CLEARING THE BATTLEFIELD: WHY DE-MINING IS A POWERFUL U.S. CAPABILITY
By Shawn Kadlec, Jared Harper, Rick Coplen and Jacqueline E. Whitt June 26, 2019
Humanitarian Mine Action is one way for the DoD to really support the other three instruments of national power
Explosive Remnants of War, or ERW, is a significant problem in former battlefields. For example, the landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Dayton Accords was littered with antipersonnel mines. Since 1996, more than 3,000 square kilometers of land have been cleared of mines but an estimated 150,000 devices remain. Landmines, ammunition stocks, and other hazards represent both present dangers, especially to innocent civilians, past reminders of the prior conflict, and potential flashpoints for renewed hostilities.
Humanitarian Mine Action, also known as “de-mining,†is a capability the U.S. has to safely remove and dispose of ERW. While this capability is high-risk, generally slow and methodical, and requires tremendous skill and knowledge; the benefits of restoring land to a safe, sustainable, and usable condition are extraordinary. It is also one way that the military can provide direct support to the other instruments of national power — diplomatic, informational, and economic.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/humanitarian-mine-action/
