The Environmental Legacy of Military Operations

Military geology comprises research and practical efforts directed toward providing geological input for military construction, civil works projects (e.g., dams, navigable waterway maintenance), remediation of polluted military facilities, terrain analysis, sustainability of training lands, mobility prediction, and site characterization activities. Land use sustainability issues, base closures, and heightened levels of environmental awareness by the general public have introduced new challenges for using, maintaining, cleaning, and restoring lands that have served as military installations for decades. In this volume, the legacy of military operations and their impact on the terrain and geology, particularly from an environmental viewpoint, are considered by geologists of diverse lands and backgrounds. This book, a companion volume to Military Geology in War and Peace (Reviews in Engineering Geology, v. 13, 1998), emphasizes current research and applications of engineering geology principles and practice to modern day military problems, many of which are environmental in nature.
Terrain evaluation for peacekeeping with examples from Bosnia Herzegovina
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Published:January 01, 2001
Abstract
Geology has influenced military commanders and the outcome of military operations since ancient times. Terrain evaluation was developed in the 1960s and has benefited greatly from recent developments in GIS (geographic information systems). Peacekeeping operations are increasingly becoming a component of armed forces workload. Geologic support based on terrain evaluation principles was provided to the UN and NATO during peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations in Bosnia Herzegovina. This included assessments of slope stability, seismic hazard, flood risk, groundwater potential, and construction materials.
The role of the geologist advising military commanders during peace support operations essentially becomes a hybrid of those roles of military geologists and conventional civilian engineering geologists. As ever, training in the engineering operations of the “client” is essential to delivering a successful product—usually defined as an approximate answer within a very limited time frame rather than a “good” answer late.