An Cosantóir

| 21 Top level entry drill Sprinting to cover Students on this course face 19 long weeks of instruction and constant testing. The course is broken down into five separate blocks, each focusing on a different aspect of what an NCO is expected to achieve. Course commander, Lt Emmet Duffy from the Military Training School, said: ���From this course, we���ll get 17 corporals for the Air Corps. We also have 20 students from 2 Brigade, which is a testament to the standard of instruction that the School here provides.��� The fighting-in-built-up-areas (FIBUA) element of the course is part of the larger tactical block on the syllabus. It takes the potential candidates, many of whom would have a limited experience of FIBUA, up to section commander level. Exercises test the students in offensive and defensive operations; Getting ready to move forward urban camouflage; entering, clearing and moving through buildings; and the all important combat service support (CSS) aspect of FIBUA. The CSS element is the unglamorous other-side-of-the-coin to kicking in doors and clearing buildings. It includes casualty evacuation, ammunition resupply and POW extraction, all in the claustrophobic environs of the MTF���s modular buildings. All this adds up to an intense series of exercises that push bodies and minds to the limit, and generate, as you can imagine from the accompanying photos, sweat, stress and more than a few bruises. While it���s unlikely that the students will ever be engaged in full-on FIBUA warfare, the system of thinking, the estimation process and the lessons learned are all transferable to many of their future jobs. Planning the next move Advancing to a new position Remains of battle Tpr Noel Brennan, 2 Cav Armn Kieran Byrne, 403 Squadron Armn Neville Coughlan, 105 Squadron ���The MTF was a great area for training and exercising our FIBUA skills.��� ���It���s a tough, challenging course that���s testing my abilities, but I���m finding the more I put into it the more I get out of it.��� ���The FIBUA element developed what I had already been taught but it���s a completely different experience to the normal section attack.��� Vox Pops www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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