An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir May 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | ment is somewhat limited due to certain national caveats and restrictions. Some other nationalities will speak and work through French depending on their role, function and back- ground. Although an important aid, the ability to speak French is not mission essential. Mali as a nation has eleven recognised tribal groups, the Malian Armed Forces itself is predominantly populated by members of the Bambara tribe. Throughout my own deployment I observed a number of courses in KTC where no Malian Trainees on a given course could speak any French, therefore interpreters were used to translate often from English, German or Spanish to Bambara. Although having the ability to speak French in Mali will certainly enhance one's own abilities and provide greater understanding and clarity, work- ing off the assumption that it is mission essential would only prove to demonstrate a lack of understanding of the mission and the particular challenges it poses. Culturally, the Malian Armed Forces (MAF) are unique and training must be delivered on the right level, often when training large groups of officers, the training itself should be delivered by officers of a commensurate rank. Issues surround- ing gender, religion and societal norms are often present and retain their own unique challenges. In order to gain the trust and cooperation of the MFA it is essential to enhance their extant talents, and exploit what they already know. Trainers are reminded not to force social, personal or national agendas upon training as the consequences could affect the mission overall. Issues such as a nation's colonial history, what flag is on their uniform or their participation in other missions, particu- larly in the Middle East, as they relate to the MFA are essentially extraneous and have no bearing on the relationship between the MFA & EUTM. The particular tribal and inter-ethnic con- flicts that exist in Mali are far more relevant. The Tuareg rebel- lion of 2012 and the potential inclusion of this ethnicity due the Accelerated Disarmament, Disengagement and Reintegration (A-DDR) process loom large on the horizon. The MFA's own atti- tudes to the Tourag tribe need to be addressed as soon as they become evident. Part of the confidence building process in the mission involves the inclusion of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in all training, both centralised, or decentralised. It it- self forms a core mandatory component of all training, in order to provide a holistic, all-encompassing approach. The A-DDR remains in the planning phase. However, once initiated, it will have obvious consequences for the mission. Security, force protection, availability of human assets and infrastructure are all areas that need to be established prior to initiating training in this area. The potential for a number of Tourag or other ethnic groups to participate in the this process will present its own unique challenges for inclusion and ad- dressing the sensitivities of the MFA. INTEROPERABILITY EUTM has approximately 24 different contributing nations. Since its establishment the Irish have been collocated with the British contingent as part of Op. NEWCOMBE (the British Armed Forces participation in the mission). There is an obvious benefit for both nations and the relationship between the two militaries is emblematic of the overall integration and cooperation which the mission enjoys. Issues of an individual's prior experience or regimental history are again completely extraneous and should not feature anywhere in the mission. The integration and inclusion of all nations is far more important, it is critical that the participating personnel at all levels foster close working bonds and ties from the outset. Sports, PT, cohesion and the shared experience, similarities and commonalities of military service act as a tool in order to foster these relationships. Training and broadly speaking, doctrinally all the participants are similar, however in the de- livery of training, trainers personnel must be comfortable and familiar with Malian doctrine which eliminates and removes the necessity for developing a bespoke product. There are a number of other missions and entities in the area. These various actors although independent of each other at times provide support and assistance where and when required. Operation Barkhane 1 , MINUSMA 2 , EUCAP 3 & G5 Sahel 4 all enjoy certain levels of cooperation and have a form of reciprocal benefit. CMATT ETTF & ATF perform a number of centralised (those training activities performed and executed in KTC) and decentralised 1 Operation Barkhane is a French led counter-insurgency operation in the Sahel region that commenced on August 1st 2014. 2 United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. 3 EU Capacity Building Mission in Mali (EUCAP Mali). 4 G5 Sahel is an institutional framework for coordination of regional cooperation in development policies and security matters in west Africa. It is com- prised of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.

• Cover