U.S. Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Training Center

The Department of Defense Humanitarian Demining Training Center (HDTC), headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia, is managed and funded by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. HDTC trains and prepares U.S. military forces, U.S. government stakeholders, and international partners to build partner-nation capacity in land-based and underwater UXO disposal, and PSSM. In addition to HDTC’s training function, the center provides program management support to the U.S. military’s geographic combatant command mine action programs conducted by USAFRICOM, USCENTCOM, USEUCOM, USPACOM, and USSOUTHCOM. HDTC’s responsibilities include validating humanitarian mine action project plans and budgets, and monitoring and evaluating global Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA) funded humanitarian mine action activities.

HDTC has courses on landmine clearance, battle area clearance, PSSM of conventional stockpiled munitions, and underwater UXO disposal. Training is conducted in accordance with U.S. law and policy, IMAS, and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines. The HDTC quality management system, for the provision of curricula and training in disposal of UXO and physical security of stockpiled conventional munitions, is certified to conform to International Organization of Standardization 9001:2008 (https://www.iso.org/standard/46486.html).

The center utilizes a three-phase approach to provide program management support to the geographic combatant command humanitarian mine action programs. When a partner nation is accepted into the Department of Defense mine action program, HDTC deploys program analysts to assess the current state of a partner nation’s

demining program. The assessment, or requirements determination site survey (RDSS), is designed to determine partner nation capability gaps in order to develop humanitarian mine action project goals, objectives, and resource requirements to effectively and efficiently support the partner nation in achieving its demining goals. When concluded, the RDSS provides a viable plan with established objectives and outcomes and is used to request OHDACA funded resources. The director of HDTC, in consultation with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency Office of the General Counsel, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Special Operations Low Intensity Conflict, Stability and Humanitarian Affairs, and PM/WRA, approves the mine action projects.

HDTC also conducts capacity-building training or technical assistance activities in support of combatant command mine action projects. As part of a deployment team or independently, HDTC personnel provide a suite of tools and expertise to perform stockpiled munitions physical security and management, landmine clearance and EOD, and underwater UXO disposal in partnership with other public organizations or private industry. The target audience for capacity building is junior military officers, non-commissioned officers, or civil servants who conduct mine action operations as part of their civic duties. In order to sustain the capabilities of partner nation mine action programs, HDTC, in coordination with PM/WRA, executes mine action projects designed to enhance the skills of mine action managers and, to a degree, ministerial or executive level personnel. These projects include seminars and workshops to address legal, policy, and programmatic topics at the operational and strategic level.