Abstract
When you first arrive as a member of the Multinational Brigade North (MNB(N)), you are full of promise. You know your team of highly trained professional soldiers will make a difference in the lives of those that live in BiH. Then it sets in. Your six-month tour of duty doesn’t allow you time to finish what you start. So what is it you can do to make a difference in only six months? This is the exact question that started the process of developing the National Guard Demining Initiative in BiH. This initiative was undertaken by the U.S. Army National Guard, an adjunct to the U.S. Armed Forces. There are multitudes of issues you can work to resolve in BiH. MNB(N) plays a supporting role in most of these, but we wanted to do something more. We wanted to bring a fresh idea to the area of operation (AO) that would make a significant impact on one of the many critical issues facing BiH. To make our choice, we focused on two key concerns: “What will have the biggest impact on the daily lives of the people?” and “What will instill confidence in the international community to speed up economic recovery?” We chose the issue of demining.
Recommended Citation
Barnett, Tom and Shaffer, Kyle
(2004)
"Rethinking Humanitarian Demining for Coalition Forces,"
Journal of Mine Action
: Vol. 8
:
Iss.
1
, Article 9.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol8/iss1/9
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