An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 14 | state of alert. This 'nearly there' state of unreleased adrena- line does its own work and a day with no calls can some- times leave you as tired as a busy day. More long term, the combined effects of all EAS stressors – fatigue, occasional unpleasant sights and sounds, work life balance – all mount up. Everyone has a maximum limit and whether you hit it on one day like a brick wall or it creeps up on you it's the same limit. A holiday or a few consecutive days off reset the clock, and it's for this reason that we adhere strictly to our regula- tions on rest-off time both before and after EAS duties in particular – you can have many easy days in a row but you don't want to be tired when the hard day sneaks up on you. Giving people the chance to spend enough consecutive days off at home is a way of ensuring they are fit to fly our aircraft or fix them. We go to great lengths to maintain our ma- chines, suitable time off is how we maintain our people. 'A typical landing site in Cleggan, West Galway. Note the rough ter- rain for carrying a stretcher' LEAVING WELL I wrote this account almost entirely while I was still serving, and I've only recently left the Air Corps. The tone and story reflect how I felt at the time and I think that's the way to leave it. So why did I leave? There are no exaggerations in this account – the comradery, the variety of flying and the job satisfaction in the Air Corps are absolutely second to none. Change comes to everything eventually and my career path was going to leave me spending more time behind a desk than not. Or rather, I would be doing more admin and more deployments to Athlone (and elsewhere) at the same time. With less and less personnel available, the double and triple jobbing was only going to increase. By February 2019, I had served twenty years in the Air Corps and with the critical decision on the horizon of whether to go all in on the staff officer side of things, or stay being primarily a pilot, there was only one way for me. Not everyone wants to be GOC and it's important to have your own idea of what success looks like. Mine looks like spending more time with my fam- ily and staying flying. I can say with all honesty though, I will always look back with great pride and satisfaction at my time in EAS in particular. No 3 Ops Wing is the most highly decorated standing unit in the Defence Forces as a result of its' live saving actions – there's more DSMs or Distinguished Service Medals in the units past than in any others. The opportunity to play a part in that history is a privilege not to be understated or brushed aside. To my comrades and friends of all ranks and trades in the Defence Forces, the National Ambulance Service, the Air Corps and No 3 Ops Wing in particular, what you do matters every day. Go maridís beo. LETTER TO IRISH TIMES, NOVEMBER 21ST 2019 "Sir, – I refer to your Editorial, "Reaping the harvest" (Novem- ber 18th) . The Emergency Aeromedical Service standing down for 16 days in the next four months is a gravely serious matter (Barry Roche, Home News, November 18th). For the Department of Defence to shrug it off as the unfore- seen consequence of the civilian market demand on Irish Air Corps pilots is insulting. To see others justify the decision to stand down the ser- vice by citing the availability of the Irish Coast Guard or Irish Community Rapid Response shows a lack of understanding of what underpins the decision of the military to withdraw, and the serious risks involved. As far back as the inception of the service in 2012, military leadership signalled that pilot retirements were having an adverse effect on the ability of the Air Corps to do the many tasks required of it by the government. As the situation worsened in recent years there was further communication as to the risk associated with the loss of expe- rienced aviators, technicians, air traffic controllers and other specialities. These warnings fell on deaf ears. As a result, the squadron that has kept EAS running since

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