An Cosantóir

14 | standby and get called out regularly. On one occasion an ESSC team was called out to accompany Tpt Pl personnel to the recovery of a Finnish APC that had broken down near a minefield. The ESSC team ensured the area was safe before the recovery operation began. A first for the Engineer Corps is the deployment of a fire-tender overseas. Camp 245 contains the reserve fuel for Sector West and it is a requirement that a fire crew must be available at all times. ���Engineer personnel are trained in fire fighting, the use of BA (breathing apparatus), and dealing with RTAs (road traffic accidents),��� Capt McNally told us. ���For us it is an opportunity to deploy more assets and skillsets overseas. We are currently looking at providing a service beyond the camp, to UNIFIL and the local community. RTAs are, unfortunately, always a danger overseas and all our crews are highly trained to respond to such incidents. We are also looking at the possibility of providing a fire service to the immediate local population if it is a case that we are closer to the scene than the local fire service.��� Medical Detachment Camp 245 has a Level 1 hospital with eight beds, two soft-skinned ambulances and one armoured ambulance. In addition to their duties in camp the Medical Detachment provides a medical team, consisting of a doctor, two paramedics, and four ambulance-skilled medics to accompany every patrol and convoy. There is also a medic and ambulance permanently based at OP 6-52. ���This is a busy station,��� said Comdt Maksymilian Karpala, ���and it An Cosant��ir April 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie is also the first time we have sent only one doctor with a battalion. For more serious cases there is a Level 2 hospital in Naqoura. In case of a casevac there is a helicopter permanently on five minute���s notice to move in Naqoura, with a flight time of 15 minutes.��� ���Most of the ailments patients come in with are colds, flus and sports injuries,��� Sgt John Collins told us, ���but a big thing for us to look out for over here is an outbreak of gastric problems. To prevent this, the water is checked very regularly: this is extremely important. There are also random hygiene spot-checks around camp, especially of the ablution units and dining complex.��� Everyone overseas has left family behind but in the Medical Detachment we came across one unusual case in Cpl Brigit MacCormac whose two babies, Molly (10 months) and Erin (22 months), are at home with her husband Ken, a corporal with the engineers in Collins Bks, Cork. ���Of course, it���s not easy,��� Brigit told us, ���but you are so busy on the form-up and the first few weeks here that you can���t let it bother you. We have great support at home, and I have two leave blocs during the trip so I���ll get to see them then.��� CIS Detachment In all walks of life today communications play a fundamental and vital role. This is no more so than in the case of our military units operating overseas, which means that the CIS Detachment plays a crucial role. A lot of the detachment���s work is classified but the signs of their presence are everywhere, with masts, computers and servers all around the camp and the Ops, and aerials protruding

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