An Cosantóir

18 Its very name suggests danger: the Bomb Squad. But, as a member of the squad explains, the risk is relative. "There is risk, of course, but if you assess the situation, agree appropriate action and put your training into action, then that risk is manageable," he explains. The Bomb Squad is part of the Army's Ordnance Corps and its task is to deal with EODs – explosive ordnance disposal. Highly trained, the members are called out to deal with all manner of situations. From World War 1 bombs to Civil War munitions and pipe bombs used by criminal gangs in Dublin and elsewhere in the country. And their expertise is such that last year the Defence Forces were asked to provide a team as part of a multinational exercise in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 World Cup which is being held there. The number of personnel dedicated to the Squad is officially restricted information, but Comdt Clarke explained how they operate in teams of three with support on a call-out from four members of the Brigade Stand Too security. Each team is comprised of No 1 Ordnance Technical Officer, No 2 Ordnance Technician and No 3 Driver and Vehicle Controller who, the team leader is keen to emphasise, does a lot more than merely drive the truck: they also control all of the vital back-up equipment in the vehicle. While they are not as busy as they once were, they are still called out regularly to handle potentially dangerous situations. "We respond to call-outs as they occur, anywhere, anytime. But the number fluctuates and it has been very quiet in recent times," he said. The Squad deals with less than 100 call-outs a year whereas a couple of years ago there would have been around 500. In 2020 there were 83 call-outs and last year there were 73. The reason for the dramatic fall is simple: for obvious reasons, the Bomb Squad was very busy during the years of the Northern Troubles. That is not the case now, thanks to the benefits of the Good Friday Agreement. But the Republican and Loyalist terror campaigns have left a lasting legacy of lessons learned for the Irish Defence Forces. "The Ordnance Corps existed, performing logistical functions long before the Troubles, but the EOD elements came about around that stage," stated EOD comdt. He added: "Collaboration with our neighbours was key to developing methods of operating to meet the challenges of that security environment and the tactical challenges that were being presented with regards to IEDs and also the development of those. For example, IEDs would have started off quite simple, they would have then morphed and evolved to actually target the EOD operators and they would have become more complex and more involved operations." Such was the danger to Irish bomb disposal technicians, that they developed best practice which is now utilised by other countries to deal with the threat from IEDs. "Thankfully, the situation is completely different and the current state represents little or no threat, certainly within our area of operations," he explained. Once the Good Friday Agreement was implemented, that activity tapered off. There would have been arms dumps belonging to dissident Republican groups which had to be dealt with but now a lot of the call-outs can involve dealing with pipe bombs used by criminals to attack each other and to create fear. This has led to frequent callouts in recent years to parts of Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Louth as a result of criminal activity. A new problem in this respect is the easy availability on the internet of large amounts of information in how to construct these types of devices. But because they are improvised there is no way for the Squad personnel to know if it's going to work the way the bomb-maker intended or if it's going to go off in some other way. This means the Bomb Squad has to approach such a situation from a worst case scenario and deal with it accordingly. Some of those calls can take up to three days to resolve due to the nature of the devices that have to be dealt with. The Bomb Squad always act in support of the Gardai and make the device safe so that the Gardai can gather forensic evidence. He also added praise for the Gardai whose work has prevented a lot of this criminal activity. But still there are the other call-outs. "In 2020 a Vickers cannon shell came in in a box of potatoes imported from Belgium. It was probably dug up in a Flanders field where it had lain since the First World War but still it had to be made safe by ourselves." On another occasion last year, he recalled, workers clearing storm drain under the Cathedral in Athlone came across a cache of bullets. Further on they found some grenades. "We reckoned it was a Civil War hide. Luckily, they were not in a very dangerous condition but still we had to dispose of them." There can be a wide variety of tasks the Squad is deployed on. Much of it is from the Civil War period and involving convention munitions. "These can be discovered by someone digging up their garden and maybe they might find something hidden in an attic of an old house when the building is being renovated," said Comdt. Then there is their work with the United Nations including UNIFIL in Lebanon and UNDOF in the Golan Heights in Syria. The bomb disposal operations in those areas, for the most part, involved dealing with unexploded munitions from decades of warfare. "From the Lebanese perspective where the Irish troops are deployed, we were very well received by the locals and through engagement of the commanders with the local leaders of the area we have a very friendly posture in that area of operations. So, we are generally very EOD Team utilizing a John Deere Gator. By Tony O'Brien Photos By DF Flickr DEFENCE FORCES BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT DEFENCE FORCES BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT

• Cover