An Cosantóir

21 MULLINGAR TO MONROVIA – A SOLDIER'S MEMOIR together again and mounted my ammunition before moving into cover and taking up an arc of fire. It appeared to be two pickup loads of armed rebels from the local area. As they got within 10 metres of our perimeter, I was called into the centre of the base camp and told to prepare to move forward with the Company Commander and his team who would engage in talks with the leaders of this rebel clan. As we moved forward, a team of six, the closer we got, the angrier these rebels became, so we stopped short until what appeared to be their leader called us towards him with a wave of his hand. We knew that we had more soldiers than they had, we also had far better equipment and additional ammunition should we need it, so that gave me peace of mind. Their leader spoke with very little English as he grasped what looked like a well-used rifle. The closer we got it appeared that these men were mostly stoned on drugs, what exactly, I'm not sure, but it was a good time for self-realisation and to watch their every move. As a conversation ensued regarding our business in their town, we assured them that we were here not as an enemy, but to assist their people whilst representing the United Nations and that we didn't seek trouble. Ten minutes or so passed and an agreement was called. The agreement was that we were allowed to enter the nearby villages whilst patrolling, but only once per day. This would affect the objectives of this six-day patrol, but what was not agreed was how long we could stay in the villages at any one time. So in order to gather up as much information about the area and the ground as we could, it was agreed that any patrols into nearby villages, both by vehicle and on foot, would remain a little longer than scheduled, meaning we could achieve our objectives of this patrol. We would also remain alert and where a threat was deemed, we would remain extremely vigilant and adhere to our Rules of Engagement under this mission. The rebels withdrew and drove away towards the nearest built-up area and we carried on about our business. The order 'Stand Too' was moved to 'Stand Down' and we got back to basics, relaxed, napped, cleaned our weapons, wrote a letter, read a book – that was all for now. After six days of driving, walking, sleeping, flying, eating, bird- bathing and patrolling, we arrived back at our HQ at Camp Clara in Monrovia. A three-minute shower never sounded so good. Due to the daily water allowance to the camps from the water truck, each soldier was only allowed a 180 second shower so you had to make it a good one. My first long range patrol in the bag, I quite enjoyed it. This is what it was all about. This was the nature of this mission. My body was worked, though at 21 years young, I had enough youth in me to recover faster than the older soldiers. My torso sported sporadic ant bites from my nights on the ground, in the wild. My stubble looked good in the sense that it suited my face. I hadn't shaved in 3 days at this point, but I knew it had to go as I wouldn't get away with it while at camp. It was back to daily fresh shaves. Over the coming weeks I would be part of all sorts of patrols. One day air patrols, more long-range patrols spanning between 3 and 7 days, local patrols lasting a couple of hours. No two patrols the same. No matter how tough these patrols were or had the potential to be, you always had a good mix of soldiers and good characters were always about and everyone looked out for each other – genuinely. This mission had camaraderie more than anything I'd seen in service to date both at home and abroad. "It is one thing being Irish, another being born in the heart of it, but for me, to serve my country, there was no greater feeling." – 857954, Gunner L. McKevitt Being presented with my shamrock by Commandant Murphy, Logistics Company Commander, 90th Infantry Battalion, Liberia Wilfred from Gambia and I at the UN Airfield in Monrovia

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