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Camp 2-45
By Wesley Bourke Photos by Cpl Colum Lawlor
I
n Lebanon last summer and autumn the Irish/Finnish 106 Inf
Bn moved from Camp Shamrock (6-5) outside Tibnine to a
new location, Camp 2-45, close to the village of At Tiri. While
previously occupied by the French, the area is well known to the
Irish as it was part of the AO of the old Irishbatt for many years
and was the scene of one of the major incidents in the history of
Irish involvement with UNIFIL, the Battle of At Tiri in 1980.
In addition to the Irish/Finnish battalion, Camp 2-45, which
can accommodate up to 900 personnel, is also home to 40 Belgian combat engineers and several officers from Observation
Group Lebanon (OGL).
The new HQ is well equipped to meet the needs of the Irish/
Finnish battalion as it is furnished with transport yards and
workshops, a helicopter pad, a medical aid post, and dining
complex. On the defensive side the camp has all-round perimeter defence including bunkers, watch towers, and
an overwatch.
Keeping fit is essential to personnel serving overseas and
from that aspect Camp 2-45 is also well kitted out with a
weights tent, an aerobics tent, an indoor soccer pitch, and
literally kilometres of track and road for the troops to utilise.
Of course this is South Lebanon so the camp also benefits
from some unofficial guards in the shape of several ���wadi
dogs���. While these animals��� occasional howling, particularly
at night can be annoying, they are certainly on our side. Anyone arriving at the camp wearing a blue helmet or driving a
white vehicle is met with a wagging tail but anyone else approaching the gate is greeted with loud barking guaranteed
to alert the guard commander.
An Cosant��ir March 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie
