An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 19 remained a 'no go' throughout the mission in Liberia. A fortnight into the trip, the first few calls made home, a few camp duties in the bag and having acclimatised to these very different temperatures and humid- ity, though I don't believe being from a country as cold as Ireland that I would ever be built or fully acclima- tised to this unreal heat in Western Africa. I was some of the way there. So, I was then chosen to go on a long- range patrol, which would be my first of many. This patrol would last 6 days (144 hours) as we were to move almost 200 kilometres from our base in Monrovia towards a town called Gbarnga which wasn't too far from the border of Guinea, a neighbouring country. We would have two stops offs before getting to Gbarnga and would do this over a period of about 36 hours. We would aim to make it to a small town called Kakata, approximately 70 kilometres of travel. Due to the size of the con- voy, a company of armoured vehicles alongside logistics, the aim was to arrive at Kakata by 3pm, stopping for an hour to send out two foot patrols as part of this reconnaissance mission. We pulled out of Camp Clara at 11am and pushed through central Monrovia when the convoy came to an abrupt stop. It appeared that the second armoured vehicle was being attacked by a sole person with a massive chain. That was never going to damage the armour, but it was stopping our movements. A few warnings and the cocking of a .5 heavy machine gun by the crewman in the turret put a stop to this young man's anger at seeing us. It wasn't very welcoming at the start. They had little or no trust in us, not even for a short time. No waving, just turning away and not recognising us at all. This mission would require building trust and relations with the local people. We arrived at Kakata before our scheduled ETA, but only by fifteen or so minutes. Security parties were launched around our convoy and two sections from 1 Platoon, APC Company were sent in two separate directions to conduct a 30-minute patrol of the area. I filled up two Sincgar radios for each of the sections so that they had communications back to me and the command car at all times. APC Company was made up of troops from the 1st, 6th and 28th Infantry Battalions back home from Galway, Athlone/ Cavan and Donegal respectively. In command of APC Company was Commandant Ryan from Custume Barracks, Athlone with Company Sergeant Shay Whelan of Cavan Barracks being the most senior NCO within that company. Both of whom were in the armoured vehicle I was travelling in the 'command car'. The command car took up the centre of the convoy and contained a crew of six. A driver, a gunner, the company or bat- talion commander depending on the nature of the patrol, the company CS, a rifleman and a signaller. I was the signaller in this case. My task was to ensure that all vehicles within the convoy had communications to both the command car and back to our HQ at Camp Clara. I was also in charge of satellite technology for use in an emergency. It was a big job and you were the only signaller from the Signals section on this patrol so a calm head, preparedness and back up in equipment was required. I was also armed with my Steyr assault rifle, 300 rounds of 5.56mm live ammunition alongside my kit that had to be prepared for the 6-day patrol. At 4pm local time we were on the move again to the next town, Suakoko, ETA 6pm. We would set up an armoured base- camp there for the night before one last push towards Gbarnga the next morning. As we arrived at Suskoko, the sun was setting as the day was coming to an end, businesses had shut and men working the land were making their way home. The convoy stopped as a recce team was assigned to move forward. It was made up of troops mainly from the 4th Cavalry Squadron. Their mission was to move forward and to find an appropriate area for APC Company to stay the night. They would also secure the area while the re- mainder of the patrol waited 2 kilometres to the rear. When they radioed in the order with the coordinates and to proceed to what would be our basecamp for the night, I swiftly relayed this infor- mation to our Company Commander, Commandant Ryan who in turn informed his second in command (2/IC) Captain Paddy Kelly who then proceeded to inform all call signs within the patrol to prepare to move forward, and that is what we did in unison. We pulled into what I can only describe as what looked like a small quarry, it wasn't a quarry of course, but it was hollow ground with hills and higher grounds around us that gave us cover for most part of the basecamp. The mowag armoured cars were ordered to pull in at positions 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 as if looking at a clock so that we had armour in position, in turn allowing the armour to cover off their arcs of fire. The three platoons would set up tents and bivvys within that armoured perimeter. We also had a section for logistical transport which carried rations, fuel, water, fresh clothing and ammunition. From the moment we ar- rived until the first move out of this position there were security parties deployed, known in military terms as 'Stags'. A rotating shift of two hours on and two hours off, or more depending on how many were on one shift at a time. We were then ordered to pitch our tents and to feed ourselves from our issued ration pack. We would live off these ready-made packs for the next six days. Demanding enough for a Paddy prone to a spud and a sliced pan, not to mention a beer. Continued in our next issue…. Lar McKevitt's blog: https://soldiersindreams.wordpress. com/2020/05/23/out-of-ireland-into-africa/ www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 19 Pte McKevitt's Vaccination passport Small quarry like basecamp near Suskoko

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