The Hydrema team spends an average of three hours a day on maintenance to keep the vehicle running. For the newer Aardvark system, maintenance is only about 10 minutes a day, according to Aardvark instructor Dave Clark, who has been working with the engineers at Bagram duringthe last three weeks.
Despite maintenance stops, both engineer teams have had great success with their respective systems, according to Handura. On Friday alone, they deonated more than 30 mines at Bagram, one of the most densely mined areas in the most heavily mined country in the world. Completely clearing Bagram of mines, Handura said, will take at least five years.
Handura said he’s proud that his soldiers are on the ground, helping get the long mine-clearing process moving forward.
“What I tell the soldiers is you’re helping clear so much ground and doing your part to help make things safer, not only for the coalition services, but also potentially the local nationals,” he said.
