An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/1471244
20 A DAY IN THE GLEN OF IMAAL BEATS SCHOOL A DAY IN THE GLEN OF IMAAL BEATS SCHOOL By Ciarán McNally – TY Student quite a bit, with the youngest member being 19 to the oldest at 58. We first reported to Coolmoney Camp where I met and chatted to some members of the 120 Bn. We then moved to the main exercise area centred on Cemetery Hill where Sky News interviewed some of the soldiers of the unit. During this time, I was brought up to the observation tower by Capt Dermot Hoey and the Comdt Murt Brennan to get an overview of where the exercise would take place and what the objective would be. This is where I assumed I would be observing the exercise from, a warm mug of tea Throughout the last week of March, I was on Work Experience as a TY student in the Defence Forces Press Office in Newbridge. On the 29th March, which happened to be only my second day on the placement, I was given the amazing opportunity of visiting the Glen of Imaal with Captain Ruairí Millane to observe and shadow Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT) with the 120th Inf Bn on their Mission Readiness Exercise (MRE) before they depart for Lebanon in May. We were also accompanied by two of the Irish correspondents from Sky News as they wanted to capture some footage of the exercise. As the closest I have ever come to LFTT was paintball, I jumped at the opportunity to see real soldiers of the Defence Forces in action. According to the briefing note, the 120th Inf Bn is made up of three-hundred and forty-seven (347) personnel, nine of whom were members of the Armed Forces of Malta. A large portion of the group will be traveling overseas for the first time, one-hundred and four (104) to be exact. The 120th Inf Bn is made up of personnel from 26 different counties across Ireland, with Dublin, Louth and Kildare contributing most to the population of the group. They are commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Denis Hanley, who has served in the DF for 32 years. The ages of the personnel in the group varies Member of the 120th Inf Bn UNIFIL providing flank security Loading the .5 Pre fire preparation