An Cosantóir April 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie
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BY PADRAIG BYRNE OF THE 'THE PEOPLE NEWSPAPERS'
RARELY has a Wexford accent sounded
so intimidating as when it's being bel-
lowed from the face of Drill Sergeant
Robert Stafford into the face of some
plucky recruit on one of RTÉ's newest
hit shows 'Special Forces: Ultimate Hell
Week'. While the Wexford man cuts
an intimidating figure as he puts the
recruits through their paces, when
speaking away from the show he's
extremely friendly and calm; car-
rying the air of a man who's rarely
flustered even in the face of the
most dangerous of situations.
Having spent over 22 years with the
Defence Forces, Robert became one of the
country's foremost soldiers, serving in the
elite Army Ranger Wing which took him to
war-zones in the likes of Kosovo, the Leba-
non, East Timor, Liberia and Chad - 'all of
the normal holiday destinations,' he laughs.
He's also served as advanced security per-
sonnel for U2, travelling the world with the
band and keeping them safe.
Growing up in Avondale Drive, Robert
went to school in Kennedy Park before
moving onto the Vocational College. It
was always one vocation in particular
that interested him though.
'Yeah, it was something I always
wanted to do,' he says of his interest
in the Defence Forces. 'I applied a few
times from an early age, but I didn't get
it until I was 21 and then I was basically
with the Defence Forces for 22 years.
