Tarin Kowt Wall

More than 50,000 Australians have served in the Middle East Region since 2001. Many who deployed to Afghanistan would have seen this welcome sign on their arrival to Multinational Base Tarin Kot. Protected by wire and concrete blast walls, “TK” provided a haven for Australian combat troops and support staff for more than a decade.

The welcome sign is displayed in the Memorial’s galleries on a recreated blast wall. Personnel who have deployed to the Middle East are invited to sign the wall as a record of their service. As the wall fills with signatures, new walls are installed and the old ones are archived. This composite image brings together all of the walls, showing signatures and messages left by veterans since the original wall was installed in October 2016.