An Cosantóir

19 well received and just not perceived as threat in general. However, in these areas of work, the situation can escalate very, very rapidly," he said. In the Golan Heights the situation is different. While direct threats to the UN - including Irish – peacekeepers were quite low, they were in close proximity to an area of operations where there was conflict. And it only took a few steps for something to change or escalate. One of the more unusual and interesting jobs the Bomb Squad was involved in came last year when some team members travelled to Qatar to help local forces prepare for security operations at the 2022 World Cup. Three operators from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team went to the middle eastern state for Exercise Watan which involved working with international experts from across the globe. The reason the State of Qatar requested Irish Defence Forces EOD operators was due to their expertise in dealing with improvised explosive devices and chemical attacks, which is a tribute to the training and experience of the Irish personnel. "This was a large multinational exercise with a total of 13 nations, including 186 personnel participating. Of these 13 nations, six provided EOD operators: Ireland, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Kuwait, and France," said Comdt, "These personnel were drawn from both Military and Police EOD. Each nation was paired with a Qatari EOD team. These combined teams then completed EOD tasks within Exercise Watan." An added benefit for the Irish personnel was the formal and informal sharing of knowledge and experience which took place through the exercise. The Irish delegation was requested to brief the multinational EOD teams on their expertise regarding CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) EOD. It won't come as a surprise to learn that there is highly specialised training involved for members of the Bomb Squad. Training in the Ordnance Squad takes two years with 26 weeks for specialised EOD training. Potential members to the Squad start with learning how to deal with common munitions such as mortar bombs etc and then all the way up to handling depleted uranium which they encountered in places such as Kosovo. They are also trained to deal with chemical warheads such as mustard gas used in World War 1. There can be underway explosives also and then they work with the support of the Diving Section of the Navy. However, in common with elsewhere in the Defence Forces, maintaining personnel numbers is an issue. "We have a lot of people leaving so we would be tight on numbers," added comdt. A native of Meath, The Comdt joined the Defence Forces straight from school. The Bomb Squad is based in the Ordnance School in the Curragh. PANEL The Ordnance Corps provide the only Explosive Ordnance Disposal service within the state, in support of An Garda Siochána in an ATCP role. The Ordnance Corps also provides the Defence Forces EOD capability across its full spectrum of operations. Having a long history of IEDD, the personnel of the Ordnance Corps have been to the fore in instructing and equipping personnel in all aspects of the C-IED effort. This has included briefings and training of personnel deploying overseas and recently all personnel on career courses. Exercise of deactivation of a device. Multinational exercise in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. DEFENCE FORCES BOMB DISPOSAL UNIT EOD conducting a remote controlled detonation. EOD remote vehicle conducting a search. EOD working alongside Gardai.

• Cover