Female sapper: fiction or reality?

Anna Anisimova, the head of the UDS non-technical territory survey group, spoke in a blog for OBOZ.UA about her work experience in the field of humanitarian demining.

More and more women who want to contribute to the victory and defense of the Ukrainian land are mastering the profession of sapper.

Literally in June 2022, the Ukrainian media wrote about the first female sapper in the ranks of the Armed Forces, who performed the task of detonating dangerous ammunition, which pyrotechnicians found by the thousands in the de-occupied territory of the Kyiv region. Unfortunately, the war continues, more and more territories are polluted by mines and unexploded shells. Therefore, more and more women are joining the cause of deminers.

Lawyers, teachers, educators, photographers, baristas or tattoo artists - their completely civilian professions of yesterday are exchanged for demining today.

The average level of involvement of women among all mine action operators (both state and non-state) reaches 20-30%. This, by the way, corresponds to the NATO program "Women, peace and security".

UDS, for example, currently employs 112 people and a third of them are girls, including combatants. And the number of women in this business will grow.

Of course, gender equality is an integral part of Ukrainian politics. And this applies to all types of activities. And demining is not an exception.

But is it only about gender equality in the approach to choosing a profession? Probably not. It seems to me that this is, first of all, about the desire of every Ukrainian to contribute to the victory. After all, since the beginning of the war in 2014 and, especially, after the full-scale invasion in 2022, the division into "female" and "male" professions simply does not exist. Women soldiers, women soldiers, women sappers... There are more and more of them.

Is it hard to be a sapper?

A sapper is as much in demand as it is dangerous. In this job, you need to have a stable psyche. Responsibility, attentiveness, concentration, a cold mind are the inalienable qualities of a sapper. Whether it is a woman or a man, the requirements are the same. Not only the success in demining and returning agricultural land to circulation, but also the safety and life of the team depend on the deminer's actions and prompt decision-making, on his qualifications.

Therefore, before starting to perform demining tasks, each sapper undergoes training. What's more, professional development takes place every few months.

Education and training

Quality education is the most important thing. All sappers of our company must undergo training, pass exams and receive appropriate certificates under the professional training program in the labor specialty "Saminer (mine clearance)". We also undergo training and receive certificates in pre-medical care according to the II level training program.

Several months of training includes training in various areas:

— medical training (including according to the MARCH protocol),

— protection of personnel from exposure to hazardous substances,

— organization of demining of the area,

— an explosive case,

— explosive objects,

— means of reconnaissance and demining.

Sappers who use drones in their work are additionally trained as UAV operators.

And sappers of mechanized demining groups learn how to operate remote demining machines. We have Slovak Bozena machines. For this purpose, the sappers of the company went to Slovakia for a two-week training. In addition to operating machines in accordance with our SOPs, sappers learned to carry out mechanical demining and acquired skills in system inspection and maintenance. According to the results of the training, sappers passed the test and received operator's certificates for the right to operate Bozena machines.

In addition to general training, all sappers must constantly improve their qualifications, because technology does not stand still.

In our company, all educational activities are paid for by the company, but anyone who wishes can undergo training and acquire a specialty independently.

Equipment

Without exaggeration, the technique and equipment must be of the highest quality. Each specialist must be equipped with a helmet, an apron for demining, and a bulletproof vest. For example, in UDS it is:

— PASGT type helmet. Made of reinforced fiber (GRP) in accordance with the requirements of the international mine action standard IMAS 10.30. The level of protection meets NATO STANAG 2920 standards;

— an apron for demining. It has been developed and tested with explosives engineers working in extreme conditions. Provides a frontal protection zone that covers all vital parts of the body. This apron provides for the integration of a face shield with the help of a collar, to ensure the continuity of frontal protection. All parts of the apron are manufactured in accordance with IMAS 10.30;

— body armor type A STRAZH M-TT. According to the construction, it is soft (flexible). The material of the ballistic package of the body armor is НВМПЕ/UHMWPE, which is characterized by increased survivability and lightness. Armored packages made of NVMPE do not lose their ballistic properties when wet and have very high indicators of protective properties.