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U.S. Humanitarian Demining Research And Development Program Provides "Reach-In" Technology, Chris Wanner

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When mine clearance operations closed down on June 12, 2004, for the last time in Honduras, U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) prototype equipment on trial was there to help complete the work started nearly one decade ago. Progress in reaching this milestone had stalled in 2002. Lack of a solution to a troublesome combination of environmental and threat factors remained beyond the capability of normal clearance procedures at one of the last remaining mine-suspected areas left in Honduras. Conventional clearance methods had revealed evidence of a mixture of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines buried under a meter …

Data Fusion For Mine Action Decision Support: An Example From Lebanon, Aldo Benini, Charles Conley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Within humanitarian mine action, progress in integrating information is manifest chiefly by the way the traditional array of survey activities have been reformed. Following the 1997 Ottawa Treaty to ban anti-personnel mines, several mine action non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) launched the Global Landmine Survey, a multi-country survey project. This initiative has helped to institutionalize the collection of social and economic data, along with contaminated-area data, to enhance the overall management of mine action programs worldwide, and in that sense has achieved a paradigm change over the erstwhile purely technical approach to mine clearance.

Fusing Aerial Multispectral Imagery And High-Resolution Photography, Milan Bajic

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Aerial remote sensing is useful for spotting indicators in the survey of mine-suspected areas and minefields. Because the detection of landmines in the soil and under the vegetation cover is not yet practical, the minefield indicators and their electromagnetic signatures provide means for detection of the mine-suspected areas and minefields. The minefield indicators can be natural (e.g., vegetation cover) over a large spatial extent, or else artificial or man-made (e.g., trenches, bunkers, demolished objects) over a small spatial extent. The dimensions of artificial minefield indicators require use of multi-spectral sensors and aerial images with spatial resolution below one meter. Due …

Optimising The Use Of Rest For Mine Detection, Ian Mclean, Rebecca Sargisson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Remote Explosive Scent Tracing (REST) is a detection technology involving the transfer of odours to an animal detector using filters. Like Remote Scent Tracing (RST), the technology could potentially be used to detect anything that has an odour. REST technology was used originally by Mechem in Mozambique and Angola in the early 1990s. Despite the potential it demonstrated at that time, it received little attention or investment through the late 1990s until a revival of interest occurred in recent years. Currently, it is being used operationally for mine detection in Afghanistan and is likely to be implemented for road clearance …

Machines Can Get The Job Done Faster, Alexander Griffiths

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) published A Study of Mechanical Application in Demining in June 2004. The study looked at the most suitable roles for machines in demining, examined the potential for machines to be considered a primary clearance tool, explained factors involved in protecting operators and presented a software model to help programme managers understand the cost-effectiveness of their mechanical assets. In 2005, the GICHD plans to release six more sub-studies related to mechanical demining. The following article explains some aspects of the operational tasks where machines are currently employed.

Landmine And Uxo Safety: The “Duty Of Care”, Sebastian Kasack

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A long wheelbase Landcruiser can seat 13 people: five in the front and eight in the rear. Usually those sitting in the rear cannot use seat belts because there are none, and those in front often choose not to wear them. Besides, at the end of the world, as the Portuguese called the southeastern corner of Angola, it is very unlikely you will meet another car anyway, so why wear seat belts?

Itep Test Trials For Detection Reliability Assessment Of Metal Detectors, Christina Mueller, Mate Gaal, Martina Scharmach, Sylke Bär, A.M. Lewis, T.J. Bloodworth, Dieter Guelle, Peter-Th Wilrich

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The total detection reliability of a mine-searching system is governed by the following three elements:

• Intrinsic capability, which describes the basic physical-technical capability of the method.
• Application factors, which include those due to environment.
• Human factor, which is the effect of human operators on the detection reliability.

Some of these can be determined in simple laboratory measurements in which the effect on detection capability of individual parameters is measured. However, the human factor and some aspects of the effects of environmental conditions on the system need to be treated statistically.

Mine Injury Casualties Report From The Iraq-Kuwait Dmz, B.M. Schneider, V. Ehmann, M. Gebler, M. Pohlers, J. Bronnert, M. Schneider, V. Bartke, H. Woltering, B. Domres

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

After the implementation of the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) at the end of the first Gulf War in 1990, a medical team was set up in 1991 to support the UN troops in their difficult tasks in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), a remote desert area between Kuwait and Iraq. The medical team was designed to take care of the medical treatment for the UNIKOM members and the nomadic people living in the DMZ as pointed out in UN Secretary-General reports S/2001/287 and S/2001/913 on the official UN website.

Maic: Iraq Ordnance Identification Guide, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Iraq Ordnance Identification Guide on the James Madison University Mine Action Information Center (JMU MAIC) website provides information gathered from UXO research about how to "...facilitate international unexploded ordnance (UXO) awareness and identification." The Iraq Ordnance Identification Guide is sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense: Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC), funded by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), and prepared by Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (NAVEODTECHDIV). The guide is provided by the JMU MAIC.

The Sdok Kok Thom Integrated Demining Project, Paddy Blagden

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Sdok Kok Thom Project in Thailand was an ideal project in order for the Japan Alliance for Humanitarian Demining Support (JAHDS) to create a mine clearance capability. The project site was compact, easily accessible and the vegetation varied from sparse to very dense, which made it possible to create a progressive training scheme of increasing complexity. This allowed the mine clearers to progress in steps towards the most difficult and challenging stages. One of the main points of the project was to incorporate a high degree of integrated demining, i.e., demining using the three major tools in the mine …

On The Ground In Iraq, Jo Foster

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

MineTech International (MTI) has been stationed in southern Iraq since May 2003, working on humanitarian mine and ammunition clearing projects and as part of its brief, working to deliver rapid response demining support for the United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS).

New Training Tools: Enhancing Mine Detection Performance, Daniel Hartmen, Dean Carhoun, Herman Herman

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The effectiveness and proficiency with which a handheld buried ordnance detection system operates is contingent on two properties: the detection capabilities of the sensor and the operator's skill in manipulating it while interpreting meaning from its audio output. With recent advancements in buried ordnance location technology, adding ground penetrating radar (GPR) with electro-magnetic induction (EMI) sensing places much greater importance on detector sweep motion as a prerequisite to improve detection and reduce false alarm performance. Proper operation requires the user to sweep an area completely without gaps, with the detector head motion controlled within proper speed and height above ground …

Operation Enduring Freedom: The Role Of Polish Engineers In Afghanistan, Boguslaw Bebenek, Hanna Madziar, Wojciech Chyla

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Polish Military Contingent, located at Bagram Base, 65 km from Kabul, has been contributing to peacekeeping missions withinOperation Enduring Freedom since March 2002. In addition to the platoon's main responsibilities of engineering reconnaissance and mine clearance, the platoon is also responsible for building fortification structures, developing base infrastructure, loading and transporting constructing materials, and conducting different kinds of ground works, mainly in the surrounding area of the base.

International Conference Sheds Light On Mine Action Trends And Concerns, Jan Cornelis, Hichem Sahli

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During the "International Conference on Requirements and Technologies for the Detection, Removal and Neutralization of Landmines and UXO" held in Brussels September 15–18, 2003, many global viewpoints and models emerged from the discussions. Some of the ideas triggered strong emotional reactions during the conference. Several of the new ideas might have a short lifetime; others have the potential of forcing breakthroughs; and all of them are subject to further debate.

Mine Spike: A Landmine Neutralisation Tool For Combat Scenarios, Brett Lowery

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Landmine clearance operations can be broadly categorised into two roles: military and humanitarian demining. Military operations often require a fast passage through minefields to maintain the tempo of advance. This is known as "breaching" and it involves either rapidly clearing mines from an intended route (for example by a mineplough) or marking the mines so they can be avoided. Other military scenarios may require the clearance of mines and UXO before setting up a military outpost. Once the main conflict and initial military clean-up has ended, humanitarian demining agencies move in to clear the area of mines and UXO, making …

Assessment Of Norwegian People's Aid: Technical Assistance To Cmac 1996-2003, Pascal Simon, Ayrine Uk

Global CWD Repository

This assessment report of Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) Technical Assistance to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)covers the period from 1996 to 2003. It provides an individual appreciation of each of the NPA Technical Advisors as well as an overall assessment of NPA technical assistance impact to the CMAC. The objective of the assessment is to make recommendations to Technical Advisors on management issues. Based on collected documents and findings, the report tries to present a comprehensive documented assessment of the impact and achievements of the NPA TAs for the target period.

Integrating Demining With Development: The Way Forward, Domrei Research And Consulting

Global CWD Repository

Examines integrated demining in Cambodia, looking at rationale, hichlighting best practices, key successes and challenges, and highlighting two case studies from communities in North-Western Cambodia.