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Over time, ordnance disposal has grown to become a highly specialized field. As a result, equally specialized training courses and qualification standards have been developed. Ideally, these are held to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS).
Training courses in ordnance disposal include both theory and practical training, and the qualifications earned in them are generally divided into four levels. Level 1 allows deminers to destroy in situ single mines that they have been trained with, while Level 2 – the earliest a deminer may lead a team of their own – allows them to destroy in situ not only mines, but other forms of ordnance, such as grenades or mortar shells.
A Level 3 qualification entails even more specialized training, largely with regard to the disposal of larger munitions and rendering safe ordnance for removal. Finally, a Level 4 qualification is reserved for ordnance disposal technicians who are trained to handle particularly dangerous and unusual kinds of ordnance. Naturally, these last two levels take years to obtain.
There are several reasons that training in ordnance disposal and subsequent qualifications are structured this way. The first, and most obvious, is to make what is always a dangerous endeavor as safe and efficient as possible. The second, and one that is particularly important in humanitarian demining, is that obtaining higher qualifications allows for the training of others in lower ones. As in, training courses for Levels 1 and 2 are taught by qualified personnel in Levels 2, 3, or 4.
Despite such specialized, structured training, numerous challenges exist, some ubiquitous to humanitarian demining, and some unique to particular projects. In Yemen, one such problem is a lack of reliable mapping of where mines and other forms of ordnance have been placed. Usually, this is something humanitarian demining projects rely on in the wake of a conflict, but in Yemen, this is unfortunately not the case.
Another issue is the particularly difficult terrain deminers must contend with. Frequently rocky and mountainous terrain makes certain methods of demining more dangerous, and others outright impossible or ineffective.
Finally, deminers in Yemen must contend with the sheer scale of the task ahead of them. Currently, Yemen is thought to be the most heavily mined country since the Second World War, and as such, it will take time, effort, and dedication to rid the country of them and restore it to some sense of normalcy.