An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 5 Manager Comdt James O'Hara info@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5306 Editor Sgt Wayne Fitzgerald magazine@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5307 Connect Sgt Karl Byrne connect@military.ie Photo/Journalist Cpl Lee Coyle journalist@military.ie Photographer Armn Jamie Barrrett photo@military.ie Subscriptions Cpl Kelly Gallagher +353 (0)45 44 5312 subs@military.ie DF/PR Information Vacant admin@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5308 DF Webmaster Sgt Mick Burke +353 (0)45 44 5309 webmaster@military.ie Magazine Archivist Mr Sean Shinnors Designer/Advertising JM Publishing & Media, Arklow, Co. Wicklow,Ireland Tel: +353 15331911 Tel: +353871344135 Web: www.jmpublishing.ie Email: info@jmpublishing.ie Printer Turner's Printing Co., Ltd Earl Street, Longford, Ireland Tel: +353 (0)43 3350500 The fact that an article appears in this magazine does not indicate official approval of the views expressed by the author. © Published by OiC Public Relations Branch for the Defence Forces at DFHQ, Block 5, Ceannt Bks, DFTC, Curragh Camp, Co Kildare, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0)45 445312 Front Cover Members of the 94th Cadet Class conducting a Crowd Riot Control Exercise. Photo by Cpl Lee Coyle For more Defence Forces photographs, checkout: www.flickr.com/photos/ dfmagazine Editorial H ello and welcome to our final issue for the year. This month we bring you 20 articles on current training, overseas operations, cyber- security and wellbeing, among others. We also have our large pull-out wallplanner for 2019 with a War of Independence theme, designed by Sgt Karl Byrne. On Parade starts us off with photos from home and overseas, followed by our In Focus pages, looks at the November inauguration of President Michael D Higgins, who is also supreme commander of the Defence Forces. We also have a heart-warming tale from the Tibnin orphanage in Lebanon in 1978 in A Christmas Tale. This is followed by Veterans' News, which looks at the opening of a new veterans support centre in the Curragh. In our lead article, I look at the significance and commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, a war in which many Irishmen and women participated and died. Next, in Exercise 'Olive Grove' Comdt Gavin Egerton updates us on his observation of a five-week training exercise with the British Army in Jordan. Staying overseas, Capt Aoife Shanley, serving with 58 Inf Gp, explains the capabilities of an Engineer Specialist Search and Clearance (ESSC) team. Then Lt Shane Flood updates us on 3 Inf Bn's participation in the Cambrian Patrol 2018 – the British Army's international military exercise specifically designed to test an infantry section in leadership, discipline, moral, physical courage, motivation and teamwork. Keeping with the international theme, Capt Mark Brogan looks at how the 27 Inf Bn sniper team did while representing the Defence Forces at the International Marksmanship Competition that took place in Canada in September. Regular contributor CQMS Michael Barrett (AR) brings us back home with an article looking at the latest two-star private reservists with 7 Inf Bn, and how they are taught in Vigilance, Integrity, Professionalism. Our front cover article, Visors Down: Crowd Riot Control Exercise, by Cpl Lee Coyle, looks at 94th Cadet Class's recent internal security exercise, 'Soft Centre', which took place in October. Lee follows this up with Mandated to Protect: Protection of Civilians Course, which covers the international training provided by UNTSI. The next few articles look at wellbeing. In Mind at Attention: The consequences of mind wandering for first-line operators, Lt (NS) Paul Roche NSR explains how this little-known effect could have a detrimental impact on members of the Defence Forces carrying out their duties, and how to guard against it. This is followed up with Gambling - The Not So Hidden Addiction, by Miriam Spelman of ANSAC Credit Union, which explains the pit falls of trying to secure a loan when you are a regular gambler. This piece is complemented by information on the Personnel Support Services (PSS), which provide a wide range of support to members of the Defence Forces, including: stress management and addiction counselling, to name a few. In the first of our History articles, historian Jason McKevitt, regales us with his humorous tale of Captain Boycott: When Mullingar Became Hollywood, Briefly!, which tells the story of when military manoeuvres and searchlights where replaced by the glitter and bright lights of Hollywood in Mullingar in 1946. This is followed by Memoires of the Congo – "You OK Christy?" by Defence Forces Congo veteran, Christy Fleming, who gives us an extract from his book, You OK, Christy? Memoires of a Survivor. In our Sports section we look at how DF members got on in the International Four-Day Marches in Nijmegen, and also the recent DF Basketball Championships. Added to these are our regular Tac-Aide, Gear Review, Noticeboard, Book Review and What I Do features. Sgt Wayne Fitzgerald MCKEE BARRACKS MILITARY HISTORY A new book, McKee Barracks A Concise History, compiled by DF veteran and historian, Ronnie Daly, and military historian and author, Paul O'Brien, was launched in McKee Bks in November. The authors are pictured here with Cpl Michael Whelan, curator of the Air Corps Museum and Heritage Project, who is also an accomplished author and historian. The book can be download from: https://bit.ly/2Q2syeg

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