An Cosantóir

| 19 De-mining in the heat of a Lebanese summer, where temperatures can exceed 40oC, particularly while wearing heavy protective equipment, can be an incredibly difficult task. "We have an SOP that our de-miners have to come off the line after an hour," Capt X (who cannot be named for security reasons) the Belgian de-mining platoon's commander told us. "This allows them to rehydrate and take a rest. This job requires everyone involved to be focused and concentrating at a very high level." When the de-miners are given a 'blue point' to clear a path to, they are generally given a chart, provided by those who planted the mines, outlining the location of minefields, the type of mine and the number of them. "International law requires armed forces to keep details of mines they plant," the platoon commander continued. "This means that when we get to a site we already have a considerable amount of information. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case as some of the mines were planted in conflicts going back decades and the further you go back the less information was kept." Clearing an area generally requires the de-miners to get down on their knees and prod every square inch of the area. While most mines are found at a depth of 2-3cm, the de-mining teams are required to clear the ground to a depth of 20cm, so that every mine is accounted for. The de-miners' job is further complicated by 'acts of nature' and 'acts of war'. The first case applies to things like heavy rains or flooding, which might cause areas of ground where mines are planted to move. This means that information on charts may no longer be accurate. An example of an 'act of war' that can effect de-mining operations, would be when the IDF breached existing minefields at several places along the Blue Line during their invasion of South Lebanon in 2006. In opening up corridors for its troops the IDF moved large amounts of earth to either side, in many cases covering existing mines with an extra layer of earth. Those areas have since returned to nature and to the untrained eye look no different from surrounding areas. Fortunately, however, the de-miners are experts. "You become used to, and learn to predict, minefield patterns," Capt X said. "You know, for example, that generally if you locate one mine you should find another in 3m. In the case of a breach you'll come across an area with no mines and an adjacent area with an extra layer of earth. In these areas we may have to go down to 40cm or deeper until we account for all the mines." In the middle of a minefield de-miners also have to watch out for UXO. Unfortunately there are no charts to say where these are or how many of them there are. With so many conflicts there are literally thousands of items of ordnance fired from artillery pieces, mortars, or tanks, or dropped from aircraft, that failed to go off. These can be anywhere, lying in wait, and this is why concentration is vital. This wouldn't be quite such a big problem if the older a mine or UXO got the less dangerous it became. Unfortunately, as one of the de-miners explained, it's not that simple. "Today, mines can be designed to disintegrate after a year. However, here we are dealing with mines dating back to the 1940s and the older mines actually get more dangerous and unstable with age, due to corrosion." The more I watched these guys slowly prodding the ground the more I wondered how they do this dangerous job. Yet, they all seemed relaxed and carefree despite the dangers they faced. The armoured ambulance stationed in the rear and two of the team standing by with a stretcher 'just in case' wouldn't exactly put my mind at ease either. It's a long and tedious process. Every millimetre has to be covered and in the hour we watched them the team had advanced no more than a metre. Hopefully there will come a day when South Lebanon will be mine free. Until then we will depend on these specialist deminers to put their own lives at risk to clear a path for everyone else to walk on in safety. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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