Decade-long

Croatia joined the EU on July 1, 2013, following a decade-long accession process.

Source: tatoeba (8905425)

Chris Amon is often considered one of the unluckiest Formula One drivers ever. Whenever he was positioned to win a race, bad luck would interfere, ultimately preventing him from scoring a single victory. Amon himself, however, maintained that he counted himself lucky to have survived a decade-long F1 career mostly unscathed, while many of his fellow drivers suffered serious injury or death.

Source: tatoeba (10355225)

Biological oceanographer Paul Snelgrove, who participated in a decade-long global census of marine life a few years ago, notes that finding new species in the deep ocean is pretty common.

Source: tatoeba (12327455)

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Afghanistan experienced British and Soviet interventions, culminating in the Soviet invasion in 1979, which led to a decade-long conflict.

Source: tatoeba (12579971)