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CHAPTER 1
HUMANITARIAN DEMINING PROGRAM
The purpose of the U.S. Government Humanitarian Demining Program is to help selected countries relieve human suffering and develop an indigenous demining capability while promoting U.S. interests. To achieve program goals, the U.S. Government must balance its political, military, technological, and economic capabilities with available resources
CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL
In fiscal year (FY) 1994, Congress appropriated $10 million to the Department of Defense (DOD) for humanitarian demining—the first time specific funds were provided for this activity. The funding enabled DOD's Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (OASD: SO-LIC) to establish a DOD Humanitarian Demining Program to assist nations that are experiencing adverse humanitarian effects from land mines. The Humanitarian Demining Program is an important component of DOD's peacetime engagement efforts worldwide. The Department of State (DOS) estimates that more than 100 million land mines are scattered across the globe today, the residue of civil wars and internal conflicts in virtually every continent. Increasingly in these conflicts, land mines have been targeted against civilians—to deny them their livelihoods, to uproot them from their lands, and to exploit political instability.
Authority for U.S. forces to conduct HDO is Title 10, United States Code, Section 401. As a matter of policy, U.S. forces shall not engage in physically detecting, lifting, or destroying land mines.
DOD has the expertise to establish training programs to assist foreign countries afflicted with a land mine problem. For the past several years, U.S. forces have helped countries plagued by land mines as part of a U.S. Government interagency effort. Funds specifically appropriated by Congress for humanitarian demining enable DOD to establish a demining program that assists designated countries in developing the capacity to address their own land mine problems.
The program teaches the HN people (often the military) to determine prioritized areas of their country for mine clearance operations to remove land mines, as well as mine awareness operations to educate the population to protect itself from land mines. The intent of the program is to eliminate the hazards of land mines, to return land to productive use, and to restore confidence to the populace. It also develops leadership skills to sustain the programs after U.S. military trainers have departed the country.
The Humanitarian Demining Program provides clear benefits to the DOD. It facilitates access to countries and regions not otherwise accessible to U.S. forces. It also contributes to unit and individual readiness by providing unique in-country training opportunities. For example, DOD's special operations forces (SOF) hone critical civil-military, language, cultural, and FID skills. This program also offers significant benefits to DOD by establishing training opportunities and contact with countries that may not be available through other defense programs.
DOD's Humanitarian Demining Program will continue to focus on relieving the plight of civilian populations in those countries through such activities as—
Humanitarian demining also—
PROGRAM GOALS
Humanitarian demining strategy is based on three mutually reinforcing goals:
The first goal is critical to the long-term success of the program. Its intent is to help nations establish internal long-term capabilities to achieve 100 percent land mine removal over 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-year intervals. The overall focus of this goal is as follows:
The second goal is to coordinate activities that enhance the overall demining effort. To maximize resources in support of a common goal, the effort needs to be an interagency operation in name, spirit, and reality among the United States, HN, UN, NGOs, PVOs, and contractors or military forces. Coordination and synchronization can—
The third goal requires a mechanism to—
PROGRAM PROCEDURES
The Humanitarian Demining Program involves the DOS, DOD, Geographic Combatant Commands, and theater SOCs. The Interagency Working Group (IWG) on humanitarian demining is the mechanism that integrates planning between the DOS and the DOD. The IWG is charged with identifying which countries receive U.S. demining assistance, determining the type and amount of that assistance, integrating U.S. assistance programs with those of international and nongovernment communities, and overseeing the allocation of U.S. demining resources. Implementation of the DOD program is placed with each theater command. The theater command must integrate HDO with existing HA programs and make sure necessary resources are available to support demining operations. The theater SOC is the executive agent responsible for executing the program within each theater command. The SOC serves as the program manager, coordinating with all levels of command necessary to execute a successful demining program. In this capacity, the SOC is responsible for the successful integration of ARSOF—Special Forces (SF), Psychological Operations (PSYOP), Civil Affairs (CA)—and other assets for each specific demining mission. A SOC representative is normally identified as the demining chief for each mission. He does not necessarily have to be in-country, but he must be in contact and able to keep the demining mission focused. In situations where this arrangement is not feasible, a member of the demining training team is designated as the demining chief.
A diagram of the process by which a country receives approval for HDO support is at Figure 1-1. A basic understanding of this process, outlined below, will help SOF team leaders effectively plan missions and resolve issues with the appropriate organizations.
Figure 1-1. Tasking, planning, approval, and execution process.
Figure 1-2. Typical command relationship for HDO deployment of ARSOF.
ARSOF may be requested to conduct demining-related deployments outside the continental United States (OCONUS) under other military programs, such as—
Under these programs, ARSOF may deploy as discrete SF, PSYOP, or CA teams or as members of teams resourced from conventional forces. Such deployments are usually requested by U.S. country teams directly through Army channels.
PROBLEM AREAS
The demining program has several recurring problems. Most of these problems result from the newness of the program. They can be minimized if coordinated from the very beginning of the mission and thoroughly deconflicted with the right organizations. Some of the problems that recur in the demining program are as follows:
PHASED PLANNING
To establish an HN with a totally self-sustaining organization, several events must take place in a coordinated, time-phased manner. The time-phased approach is a six-phase planning effort that starts with pre-mission planning and follows through evaluation and assessment. Below are the six phases, which are discussed in detail in Chapter 3 of this publication.
Phase 1 - Predeployment
Pre-mission planning, training, and preparation.
Phase 2 - Deployment
Movement, establishment of the training area, and in-processing of trainees.
Phase 3 - Training
Establishment of indigenous organizations, using "train the trainer" National Demining Office (NDO) training, mine awareness, and mine clearance programs. Primary focus is on training basic skills.
Phase 4 - Operations
Primary focus on training collective tasks. Transition from training to actual operations. NGO/PVO support, if coordinated, is integrated at this point to ensure continuity.
Phase 5 - Redeployment and Evaluation
Transition of equipment, resources, and operations to the HN. The monitoring of program sustainment is handed off to the U.S. country team and the theater program manager.
Phase 6 - Sustainment
Follow-on assistance and assessment as identified by the country team and the theater program manager. Additional SOF training and assessments can be coordinated during pre-mission planning or when requested by the program manager.
THEATER CINC/SOC OBJECTIVE
The overall objective of the theater CINC/SOC HDO program is to establish an HN organization capable of conducting long-term self-sustaining demining operations, including planning, organizing, executing, and recording operations. Upon completion of the CINC assessment, the theater program manager, incorporating input from each organization involved in the mission (ARSOF, NGOs, U.S. country team), outlines a detailed concept of the operation for the military demining training team. The concept of the operation identifies the HN organizational structure and manning, demining training team composition, and specific objectives and requirements for each organization of the team. The demining chief develops a training plan for HN personnel that integrates national-level headquarters (HQ) operations, mine awareness, and mine clearance training. ARSOF roles normally fall within the categories of SF operations, CA operations, PSYOP activities, and the Special Operations Support Command (SOSCOM).
Special Forces Operations
The SF element is primarily responsible for training the national HQ and mine clearance organizations. If required, the SF element can conduct limited mine awareness operations. The SF element supports demining activities by training the HQ and mine clearance elements in operational mission planning, organization, and execution of demining operations. A key objective while executing training is to develop an HN training cadre capable of training their forces over the long term. Training for HN soldiers and leaders includes (but is not limited to)—
Civil Affairs Operations
CA support demining activities by assisting in training the national HQ and conducting liaison activities with the HN infrastructure, the UN, and international or local NGOs. CA assistance focuses on training leadership skills, management techniques, and staff procedures required for the HQ to command, control, and communicate effectively with its subordinate organizations. CA assistance is provided to integrate the NDO into the HN infrastructure. Requests for CA support should be submitted as early as possible in the planning process, so that CA personnel will have time to plan and develop products to support demining activities. CA personnel should also be included in all phases of pre-mission training as required.
Psychological Operations Activities
Psyop support demining activities by training the mine awareness organization that enables the HN to—
Requests for PSYOP support should be submitted as early as possible in the planning process, so that PSYOP personnel will have time to plan and develop themes and products to support demining activities. PSYOP personnel should also be included in all phases of pre-mission training as required.
Special Operations Support Command
The 528th Support Battalion from the SOSCOM can assist in the demining effort through its logistics expertise and forward-deployed special operations theater support elements (SOTSEs). It can assist ARSOF forces in planning and obtaining logistics resources from within the theater and the HN support systems.