
“Along the way we have all had the opportunity to learn more about the Solomon Islands people and culture and I know all Task Force members have enjoyed that as much as they have enjoyed getting results on the job.”

“I understand that the local Police deal with around 10,000 items per year, so for us to locate 10,000 in three weeks is a real credit not just to us but also the partnership we have had with the local Police and communities,” Commander Griffiths said.
“These extraordinary numbers are also a reflection of the high contamination of some parts of Solomons with unexploded ordnance – we are working here with global experts who estimate that some areas in Solomons have among the worst explosive ordnance contamination in the world – even more contaminated with unexploded ordnance than Laos or Cambodia.
“Given that these items have been here for around 70 years, the assistance we have had from local villages and communities in finding them has been critical.
“For instance, last week we had a Canadian team working in the mountains more than two kilometres away from the nearest logging track, while at the same time we had an Australian team working a few metres from the edge of Henderson Field airport in the capital of Honiara.
“In both cases it was information gained from the local community that led us to these sites.”

“Our Task Force members have no shortage of battlefield experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Bosnia, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan and a multitude of other conflict zones across most continents but the sheer volume of items in such a short period of time has certainly provided a challenge,” he said.
“Our teams were finding high explosive shells with pristine fuses still in their packaging so the threat of injury or death to the locals if they accidently set one of these off was, and still is, real.
“One of our clearance divers summed it up pretty well when he said that for us the war finished 70 years ago but Solomon Islanders have been living with it ever since.”

“With the local population just passing 500,000 and growing rapidly these areas will be needed so that the Solomons can grow with confidence and safety,” he said.
“Along the way we have all had the opportunity to learn more about the Solomon Islands people and culture and I know all Task Force members have enjoyed that as much as they have enjoyed getting results on the job.”