Fielding, Marcus Conrad (Colonel, b.1964)

Collection relating to the United Nations Mine Clearance Training Team (UNMCTT) in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Multi-National Force Haiti (MNF), International Force East Timor (INTERFET), and Iraq War service of 325341 Colonel Marcus Conrad Fielding, Royal Australian Engineers, 1992-2009.

Wallet 1 of 3 - Consists of letters and documents relating to then Captain Fielding's service with the UNMCTT on Operation Salam in Pakistan and Afghanistan from February to August 1992. The wallet includes a copy of The Mujahideen magazine from January 1992, a proclamation of the Mujahideen to the citizens of Kabul dated 24 April 1992, Fielding's official Australian passport from his time with UNMCTT, and a copy of a short history compiled by Fielding on Australian involvement in the UNMCTT from 1989 to 1993. The latter includes background to the mission, details on the Australian contribution, lists of personnel who served with the Australian Service Contingents between July 1989 and June 1993, and details on the decorations and commendations awarded to specific personnel. The wallet also includes copies of 16 letters and a card Fielding wrote to his wife between 14 February and 14 July 1992. He writes of his living conditions, familiarisation training, visiting the Khyber Pass, hygiene standards, mine casualties, refugees, his purchases at the bazaars, recreation, and Ramadan. He also discusses his movements along the border region and trips into Afghanistan, mine accident investigations, the weather, homesickness, illness, boredom, how much he misses his wife, their pet cats, and the upcoming birth of their first child.

Wallet 2 of 3 - Consists of copies of 26 letters and postcards sent to Fielding by his wife Virginia 'Ginny' Fielding and copies of 2 letters received by friends during his deployment with the UNMCTT in 1992. Virginia Fielding writes of news from home, her pregnancy and plans for their future, their family, finances, politics, and popular culture, and includes occasional cartoons and photographs of their cats. The two letters from friends update Fielding on news from home and happenings within his home unit, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, and enquire about the deployment. See PR00291 for other material related to Fielding's deployment with the UNMCTT.

Wallet 3 of 3 - Consists of three folders relating to Fielding's subsequent deployments to Haiti, East Timor, and Iraq, respectively.

Folder 1 includes a letter then Major Fielding sent home in February 1995 while deployed with the Multi-National Force Haiti Engineer Task Force in Port-au-Prince. Fielding discusses the busy nature of his operating environment, the impending transition of authority to the United Nations, his living conditions, the efforts to raise a local police force, and the damage wrought by a recent tropical storm.

Folder 2 includes a cartoon and five letters relating to Major Fielding's service as Brigade Major of 3 Brigade while deployed on Operation Warden with INTERFET from 1999 to 2000. The letters were sent from Suai by Fielding to his son, Harrison, between 21 October and 10 December 1999. He enquires about Harrison's activities at home, tells him how much he misses him, writes about his living conditions, and with one letter includes an example of a leaflet distributed by INTERFET in an attempt to get Timorese refugees to return home. The cartoon was sent to Fielding by his commanding officer, Brigadier Mark Evans, and contrasts an overloaded United Nations soldier with a local militant.

Folder 3 includes three identification and security passes and a business card (in both English and Arabic) relating to Colonel Fielding's deployment as J3 in the Headquarters of the Multi-National Force - Iraq in Baghdad from 2008 to 2009.