Congressional Briefing: Humanitarian and Military Explosive Ordnance Disposal

On Wednesday, January 19, the UXO/Demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Caucuses hosted “Protecting Lives at Home and Abroad: Comparing Military and Humanitarian Explosive Ordnance Disposal,” a joint webinar discussing the intersections between the humanitarian and military demining and UXO disposal sectors.

Some of the topics discussed during the event included the similarities and differences between the settings in which military and humanitarian demining take place, the importance of research gathering and information sharing, as well as the necessity for continued technological innovation. Lastly, the webinar focused on the intersection of security policy in the overall subject of partnerships between military and humanitarian demining sectors.

Speakers included:

• Rep. Bill Johnson, Co-Chair of the UXO/Demining Caucus
• Reps. Rick Crawford, Jimmy Panetta, and Brian Mast, Co-Chairs of the EOD Caucus
• Fiona Kilpatrick, Head of Region – Europe (South Caucasus), The HALO Trust
• Jerry Meneses, Retired Colonel (Army EOD), Senior VP, USBTA
• Chris McMurray, COO, Golden West Humanitarian Foundation
• Chris Wanner, Mechanical Projects Leader, Army, Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate
• Col. Leo Bradley, Owner of LE Bradley Consulting