If you know where the mines are, you don't necessarily have to sweep them up--just don't drive over them. It comes down to knowing where you are and what's around you--what the military calls "having situational awareness."
The military calls safe paths through minefields and other obstacles "lanes." On land, if you've got the time, you can mark lanes with signs or even fences. It's a little harder to mark them in the water, which makes a Marine Corps amphibious assault even more dangerous than it needs to be.
To reduce this risk, the Office of Naval Research sponsors the development of a suite of tech-nologies that help Sailors and Marines avoid mines when they hit the beach. At Camp Pendleton, California, this month, four systems are being tested:
All these systems will all be demonstrated during Exercise Transparent Hunter, from 20 to 31 January 2003.
*developed as part of ONR's Organic Mine Countermeasures Future Naval Capability.
For more information on mine countermeasures funded by ONR, contact John Petrik at petrikj@onr.navy.mil or call 703-696-5034.