The Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF) is a small, mobile corps of 300 volunteers that makes up Vanuatu's military. Its primary task is to assist the Vanuatu Police Force. However, should Vanuatu be attacked, then the VMF will act as the first line of defence. In 1994, VMF deployed 50 people to Papua New Guinea, as their first peacekeeping mission.
Image: Beretta 92S
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia, located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
Cave drawings, Lelepa Island, associated with the Roy Mata World Heritage Site
Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós was the first European to arrive in Vanuatu, in 1606. He named Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu.
James Cook landing at Tanna island, c. 1774
Tanna men on a boat, taken c. 1905