An Cosantóir

EDITORIAL Comdt David McKnight info@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5306 Sgt Karl Byrne (Stand in) connect@military.ie/ magazine@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5307 Cpl Lee Coyle journalist@military.ie Armn Sam Gibney photo@military.ie Mr Seán Shinnors ARW Member By A/M Sam Gibney JM Publishing & Media Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland +353 (0)87 1344135 / 015331911 info@jmpublishing.ie The fact that an article appears in this magazine does not indicate official approval of the views expressed by the author. © Published by OiC Public Relations Branch for the Defence Forces at DFHQ, Block 5, Ceannt Bks, DFTC, Curragh Camp, Co Kildare, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0)45 445312 Cpl Martin Bennett subs@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5312 Vacant Vacant admin@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5308 webmaster@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5309 MANAGER: EDITOR: PHOTO/JOURNALIST: PHOTOGRAPHER: MAGAZINE ARCHIVIST: FRONT COVER DESIGNER: INFO: DF/PR INFORMATION: DF WEBMASTER: Hello, and welcome to our seventh issue of 2020, continuing with our 80th volume – of the historic milestone the An Cosantóir magazine has reached. With the changing times in the world around us comes a change for the magazine, as we further embrace the digital era, our magazine has changed format to a digital only magazine. We still want to provide you with the quality you have enjoyed over the decades. We start off the magazine's content with our Noticeboard moved to page 5, containing our Sudoku puzzles and a Congo word search. The On Parade pages have images from a duathlon event in the Aircorps and an NCO's course in Kilworth, being run through 1 Brigade. The Vets news piece, provided by Colm Campbell, Chairperson on the board of directors at O.N.E. gives us an oversight of the organisation from the inside out. Our What I Do piece on page 11, written by our own Cpl Lee Coyle who spoke to Trainee Technician Roy Noonan about his career in the Defence Forces to date and the current technician scheme he's on. Our first main feature, Reeling in our Cadetship Years 1969-1971, written by Col Brian Dowling (Retd), takes us back to the 44th Cadetship class, and he tells us of their journey through the Cadet School back in the late 60's and early 70's. In Reserve Support to 'Operation Fortitude', Lt Col Julian Ensor (AR), the Director of Reserve Forces, tells us of the extent that some of the Reserve Forces members went to assist in the Covid-19 pandemic, the article features Comdt Hugh O'Callaghan & Cpl Colm Kerr. Our part 2 of the Mullingar to Monrovia story continues from Lar McKevitt, finishing off his story of a trip to Liberia with the 88th Infantry Battalion. Damien O'Herlihy takes a look at the Naval Service Reserve, and its efforts in the battle against Covid-19 in a nice short piece entitled "If we can winter this one out we can summer anywhere", aptly named from a quote by Seamus Heaney. Our Tac-Aide, provided to us by Ansac Credit Union, giving us valuable information on managing your credit and budgeting issues and how they can help during these stressful times. Cpl Lee Coyle speaks to members of the Permanent Defence Forces, who have been carrying out tasks on the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic in our final article On the Front Line. Our Curragh Pens competition continues this month which is running for a limited time and could see you win 1 of 5 unique handcrafted pens kindly provided to us by Bill Dooley of Curragh Pens, see page 4 for further details. Many thanks to all our contributors, and we hope to continue producing the magazine we know you've enjoyed through the years. «Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving" – Albert Einstein Sgt Karl Byrne - (Stand-in) Editor Vacant

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