An Cosantóir

20 DF PODCAST DF PODCAST It's a hazard of the job for anyone serving in the Cavalry Corps of the Defence Forces as Sgt Larry Havens regularly finds out. As an NCO in the 1 Armoured Cavalry Squadron he recalls being asked "do you work with horses?" Larry is more than happy to explain what the Cavalry Corps is all about – its history, role and training - as he did recently in a Defence Forces Podcast interview with Capt Cian Clancy. An instructor in reconnaissance training, armour and gunnery with 20 years service, Sgt Havens is based in the Curragh Camp. The Kildare man set out in detail what is involved in serving with the Cavalry Corps, the skills and physical abilities a recruit needs to join its elite membership and the vital role the Corps plays in support of comrades across the Defence Forces. He Joined the Defence Forces as a recruit in August 2001 and on completion of six months induction training, he was posted to 1st armoured cavalry squadron in Plunkett Barracks in the Defence Forces training Centre in the Curragh Camp. Originally from Monasterevin, Co Kildare, Larry now lives in Portarlington with wife Amy and two young sons, Daragh and Taigh. With uncles and cousins having served in the Defence Forces, it wasn't too big a leap for Larry to sign up as well. "It was a natural thing for me to join the Army. Growing up, my Mam would be telling me about her brothers being overseas and then seeing my cousins going overseas it was natural enough that I applied and then I was selected for recruit training." By Tony O'Brien Photos by Cpl Lee Coyle and DF Flickr Sgt Havens explained how he was interviewed at the end of training in relation to where he would like to serve. "You were selected and then told which unit you would be posted to." The Cavalry Corps became his natural home. Talking about the horses question, he explained how since its inception in 1922 the Corps has been armour. It was originally known as the Armoured Car Corps but since 1934 it has been the Cavalry Corps. A simple explanation, he said, was that the Corps was "about movement with armour." He talked about the introduction of tanks in 1935 and later in the 1950s the introduction of the Comet and Churchill battle tanks. In the '60s there were the Panhard armoured cars which saw service in Cyprus, Lebanon and Libera. Then in the 1980s came the procurement of the Scorpion reconnaissance vehicle, a light tank with 76 mm cannon, which saw service until 2014. At the moment, he said, the armoured fleet included the Mowag Pirhana which had specific variants such as the close reconnaissance vehicle and the medium reconnaissance vehicle. "They provide you with mobility and firepower," he said. These reconnaissance vehicles, he added, come under the ISTAR framework: intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, adding: "Effectively the Cavalry are the ISR of the ISTAR framework - intelligence, surveillance and Sgt Larry Havens. Life in the Cavalry Corp Scorpion in rough terrain in Glen of Imaal.

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