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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Heartlands Group, The Heartlands Group
The Heartlands Group, The Heartlands Group
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The development of mechanical mine clearance systems has been a long and protracted affair. It is generally accepted that no single machine can solve all mine problems, and if such a machine were to be developed, its size would probably prohibit it from being of practical use in the field.
Reclaiming The Land: A Veteran Revisits Vietnam, J.S. Chadwck
Reclaiming The Land: A Veteran Revisits Vietnam, J.S. Chadwck
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
When is a war really over? When the peace treaties are signed and the armies withdrawn? Or, when ordnance left over from the fighting is no longer killing people? If the answer to the last question is yes, then the Vietnam War is still going on. In Vietnam today people are being killed, or wounded on a daily basis by ordnance left behind by a conflict that should have ended 24 years ago. Most of those people are children. Throughout the Vietnamese countryside there are tens of thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO). These UXO run the gamut from …
The $64,000 Question: How Are We Going To Remove All Landmines In Ten Years?, Margaret S. Busé
The $64,000 Question: How Are We Going To Remove All Landmines In Ten Years?, Margaret S. Busé
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Thorsten Peter, of Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellscaft, manufacturers of the MINEBREAKER 2000 offers insight into the challenges of mechanical landmine clearance. "Humanitarian demining has to be accelerated. We can't go on at the pace we are presently going. It will simply take too long." -Mr. Thorsten Peter.
Boys With Toys Chase Silver Bullet, Joe Lokey
Boys With Toys Chase Silver Bullet, Joe Lokey
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
One of those wonderful little anecdotes in the mine action community that everyone quotes and misquotes allegedly came from a 13-year old school girl in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When hearing of the technical challenges in locating and destroying antipersonnel mines she asked, "Why is it that we can run a mechanized shoe box around the surface of Mars but can't seem to locate a dangerous tin can just a few centimeters below the surface of the earth?" Out of the mouths of babes...
Claim And Reality: Mechanically Assisted Demining, Colonel L Dyck
Claim And Reality: Mechanically Assisted Demining, Colonel L Dyck
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
To be able to discuss demining technology and to differentiate between claim and reality, we must first look at what we are trying to do. We want to clear mines from infected areas as safely and as rapidly as possible, and be able to return the land to the local population for economic and development use.
The Case For The Flail: Mechanical Landmine Clearance For The Humanitarian Application A Manufacturer's View, William E. Green
The Case For The Flail: Mechanical Landmine Clearance For The Humanitarian Application A Manufacturer's View, William E. Green
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The basic requirement for a Mechanical Landmine Clearance System is to assist the overall humanitarian program to achieve effective and affordable landmine clearance while minimizing the risk to those involved. It is well understood that complete landmine clearing must involve a variety of tools. Experience has shown that the flail system, used together with other classical techniques, represents the most effective approach that present technology allows.
The Una-Usa Adopt-A-Minefield Program, Margaret S. Busé
The Una-Usa Adopt-A-Minefield Program, Margaret S. Busé
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The United Nations Association of the United States (UNA-USA) officially launched Adopt-A- Minefield in 1998, in partnership with the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI). It was at that time that Adopt-A-Minefield received the first list of minefields available for adoption from the United Nations. This summer they will launch a comprehensive website on landmines and Adopt-A-Minefield at www.landmines.org. This extensive website will contain mine information, corresponding links; mine afflicted community profiles, maps, children's information, and more.
The Misa 1, A Agricultural Machine With Demining Capabilities, Detlef Schulz
The Misa 1, A Agricultural Machine With Demining Capabilities, Detlef Schulz
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
The MiSa 1 mobile plant by the BIGAT Engineering Office for Processing of Waste Ltd. is a agricultural machine designed to pick up and sift through soil, separate out metal fragments and undergrowth, and replace the cleaned soil. While BIGAT envisions many uses for the MiSa I mobile plant, they are particularly encouraged by its performance as an aid for mine clearance. The MiSa I is capable of clearing specific minefield areas of vegetation that is up to 15 years old, while at the same time sifting through the soil to a depth of 50cm, cleaning the soil of all …
Body Protection Systems For Use In Humanitarian Demining: Applying Hard Science And End-User Feedback To Improve Personal Protection For Deminers, Richard L'Abbe, Aris Makris, Derrick Poon Young
Body Protection Systems For Use In Humanitarian Demining: Applying Hard Science And End-User Feedback To Improve Personal Protection For Deminers, Richard L'Abbe, Aris Makris, Derrick Poon Young
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Somewhere between the tightening budgets of program managers, myriad of demining activities, and fatigue among donors, lies a life-threatening issue which receives limited attention within the hierarchy of themes defining humanitarian demining. According to a large cross-section of deminers around the world, personal protection for deminers is considered a poor second cousin to such themes as mine awareness and victim assistance. They say the issue of improving personal protection needs to be pushed higher up the demining agenda.
The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts, Dennis Barlow
The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts, Dennis Barlow
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In late 1997, I attended a major humanitarian demining conference. A workshop there focused on the requirements of operators. My first question to the working group: "What is a demining operator?" Is he only a mine clearer, or are we indeed concerned with operators involved across the demining activity spectrum, e.g. victim assistance, personnel, mine awareness practitioners, management trainers, etc. My question was quickly dismissed as being trivial. Deminers were clearers.
International Pilot Project For Technology Cooperation, George Zahaczewsky
International Pilot Project For Technology Cooperation, George Zahaczewsky
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
After a year of preparation and soliciting international support, the United States entered into agreement with Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission to conduct a project to test metal detectors suitable for humanitarian demining applications. This effort is seen as a pilot project for future international cooperation in demining technology development, and is a critical first step in formally establishing a functional, broadly based international program to test and evaluate humanitarian demining technology.
Mechanical Assistance Systems For Humanitarian Mine & Uxo Clearance, Roger Hess
Mechanical Assistance Systems For Humanitarian Mine & Uxo Clearance, Roger Hess
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Removing the phrase "Mechanical Mine Clearance " from humanitarian demining terminology was an issue that gained approval from most during the Karlsruhe Conference. The amount of money spent within the last few years on systems that are now in the advanced stages of rigor mortis is staggering. Now there seems to be many questions about what is an acceptable standard for the new definition of "Mechanically Assisted Demining". In some perspectives the answer is fairly clear, but in others it is as dark as Turkish coffee.
Mechanically Assisted Landmine Clearance And Detection, Theodore R. Gendron
Mechanically Assisted Landmine Clearance And Detection, Theodore R. Gendron
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In response to worldwide requirements for Humanitarian Demining, Schiebel Technology, Inc., an independent U.S. based corporation, has focused on the research, development, and production of the CAMCOPTER Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System particularly germane to mechanically assisted landmine detection and clearance.
Humanitarian Demining And Robotics, Y. Baudoin, M. Acheroy, M. Piette, J.P. Salmon
Humanitarian Demining And Robotics, Y. Baudoin, M. Acheroy, M. Piette, J.P. Salmon
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Mines were used for the first time during the American Civil War in the United States (1861-1865). Anti-tank mines were later ameliorated and laid on the battlefields of the First World War. Mine clearing operations did not pose major problems with those visible and easy-to-detect anti-tank mines. The reason why Anti-personnel mines have been conceived and systematically used on the anti-tank minefields during the Second World War was because such mines prevented the enemy from easy demining of the defense system.
Map-Driven Platforms For Moving Sensors In Mine Fields, S.H. Salter, C.N.G. Gibson
Map-Driven Platforms For Moving Sensors In Mine Fields, S.H. Salter, C.N.G. Gibson
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This paper discusses two unconventional and complementary systems for sensor movement. The first platform is the Dervish, originally designed to bypass the problem of mine detection by deliberately rolling over them with mine-resistant wheels. The second uses carbon-fibre cables to set the position of a payload supported by a balloon. Some desirable features of a sensor platform might be as follows.
Report On The Hidden Explosives Workshop, Rovereto June 1999, S.H. Salter
Report On The Hidden Explosives Workshop, Rovereto June 1999, S.H. Salter
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
This article gives some personal recollections of the highlights of the Rovereto workshop written in a form intended to be useful to working deminers. The workshop was organised by Mirco Elena of Istituto Trentino di Cultura. Funding and subsidies were from the United States Department of Energy and the Italian CARITRO foundation.
Performance Report -The Minebreaker 2000, Thorsten Peter
Performance Report -The Minebreaker 2000, Thorsten Peter
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
At the end of 1995 a decision was taken within the Diehl Group to create technologies for humanitarian demining. A starting point for these considerations was the German government's firm political intention to make a significant contribution to combating the landmine plague and in particular - as one of the world's leading industrialized countries - to provide technology on an industrial scale for this purpose. The company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau GeselIschaft mbH (FFG) was commissioned to implement the project.
The Compact 230 Minecat, J. Barry Middlesmass Lockwood Beck Ltd., Margaret S. Busé
The Compact 230 Minecat, J. Barry Middlesmass Lockwood Beck Ltd., Margaret S. Busé
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
J. Barry Middlemass, Managing Director of Lockwood Beck Limited, has considerable experience in the field of mechanical mine clearance and mine clearance equipment. Before embarking on a career in mine clearance, He served in the military, including reserves, for a total of twenty-nine years, specializing in mines, explosives and improvised explosive devices. When he resigned his commission, he devoted himself fulltime to mechanical demining. As a director of Aardvark for ten years, he had a key role and made a significant contribution to the company's success. Currently, JBM runs his own consulting company, Lockwood Beck, advising a variety of clients …
Grab A Cup Of Coffee, Pull Up A Seat, And Have Your Credit Card Ready, Margaret S. Busé
Grab A Cup Of Coffee, Pull Up A Seat, And Have Your Credit Card Ready, Margaret S. Busé
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Shopping for mechanical mine clearance equipment? Well, check out the German Federal Foreign Office's Humanitarian Mine Action Equipment Catalog 1998/1999. The catalog showcases state of the art equipment available for mechanical mine clearance and detection.
When An Explosion Is Not An Explosion:: Detonating Ap Mines Without Explosive Charges With The Ap Mine Neutralization Device, Frank E. Varljen
When An Explosion Is Not An Explosion:: Detonating Ap Mines Without Explosive Charges With The Ap Mine Neutralization Device, Frank E. Varljen
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In many demining situations, "in situ" neutralization of AR landmines is accomplished by using explosive charges to detonate the mines in place. However, there are times when it is not appropriate, safe, or feasible to use explosive charges to neutralize AP mines.
The Swedish Mine Fighter, An Interview With Mattias Willersjo, Catherine Harrigan, Mattias Willersjo
The Swedish Mine Fighter, An Interview With Mattias Willersjo, Catherine Harrigan, Mattias Willersjo
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
While mechanical mine clearance machines are regarded as an important part of the mine clearance effort, most experts agree that there is no one machine capable of clearing land mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO) to the 99.6% clearance standard recommended by the United Nations. Acknowledging this problem, but still recognizing the potential benefits of mechanical mine clearance machines, many field experts advocate a "toolbox" approach to mine clearance, using various mechanical mine clearance machines in tandem with manual mine clearance to achieve the 99.6% clearance standard.
The Swedish Mine Fighter: The Ultimate Mine- Clearance For Anti-Personnel Mines, Cisr Journal
The Swedish Mine Fighter: The Ultimate Mine- Clearance For Anti-Personnel Mines, Cisr Journal
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
New Swede Construction AB, NSC, AB, has since 1996, developed a mechanical mine clearance machine which can operate in areas where already existing machines cannot operate. The Swedish Mine Fighter is also an environmentally friendly machine since it does not destroy the ground where it operates. In initial tests using live mines placed in the ground, all mines were either destroyed or detonated.
Magnetic Fragment Collection, James Trevelyan
Magnetic Fragment Collection, James Trevelyan
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
In a typical manual mine clearance operation, deminers often spend nearly all of their time finding metal fragments in the search for anti-personnel mines. Often there is too much metal to be able to use metal detectors: then the deminers have to probe an entire minefield by hand, every 25 - 50 mm apart, or even dig through thousands of square metres of ground by hand.
From The Editor's Desk, Margaret S. Busé
From The Editor's Desk, Margaret S. Busé
The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction
Signing on as Editor of the Journal of Mine Action has been an interesting experience. Getting an online and print publication up and running, from start to finish, has been intense. Conversations with individuals from all areas of the land mine community have been enlightening, engaging and thought provoking. Many of the contractors I had an opportunity to talk with expressed sincere dedication to landmine removal. They also expressed concern. Many spoke of the differences between policy and reality, between feasibility and research and the daunting task of a 99.6% clearance rate as dictated by the United Nations.