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Laving
it at war memorial
By
Cpl Damian Shovell
FEW can boast of having an ASLAV parked in the garage, but the Australian
War Memorial (AMW) in Canberra can, after recently adding one to
their collection.
Assistant Director National Collection at AWM Nola Anderson received
the ASLAV from Director of Wheeled Manoeuvre SPO Lt-Col Rod Rayward,
and said the addition will form a vital display piece in helping
the AWM tell the story of Australian service men and women.
“I really do want to acknowledge the generosity of Army that
is allowing us to put this program together. We rely on projects
such as this, through cooperation with the Army, to build our collection
of significant objects so we can tell those stories,” she said.
“Two important things come to mind in terms of the ASLAV itself.
“I think the image of the ASLAV is something that’s become
an image of recent conflict in the popular mind and it’s the
image that you tend to see in the news papers etc.
“It’s also a very significant object in terms of the way
the Army deploys itself at the moment, so again we’re very
pleased to have it in our collection.
“Each conflict, I think, starts to have that image in the popular
mind, and this is something that people are going to be aware of
both now and in future deployments, so that’s why it’s
so important to have an ASLAV in the collection.”
Lt-Col Rayward said the ASLAV, which has been configured to represent
a C Sqn 2 Cav Regt vehicle that was involved in a contact during
INTERFET, will remain at AWM on long-term loan.
“Basically what that means is AWM has complete use of it, but
should we need it, we can withdraw it at any time,” he said.
You won’t, however, see the ASLAV cruising the streets of Canberra
on weekends, as the vehicle has most major parts removed, including
the engine.
The ASLAV may be used for open days and has been listed for consideration
in the post 1945 gallery, but Mrs Anderson said they are unsure
where the ASLAV will be used first.
“It’s early days yet, with something this big and this
significant its always difficult to say what we might do with it,
so we’re in the very early planning stages at this point.”
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