An Cosantóir

B Coy | 15 E from buildings and vehicles alike. ���At any one time we have to have secure communications with our two OPs, and any patrols or convoys that are out,��� explained Lt Brian Thornton. ���To provide us with situational awareness of everyone outside of camp every vehicle is equipped with VHF and HF. The Tactical Battlefield Management System then allows us to see where everyone is.��� Secure satellite and HF rear-links provide Operations in DFHQ with a constant comms link to our battalion in South Lebanon. Within the camp the CIS team provides IT solutions including intranet, internet, welfare phones, and IT for offices. MP Detachment The MP Detachment in Camp 245 is staffed with both Irish and Finnish MPs. Both nationalities have their own contingent responsibilities but generally they are there to police all personnel operating within the battalion AO. ���We have the same roles as at home,��� Sgt Pat Balfe explained to us: ���enforcing discipline, investigation of serious crime, and any other tasking handed down to us by the battalion commander. We also enforce the force protection policy, which means that anybody leaving camp must have the right kit with them. All SOPs within camp are also enforced through things like speed checks and documentation checks.��� Another responsibility of the MPs is baggage search during rotations. ���We check people going home for contraband or for dangerous goods such as gas canisters or sharp objects,��� Sgt Balfe said. ���You���d be surprised what guys buy in the local shops and think they can bring home.��� very mission overseas consists of a mixture of first-timers and those that may have several trips under their belts. It is those seasoned and experienced privates, NCOs, and officers that allow a unit to hit the ground running. In many cases they know the land, the people, and the mission. First-timers look to them for guidance, reassurance, and leadership. Coy Sgt Tony Grehan is one such experienced peacekeeper. Arriving in South Lebanon with 107 Inf Bn he was embarking on his seventeenth overseas tour of duty and his thirteenth with UNIFIL. His other tours were in Liberia (twice), Kosovo and ISAF HQ in Afghanistan. ���I���ve seen phenomenal changes over the years,��� said Coy Sgt Grehan. ���I first came to South Lebanon as a corporal with 50 Inf Bn in 1980. Back then it was foot patrols and checkpoints where you where face-to-face with the locals, many of whom were in armed militias.��� At that time Lebanon was in the grip of civil war and it was not uncommon for UNIFIL���s troops to get caught up in the fighting. ���There were moments over years when it was very scary,��� Tony recalled, ���with shelling, gunfire and IEDs. Over the years I���ve experienced it all. When 155mm heavy artillery shells land close to your 30sq-metre post you just pray you���ll make it out alive.��� B Coy is a mechanised company comprising 111 peacekeepers with 24 Mowags. The company conduct regular patrols, day and night, throughout their AO. ���Our job has changed over the years,��� Tony says. ���The civil war is over but the current security situation has brought new challenges for us. One thing I have long known about South Lebanon is that it is very volatile; the slightest thing can escalate into a full blown incident. Part of my job here is to use my long experience of UNIFIL and South Lebanon to assist my colleagues, superiors and subordinates, as best I can. We came over with 111 in our company and that���s the way we want to go home.��� www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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