GOLDEN WEST’S APPLIED TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CENTER (ATTC) (CAMBODIA)
The ATTC is a multi-purpose training facility Golden West has developed in conjunction with Cambodia’s largest clearance operator, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).
Such is the contamination profile of some areas of Cambodia, Golden West has access to an almost unlimited quantity of landmines, air-dropped and ground fired munitions, and fuzes for training, testing RSPs, and demolition purposes.
Initially created to ensure that CMAC’s EOD operators became some of the best in the business, this facility has various ranges for EOD training and explosive testing. As the site has been enhanced over the years, detection lanes containing five different soil types, with 60+ mines per lane and natural clutter, have been created to teach detection techniques. Further, Golden West has worked with detector manufacturers at the site to evaluate and refine new shallow and deep search detection equipment in a controlled and safe environment.
The site has an air-conditioned classroom with the needed visual and audio aids that can accommodate up to 25 students. Our instructional area is equipped with inert ordnance items and ordnance cutaways for student and instructor interaction which further aids the training environment and knowledge transfer. Golden West’s EHP and ATTC are considered amongst the world’s best locations for IMAS Level training. These efforts are made possible by the abilities of the highly trained EOD staff and the capacity to provide live ordnance and multiple explosives for training use.
The real-world experience of the Golden West staff, combined with the quality of the training site, helps create a world-class training environment.
Our EHP staff comprises seven CMAC EOD Technicians, one CMAC Medic, and two Golden West EOD Technicians. This combined team provides a year-round production of explosive charges for all Humanitarian Demining Organizations within Cambodia. Furthermore, our EHP staff provides EOD training and logistical support for other organizations that operate within the site; Humanitarian Demining Training Center (HDTC), Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA), ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), and others.
We’d like to thank U.S. Army Humanitarian Demining Research and Development (HDR&D) Organization for their support from the ATTC’s inception and their continued support today.
- 2nd R&D centre (ATTC Philippines)
- Established on PH Naval base March ‘23
- White phosphorus munitions / Willie Pete disposal
- Incineration of drug precursors
- For INL who supports the DEA.
- Use EHP explosives to create heat to dispose of the drugs. A 2-for-1 bonus.
- “New” Liquid Binary Explosives
- Thai / Cambodian team want to patent a new fluid.
- OSU student chemist currently testing 3 more part-B’s.
- Water Disruption Charges
- Harvesting explosives to create water disruption charges for IEDs in PHL.
- CS Grenade Disposal
- Using non-Newtonian fluids. It is environmentally efficacious.
- Drones & Machine Learning UXO Detection
- Led “Demining Research Community” @ OSU. 92% detection rate in recent field testing
ORIGINS
OUR FOUNDER – JOE TROCINO – PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN
Jospeh L. Trocino, President, and Founder of Golden West Humanitarian Foundation has spent years innovating products and services dedicated to the neutralization and disposal of landmines and unexploded ordnance worldwide.
He attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering.
After military service in the U.S. Army working on the Manhattan project, Joe was employed by the University of California’s Los Alamos Laboratory as a Research Chemist; Maytag Company as a Methods Engineer; and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission as a Research Administrator.
In a joint program with the West German Land Forces, he developed and implemented an anti- Armor Ditching System for NATO. Variations of this system were adopted by other countries for road cratering, bunker breaching, and bridge demolition.
Joe also worked with the private sector, pioneering new techniques and systems for underwater pipeline ditching, wellhead severing, harbor deepening and well production enhancement for the oil and gas industry. He also produced new high-energy fuels and safety standards for the auto racing industry.
It was around this time that Joe started to develop safe and effective binary demolition systems for the disposal of landmines, UXO and live munitions. The Golden West that we know today, was coming into its own.
Under his direction, the Foundation sponsored a new approach to mine awareness education and training in which, people are taught to recognize various “indicators” in realistic settings.
It is Joes legacy of innovation that still drives us today and is at the heart of our mantra:
Saving Lives through innovation.
