20th edition

Welcome to our 20th edition of The Journal!
This is an exciting year for us as we celebrate the twentieth
anniversary of the Center for International Stabilization
and Recovery (CISR) as well as The Journal. Since our
founding in 1996, CISR’s mission, programs and publications have continuously evolved with the everchanging face of mine action, reflecting the training,
informational and program needs of the field. As mine
action is absorbed into the broader scope of conventional weapons destruction, CISR and The Journal are prepared to be the information leader for this community
of practice. With great anticipation we begin this edition
of The Journal with a new design and title—The Journal
of Conventional Weapons Destruction.
We begin our twentieth edition with an editorial
from Russell Gasser, in which he questions the benefits of large-scale spending on research into new technologies, especially when funding to develop and share
solutions based on existing technology is sparse. We encourage readers to share their thoughts with us.
In our Feature section we look at best practices in
conventional weapons destruction. Marlene Dupouy
and Charles Frisby (UNMAS) review UNMAS’s stockpile destruction of obsolete surface-to-air missiles program in Mali, and Mark Frankish (UNMAS) reports
on the UNMAS Gaza Emergency Response in 2014.
Chad Clifton (Sterling International Group, LLC) discusses the use of thermal treatment to destroy large
caliber ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while
Chris Loughran and Djadranka Gillesen (MAG, Mines
Advisory Group) take stock of MAG’s armed management and destruction programming, based on lessons
learned over the past two years.
Our Spotlight is on Eastern Europe and Caucuses,
specifically disaster response planning. Abigail Jones
and Edward Crowther (Danish Demining Group/
Danish Refugee Council) discuss the provision of emergency risk education to internally displaced persons
and returnees in Ukraine, and Dr. Darvin Lisica and
Dr. Stuart Maslen (Norwegian People’s Aid) discuss the
continued need for clearance work in Kosovo. Finally,
Faiz Paktian from GICHD reviews the organization’s
Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia Outreach
Programme.
As we reflect on The Journal’s evolution through
these past twenty years, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to our contributing authors, peer reviewers, and of course, our readers
around the globe. We would not be where we are today
without you. Thank you for contributing, for reviewing and for reading The Journal throughout the years.
As you may note, this edition features articles represented by a number of industry experts and international organizations working in the field. Programs are
reviewed, successes are discussed along with failures,
and current practices are brought into question. This
is the role of The Journal; to act as a medium through
which to explore differing viewpoints, as well as an information source and sounding board for the field of
mine action and conventional weapons destruction. As
we move into our twentieth year, I encourage you to
reach out to us with topics you would like to see covered
in future issues. The Journal is an information source
for us all, both in print and online, and we encourage
our authors and readers to continue utilizing this great
resource available to our community of practice. Visit
us online at www.jmu.edu/cisr
Ken Rutherford
CISR Director
Photo courtesy of Missouri State
University Photo Services
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(Above left) The cover of our very first printed edition of The Journal in
Fall 1999 after three volumes of online-only publication. CISR Director, Ken
Rutherford is in the upper left hand corner with Queen Noor of Jordan and
Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivor’s Network (Survivor Corps).
(Above right) The Journal changed its name from The Journal of Mine Action
to The Journal of ERW and Mine Action with Issue 12.2 in Winter 2008-09.
(Right) Commemorative coins were produced in 2001 to celebrate our relationship with James Madison University. In 2008, the Mine Action Information Center
was renamed The Center for International Stabilization and Recovery.
Since
2010
Issue 14.1
April 2010
more than
310
articles published
more than
230
contributing authors
more than
110
contributing organizations
ISSUE 20.1 @ MARCH 2016
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