An Cosantóir

40 Sgt Leona Walsh, receiving a DF Values Award from then COS, Vice Admiral Mellett in 2018. Irish citizens reunited with their loved ones at Baldonnel following repatriation from Libya via Malta. Irish citizens with members of 102 Squadron alongside IRL258 during the Libya repatriation mission. Baldonnel in the afternoon and we had to go to Dublin Airport first and then onto Rome picking up paperwork and diplomats enroute, who were going to be a part of the overall mission. As the other aircraft had been in Malta for some time prior to our arrival, we had brought some supplies for the crews and they were thrilled to see us….or at least to see the supplies! Once we were set up in Malta, we entered a period of standby and were unsure what would happen next. The basic requirement was to be ready to fly into Tripoli Airport, Libya, to assist with evacuation efforts if required. There was a lot of uncertainty and all we could do was report each day and be ready to go if we got the green light. I remember lots of communications back and forth but for two days or so. We remained in Malta. Then the call came…we in were going in. It's at times like this that the training really kicks in. While there was a lot of uncertainty, we were all well trained and had been preparing for missions like this throughout our careers. Before we departed we briefed, and the plan was to be in and out of Libya before dark. We were bringing a diplomat over to assist with the paperwork to allow our citizens to leave Libya and fly back to Malta that day. We took off and after a short 45 min flight or so we touched down in Tripoli airport. It was surreal. I knew from speak- ing with the pilots, there was a lot of uncertainty on the ground, and I could see lots of activity, with vehicles and personnel driving around in areas you wouldn't normally expect in an airport. Nonetheless, we were able to park up and the diplomat on board made their way into the termi- nal buildings to start the process of getting our citizens permission to leave. It's funny what you remember but one thing that remains so clear in my memory was that we had lots of issues with communications on our phones and radios. But in the middle of all that, one of the pilots had an old fash- ioned mobile phone, pre-smart phone era , and it worked perfectly! Unfortunately, the diplomat did not have such a phone so there was a period where we were not in contact with them as they worked away inside. This led to further uncertainty and at this point we were not really sure of what was happening. The vehicles and the personnel kept milling around and we were constantly re-evaluating the situation. Thankfully the diplomat arrived back to the aircraft and there was also one EU citizen cleared to travel with us. While we were not taking any Irish citizens out that day, progress had been made with paperwork to allow a num- ber to get out on other flights or indeed on an IAC aircraft, if and when we came back again. We closed up and got underway. Due to the disruptions at the airport, a number of the standard taxiways were blocked and though it took a while, we did get airborne and made it back safely to Malta. We remained in Malta for a number of days after that and while the GIV did not revisit Tripoli, we did bring a num- ber of citizens home to Ireland from Malta. I remember a family in particular who had escaped from Libya by boat and made it to Malta. It will always stay with me how quiet they were. It became very clear when I learned from talking with them, they had had to leave other close family behind in Libya and I can only imagine how difficult this was for them. When we returned to Ireland and things settled down, it 102 SQUADRON

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