Sapper Graham Ellis, of 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, and his Explosive Detection Dog (EDD), ...

Sapper Graham Ellis, of 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, and his Explosive Detection Dog (EDD), Bailey, are watched by local people at Kwaiafaa village in northern Malaita. EDD teams were deployed to the Solomon Islands as part of Operation Anode, Australia’s contribution to the multi-national military and policing intervention, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Their primary role was to detect illegal small arms caches; they were also used to support police search activities and for public awareness demonstrations. Northern Malaita had experienced considerable violence and unrest due to the activities of armed militant groups, such as the Malaitan Eagle Force (MEF), prior to RAMSI’s intervention. The MEF handed over some weapons as part of the RAMSI arms amnesty on 15 August 2003 at a ceremony in Auki, capital of Malaita, but doubts remained about how completely they, and other militant groups, had disarmed.