An Cosantóir

71 Sgt Mark Barker , Communications Operator and Clerk, from Dublin, with 16 years' service, 5 years served with the Naval Service and two overseas trips. Cpl Padraic Fox, Electronic Engineering Technician, from Meath, with X years' service in the Defence Forces. Airman Daniel Hooper, Communications Operative and Rigger, 20 years' service in the Defence Forces. Cpl Stephen Gleeson, Electronic Engineering Technician, from Donegal, with 23 years` service and six trips overseas. Cpl Ryan Halpin, CIS Technician with 20 years' service in the Defence Forces. AIR CORPS CIS By Capt. Eva Balfe, Air Corps CIS AIR CORPS CIS CIS Squadron Headquarters Sgt Mark Barker, Communications Operator and Clerk, from Dub- lin, with 16 years' service, 5 years served with the Naval Service and two overseas trips. As a young Airman I remember the Orderly room as the place they put me on "that Saturday duty". However, having worked in the Or- derly room for over two years now, it gives me an appreciation of the complexity and constant juggling of demands. The roles and responsibilities of an Orderly Room Clerk are diverse and demand- ing, requiring the ability to exercise many different skill sets on a daily basis. The Unit Orderly Room Staff aren't just there to detail duties. They are unit administration, personnel administration, pay clerks, a HR department, secretaries, liaisons and even at times guidance councillors. Technical Services, CIS Squadron Cpl Padraic Fox, Electronic Engineering Technician, from Meath, with 20+ years' service in the Defence Forces. I am the Ancillary Maintenance Technician in Technical Services Flight CIS Squadron. I have held this position since 2013 and have 10 years' experience in the testing and maintenance of this equipment. Ancillaries are equipment used by air crew in their daily duties, for example helmets, headsets, life support systems and personal locator beacons. All equipment is maintained so that the air- crew's safety is ensured, and communications are at the highest airworthiness standard. There is a service interval on every piece of equipment and there is also specialised equipment involved in testing the ancillaries in our workshops. Specialised training by manufacturers is also required to ensure the maintenance, and testing is carried out to an airworthiness standard, and I may also be required to test equipment on the aircraft. The technology in the ancillary world is constantly changing, for example, noise reduction and hearing protection being to the forefront at the moment, and I am involved in the procurement of equipment and training to ensure the highest airworthiness stand - ards of safety and communications are maintained. Communications Flight, CIS Squadron Airman Daniel Hooper, Communications Operative and Rigger, 20 years' service in the Defence Forces. I started my career in the Defence Forces with 2nd Cavalry Squad- ron. After spending 15 years there, I decided on a career change and applied for a transfer to CIS Squadron in the Air Corps. I am posted to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, where I fulfil the role of Communications Operative. Some of my daily tasks in Commu- nications Flight would be to provide a safe and secure means of communication to military personal on the ground and to aircraft in the air, along with manning the main switch board and acting as a main information centre for Baldonnel. One of my other roles within CIS is rigging. This involves the main- tenance of military masts not only in Baldonnel, but across the country. This part of my job includes the inspection of equipment and if needed the removal of old or damaged equipment and reinstallation of new equipment. As a rigger we work closely with other CIS units throughout the Defence Forces. Airfield Services, CIS Squadron Cpl Stephen Gleeson, Electronic Engineering Technician, from Donegal, with 23 years` service and six trips overseas. As a technician in Airfield Services Flight my responsibilities and tasks include keeping the Air Traffic Control Tower operational in Baldonnel. This includes installing, maintaining and servicing the equipment. This equipment is the Garex Voice Switch, Coopans Radar, Met Services and Radio Transmitters and Receivers. We also maintain all the navigational aids for the Air Corps which include the VOR, (VHF Omnidirectional Radio) ILS (Instrument Landing System), DFstation, NDB (Non Directional Beacon) in Gor - manstown, the HF Radios for Maritime Patrols,and MET station both here and the military position in Dublin Airport. There are 7 Remote Radio Sites around Ireland where we installed and main- tain all the Network Equipment required to get the information back to Baldonnel. Other equipment we look after are the Military radios, Public Addresses and TV Systems, Vehicles which include all CIS FFR's, all airfield vehicles, camp security radios, camp camera system/ ANPR(reg) and the Weather station in Athlone for EAS. IT Flight, CIS Squadron Cpl Ryan Halpin, CIS Technician with 20 years' service in the Defence Forces. I've served 20 years in the military, beginning my career with the 2nd Infantry Bn 2 Bde where I served twice overseas as a Rifle- man. I then sought to join the Medical Corps where I completed my 3-star medic's course along with Ambulance Skills. I served in the Medical Unit in Cathal Brugha 2LSB and later moved to St Bricin's Hospital Central Medical Unit. After this I proceeded onto the Trainee Technician Scheme DFTC where I studied Electronic Engineering with the CIS School DFTC and IT Carlow. I success- fully graduated from IT Carlow in 2021 and now serve in Air Corps CIS, Baldonnel. The main role of the unit I am currently in is to pro- vide IT support to the IT infrastructure that is in place in Baldonnel. The IT department supports many Applications and Software packages, including the maintenance of the Active Directory and Service desk requests including printer trouble-shooting and net- work fault finding solutions.

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