Mr. Long’s experience and diversity are key elements in the conception and development of the International Dialogues on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) on Sea Dumped Chemical and Conventional Munitions. The main goal of the IDUM is to create Public Awareness and Support for an International Treaty on all Classes of Munitions in a Marine Environment. Mr. Long is a recognized international expert for Munitions Response Programs with more than thirty years’ experience and is a retired Canadian Military Engineer who served in Canada, Asia, Africa and Europe specializing in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Demining. He completed ordnance programs at Canadian Forces School of Mechanical Engineering (CFSME); Canadian Forces School of Aerospace and Ordnance Engineering (CFSAOE); NATO Advance EOD program at the British Army School of Ammunition United Kingdom and Northern Ireland; Hazardous Materials Technician at Maritime Environmental Training Institute (METI); Advance Combat Intelligences and the Master’s Program in Project Management at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Long’s service has included tours with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces Middle East (UNEFME); Demining Instructor for the United Nations Offices and Commission on Afghanistan (UNHOCA); including Missions for Mine Action in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; Kosovo; Pakistan; Afghanistan; Republic of Sudan; Somalia; Mozambique; and the Republic of Sir Lanka. Mr. Long supported the Ottawa Landmines Treaty through concerts, fund raisers, mine detection dogs (MDD’s) demonstrations and speaking events including the Founder and Executive Director of the Canadian International Demining Centre (CIDC).
Mr. Long received Appointments as: EOD Chief Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Toronto; United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a Demining Expert and the International Advisory Board on Dumped Munitions (IABDM) in The Hague formally known as the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) on Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons (DCW). He appeared before Committees and Commissions to discuss the effects from underwater munitions on human health and the environment. They have included but not limited to: Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Fishery and Oceans; Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board; Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) for protection of the Baltic Sea, OSPAR Commission for protection and conserving of the North-East Atlantic Ocean, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and a Key Note Speaker in Germany for Minimizing Risks for the Environment in Marine Ammunition Removal in the Baltic and North Sea (MIREMAR). Mr. Long appeared at the 2nd Committee in November 2010 in New York at the United Nations Second Committee on Sea Dumped Weapons, titled: Cooperative measures to assess and increase awareness of environmental effects related to waste originating from Chemical Munitions Dumped at Sea to provide an overview of the strategic, economic, environmental, and social aspects of the Resolution on Sea Dumped Chemical Munitions.
Mr. Long written studies and papers on Mine Action; Munitions Response; and Sea Dumped Chemical and Conventional Weapons including peer reviews and commentary for the Marine Technologies Society Journal (MTSJ) Special issues on The Legacy of Underwater Munitions Worldwide: Policy and the Science of Assessment, Impacts and Potential Responses. Mr. Long conducted research and development, historical research, risk management and mitigation, intrusive and non-intrusive investigations for deep (2000 meters) and shallow water sites for Chemical, Conventional and Radiological Dumped Weapons and Munitions Sites.