An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD A rmy Ranger Wing (ARW) roles are divided into Special Oper- ation, including Direct Action (DA), Special Reconnaissance (SR) and Military Assistance (MA); and Counter-Terrorist Op- erations in aid to the civil power (ATCP), including counter-hijack, hostage rescue and maritime counter-terrorism (MCT). The DF's special-forces unit since 1980, the ARW has been the spear tip on a number of UN-sponsored peacekeeping missions that required an immediate response, specially trained soldiers capable of operating independently in hostile environments, far away from the main unit, and able to meet any challenges they encounter. In September 1999 the UN Security Council established Interna- tional Force East Timor (INTERFET), a multinational, peace-making taskforce, organised and led by Australia, to address a humani- tarian and security crisis in East Timor. In October 1999 an ARW platoon and support elements from the DF joined the mission. INTERFET was soon replaced by the UN Transitional Administra- tion in East Timor (UNTAET). During the changeover the ARW sup- plied the main Irish troop commitment, with a specialist infantry platoon operating with a New Zealand battalion until June 2000, when they were replaced by regular infantry troops from 2 Inf Bn. In November 2003 the Defence Forces sent 90 Inf Bn to partici- pate in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) along with an ARW special operations task group (SOTG) whose function was to provide FC UNMIL with capabilities for special reconnaissance, human intelligence and hostage rescue or extraction. This ARW capability was again used in 2008 an Initial Entry Force, for a follow-on Irish peacekeeping deployment to the UN-mandat- ed, EU-led peacekeeping mission to Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR Chad/CAR). The initial EU force consisted of Special Forces from Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden and Ireland. The Irish Initial Entry Force deployed to commence operations in the Goz Beida region of south-east Chad. They established the conditions for the Irish Ad- vance Party to build the basic infrastructure for Camp Ciara, which would house the first Irish Battalion to operate in the region. The ARW used specially adapted reconnaissance vehicles to pa- trol within its large area of operations (AO) along the Chad/Sudan border, which was filled with refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), humanitarian organisations, and civilians in danger. In March 2009 the mission switched to the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT). At the start of 2019 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister of State with responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe, and Defence Forces Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, paid a week-long visit to Mali and Ethiopia to meet with DF personnel and Irish NGOs currently serving in the region. Asked by RTÉ News if Ireland planned to increase its presence with the EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM), An Taoiseach said: An Cosantóir November 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 |

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