An Cosantóir

22 MULLINGAR TO MONROVIA – A SOLDIER'S MEMOIR By Photos by Tony O'Brien A/M Sam Gibney UNDOF REPORT Ireland's proud history of United Nations service continues with the deployment of the 62nd Infantry Group to the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights area of Syria. Led by Lt Col Kieran Carey, the 130 strong deployment arrived in Camp Faouar at the start of October and will serve there for six months, not returning home until April 2021. "It's an important mission and all of us are both proud and excited to be serving our country and the United Nations in a key role like this, explained Lt Col Carey to An Cosantóir. But it was a long road before they stepped on the plane at Dublin Airport on Wednesday, October 7th, heading to Damascus and then on to their camp where they relieved the 61st Infantry Group. "We started training back in July, it was fairly intensive and even before that the Ordnance Corps, Engineers and others had already completed their own specialised preparations," said Lt Col Carey. "We all came together for two weeks of Mission Readiness Exercise in the Glen of Immal and it was then we all realised what was to come when we got to our base in the Golan Heights", he added. But even after that there were further preparations which had to be gone through. The troops had to undergo 14 days of quarantine before leaving Ireland and then a further 14 days quarantining at their base on arrival. However, those 14 days in Camp Faouar were not wasted. "We used that time and there was further training which involved playing out scenarios which UNDOF had already experienced in the area. We are very well prepared in terms of what we will face here." UNDOF, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, was established as a result of the Arab-Israeli war of 1973 when the first UN mission arrived a year later to oversee a buffer zone between the warring parties. UNDOF is a force reserve to be deployed as the UN Commander sees fit. Troops from countries such as Uruguay, Nepal and elsewhere make up the main UN 1,200 strong force in the area which UNDOF works in support of. The Irish troops constitute a Quick Reaction Force which is a small, highly mobile and flexible force that can respond to any request made by the Force Commander within 15 minutes. The requests can range from the evacuation of UN personnel from UN positions for various emergency situations to routine patrols. "The other troops are holding the ground throughout the area and our job is to support them. We are highly mobile and can deploy very quickly to any situation or area when called upon by the UN Commander", said Lt Col Carey. The Irish mission goes back to 2013 and this is the 15th iteration. In 2013 the United Nations asked Ireland to send peacekeepers as part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan region of Syria. "This is different to other missions as we are a reserve force", explained Lt Col Carey, adding that, as a result, "it was easier to get volunteers." Also, serving in a foreign country in a different situation is a welcome change for troops: "It is something different from the normal routine for the troops to be engaged with." Of the 130 deployed nearly 40 are first-timers so it is all new to them and there is a level of excitement. But the rest are highly experienced who have served on missions abroad on Members of an attached EOD team carry out mine sweeping drills on Cemetry Hill With EOD team on standby, troops of the 62nd In Gp carry out minesweeping drills

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