Hostilities

 This sign was at the Canadian air base in Qatar during Desert Storm. The mission to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait was a success, well planned out and carried out. In retrospect, it might have been better to have brought down Saddam Hussein.

As the 90s played out, Canadian forces served as peacekeepers in volatile conflicts of particular viciousness- Somalia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. It was that last country, a hotbed of ethnic conflicts that had only been held at bay by communism, where this flak vest comes from. It was worn by Lewis Mackenzie, the senior commanding general at Sarajevo. The other object is an Olympic torch from the Sarajevo games, given to Canadians.

The mission disintegrated into brutal partisan fighting, with war crimes being committed, and no peace to keep. It would take force to bring it to an end.

This transport Jeep, carrying Canadian soldiers, was shot at by Serb partisans. The men got away with their lives, but just barely.

This is the uniform of a Canadian pilot during the Yugoslavian mission.

Here we have a piece of one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Canada would be drawn into war as a result.

Canadians went to war in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban alongside other western allies. This sniper rifle was used by a Canadian, who held the record for longest distance sniper kill for a number of years in killing a Taliban sniper- 2430 meters.

This transport is an artifact in and of itself. Its front end was blown up by an IED in 2005. Protective shielding in the rest of the vehicle saved the lives of the three occupants.

On the wall beyond it is Waiting For Twilight- Patrol Base Wilson, by William MacDonnell.