The Mt. Pleasant Legion (Royal Canadian Legion Branch #177) marked their 60th anniversary on March 11th, 2005 by announcing the funding of a landmine clearance project. The $60,000 project will support demining operations in Afghanistan for a period of 8 weeks clearing an estimated 60,000 m2 (15 acres) of land in the area of Kabul in the Central Region.

The area of Kabul, Afghanistan was selected because of the present danger of landmines to the Canadian soldiers currently serving in Operation Athena. This danger was made very clear when a landmine killed Sgt. Short and Cpl. Beerenfenger in October 2003.

This project is undertaken through Adopt-A-Minefield, a global campaign to clear landmines and assist landmine survivors with partners in Canada, the USA, the UK and Sweden. Working in concert in this project are the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Office of Project Services, and the Afghanistan Mine Action Centre. The project will fund the work of a thirty person team from the Afghan Technical Consultants. The team will work in the area, but be available to respond to emergencies as they occur, giving them the flexibility they need now more than ever.

According to the UN, Afghanistan is one of the top three most-mined countries on the planet. While most of the landmines and UXO's in Afghanistan were laid during the Soviet occupation, during Taliban rule and US-led bombardment, both conventional and guerrilla forces used landmines extensively to defend military positions, force populations off land, block access routes and harass opponents by causing economic and social disruption. About 200,000 civilians have died and 400,000 have been disabled in mine incidents in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is infested with 10 million anti-personnel mines ready to explode the moment anyone steps on them or touches them.

Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC) was founded in 1989 and is one of the largest and leading mine clearance organizations currently operating in Afghanistan. ATC began with only one 24-man team and 11 administrative and support staff to clear high priority areas from mines and UXO. Within one year, ATC expanded to include 750 additional staff. ATC has continued to grow since then, and now employs nearly 1300 Afghans.

The Canadian Landmine Foundation, a managing partner in Adopt-A-Minefield, has been working with the Mt. Pleasant Legion to identify a meaningful way to demonstrate the Legion's continuing efforts to serve the community and the world.

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