An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 9 DEFENCE FORCES REVIEW BY COMDT RORY FINEGAN, MILITARY COLLEGE PHOTOS CPL LEE COYLE T he Launch of the Defence Forces Review 2018 took place at NUI Galway on 22nd November 2018, where the Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM formally launched it. The theme of the Review was Peacekeeping and Peace- making Interventions and dovetailed with the 60th An- niversary of when Irish troops were first deployed overseas, namely a group of Observers to Lebanon in 1958. 2018 was also noteworthy in that it was the 40th anniversary of when Irish troops were first deployed to South Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL Mission. Today an Irish Unit still stands watch in the Land of the Ce- dar Tree along the potentially volatile Blue Line; as does a sister unit on the Golan Heights as part of the UNDOF mission, where in Syria an on going Civil War involving numer- ous actors has led to unspeakable human suffering and tragedy. These Missions reinforcing Ireland's commitment to helping maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, are just part of what the Chief of Staff has noted of the contribution to peacekeep- ing by the men and women of the Irish Defence Forces on a literal global scale; whereby, "the Irish Defence Forces has over 650 person- nel serving overseas in 13 missions in 13 countries and on one sea." The 2018 issue of the Review was published in an academic col- laboration with the School of Political Science and Sociology and the Irish Centre for Human Rights, both NUI Galway; reflected both the pride and achievements of the Defence Forces while at the same time inviting comprehensive critical analysis with a view to understanding what lessons can be learned from the entire spectrum of this unique peacekeeping record. As Presi- dent Michael D. Higgins noted at a commemoration in 2018 to mark this important milestone, "this is a unique record and one of which the Defence Forces and the Irish people can be justifiably very proud…it has established our acceptability as peacekeepers, and peace defenders and thus has enabled us to play an effective role in the international community." The fifteen articles within the Review from both Defence Forces personnel and academic contributors reflect the evolution and change within peacekeeping that has evolved and developed since the foundation of the UN; whereby peacekeeping has un- dergone several epochal changes. The range of articles encompassed within this edition also mir- rors the complex world with its multiple "Wicked Threats" which face our troops. Richard Cole of DFAT in his considered piece looks at the pragmatic evolution and development of Ireland's peacekeeping in the Middle East. It is indicative that the severe challenges to Human Rights witnessed in many conflicts along with sexual abuse are reflected in several articles, including those by LTC Richard Brennan, Caroline Hunt Matthes and Sally Anne Corcoran. Their articles also explore a theme resonant to our times of sexual violation carried out by not just warring parties and militias, but also regretfully, in some instances by peacekeep- ers themselves. The battle to implement UNSCR 1325 that seeks to protect women and children in conflict zones in which Ireland has been to the fore, resonates through these pieces. A particu- larly interesting article, first published in 2008 and reprinted in this edition is by Dr. John Moriarty, and is entitled "Bullets, Bacteria and Boredom – A peacekeeping Memory of Lebanon"; and is both whimsical and poignant in highlighting the deep bonds of affection that developed between Irish peacekeepers and the Villagers of Southern Lebanon. A very well received companion piece to this was the article by Private Terence O'Reilly of the DF Library, which was a fascinating micro study of the operational challenges faced by the 66th Infantry Battalion in Lebanon in the winter of 1989/90. Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of NUI Galway, in welcoming the launch of the DF Review in association with the Academic Seminar at NUI Galway noted the long and enduring academic relationship that has evolved and developed between the University and the Defence Forces. The keynote speech during the seminar was delivered by Maj. General Michael Beary DSM who had just completed his appointment as the Force Commander in UNIFIL and delivered a focused yet incisive talk on the key challenges that he faced. The enduring themes of the Seminar were poignantly and uncannily echoed in the words of US President John F. Ken- nedy who when he ad- dressed the Joint Houses of the Oireachtas on 28th June 1963, stated, "from Cork to the Congo, from Galway to the Gaza Strip, from this Legislative Assembly to the United Nations, Ireland is send- ing its most talented men to do the world's most important work – the work of peace."

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