Within the Asia-Pacific region, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam have problems with landmines, which range from moderate to severe. Cambodia has the most severe problem, where more than 1,300 casualties were reported for 1998. Twenty percent of these casualties were children under the age of seventeen.

To combat this problem, the United States has established a humanitarian demining program to pay for demining training and for special equipment that helps foreign governments to eliminate landmines within their borders. The objective of the U.S. demining program is to make the host country self-sufficient in removing landmines.

The United States uses a two-pronged program to help countries gain this self-sufficiency. The first part is to help establish and/or train the host country’s demining staff. Members of the U.S. Army Special Forces normally conduct this training. Special Forces personnel have the expertise for conducting foreign training and the knowledge of demining techniques. The goal of this training is to provide a cadre of individuals who can then further train others in demining techniques.

The second part is to provide needed equipment and supplies for use by the host country demining forces and for use by the victims of landmines. This aid can range from face shields to detectors, to sophisticated demining machinery to prosthetics. However, the primary method of locating mines, worldwide, is still a person probing the ground with a stick.

Under the Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USCINCPAC), the Commander of Special Operations Command - Pacific (SOCPAC) is responsible for training deminers. SOCPAC is responsible for determining the training requirements, coordinating training within a country, and overseeing the training progress within a recipient country. Currently, SOCPAC is training humanitarian deminers in the newest country to receive U.S. demining aid, Thailand, while continuing to provide follow-on training in Laos.

Although equipment assistance is normally provided through the U.S. embassies in the region, USCINCPAC was involved in a unique venture in acquiring excess U.S. military trucks to help Cambodia and Thailand in their demining operations. The U.S. Army based in the Republic of Korea recently received new trucks. The older 2 1/2 ton trucks being replaced became excess to the U.S. Army’s needs.

USCINCPAC, with U.S. Government permission, was able to take the excess U.S. Army trucks, refurbish them, and deliver 100 of them to Cambodia and 150 to Thailand in November and December 1999, for use in their demining operations. The donated trucks will be used to transport demining personnel and equipment to the affected areas. These rugged military trucks are an especially useful augmentation to the demining organizations of these countries, since most mined areas are in remote border areas and along marginal roads.