Report on the Mine Clearing Rake Test

BACKGROUND: Interest has been expressed in seeing the Mine Clearing Rake (MCR) included in the tool box offered to organizations for application in humanitarian demining (HD) missions. Given that there is no track record of operational utilization of the MCR by HD organizations, the U.S. Army's...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Collins, J M, Bullock, Gregory, Heaton, Sarah, Limerick, Arthur, Snellings, John, Chichester, Daniel, Collins, William, Collins, Ronald, Bertrand, Harold, Ledford, Jennifer
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ANTIPERSONNEL MINES
HD(HUMANITARIAN DEMINING)
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
Land Mine Warfare
MCR(MINE CLEARING RAKES)
MINE CLEARANCE
OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
TEST AND EVALUATION
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Interest has been expressed in seeing the Mine Clearing Rake (MCR) included in the tool box offered to organizations for application in humanitarian demining (HD) missions. Given that there is no track record of operational utilization of the MCR by HD organizations, the U.S. Army's Humanitarian Demining Program Manager (HD PM), under the U.S. Army's Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) located at Ft. Belvoir, VA, undertook the task to conduct an operational evaluation test of the MCR. 2. PURPOSE: The purpose of the operational evaluation test was to assess the ability of the MCR to enhance the effectiveness of a humanitarian demining mission. To this end, the HD PM purchased an MCR and initiated the testing process. 3. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS: The test was designed to assess the ability of the MCR to uncover and lift mines from two different demining environments. The first, designated as Test Site 1, was a vegetation-covered rolling field of sandy loam soil. Test Site 2 was a desert environment of level sand. While there were claims that the MCR would work against anti-tank mines, the test was limited to assess performance against anti-personnel mines, by far the largest threat faced by humanitarian deminers. The two guidelines followed while developing the test protocols were: design the test to assess the MCR's capabilities, and, to remove any obstacle from the test environment that might degrade the MCR's performance, by equipment normally found in a humanitarian demining organization. Sponsored in part by Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, Washington, DC.