An Cosantóir

| 3 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE H ello, and welcome to our sixth and final issue of 2023, our 83rd volume of the An Cosantóir magazine. As the year draws to a close, we hope you have enjoyed reading all our editions throughout the year. We have enjoyed the challenge of bringing you a wide variety of articles during the year from the likes of mindfulness & meditation to the 2023 International Sniper competition, mentoring & coaching and many more. We are delighted here in An Cosantóir to have the opportunity to regularly showcase the professionalism and high standards that our members continue to set year after year both at home and overseas. In the area of veterans, we are continuing and will continue to shine a light on the important contribution that our veterans still manage to give long after their service in the Defence Forces has ended. A special thanks to all those that have taken the time during the year to submit pictures, articles and provided us with information for the magazine. We look forward to working with everyone again in 2024 as we continue to improve the magazine. We would like to wish all our readers and their families a happy and peaceful Christmas and good health for the new year. For this final edition of the year, we have asked each branch of the Defence Forces to submit a roundup of the year, of achievements, changes and notable occurrences relevant to DF members. I think you'll find that it is informative for us all, highlighting the wide range of taskings for all branches of the DF. Our first feature is a series of Christmas and New Year messages from Uachtarán na hÉireann, Minister for Defence, Secretary Geneneral DOD, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces and Head Chaplain, to the soldiers, sailors and airmen & women of the Defence Forces. This is followed by a roll of honour for serving members that have sadly passed in service during the year 2023, we ask that you keep them and their loved ones in your thoughts at this time of year. As usual in our On Parade section, we showcase pictures from across the Defence Forces offering a snapshot of some of the great things that serving and former serving members have done in recent times. Moving on to the main focus of this edition, our 2023 Branch & Corps reviews - this section provides readers with an insight into what several Branches, Corps, and sections and their members have being doing throughout 2023. We are continuing to feature the new Leadership doctrine, with a piece from the Leadership Doctrine Working Group about Leadership Through Physical Courage. This also outlines the new Leadership Hub available on the Connect App, where the leadership doctrine is available as an audiobook – perfect for listening to on your commute! In our Overseas feature, we get an insight into both UNIFIL & UNDOF and look at a brief history of the mission and recent events in both these mission locations. Nextup Capt Marie Pigott provides us with an excellent piece on the Defence Forces SPARX journey, contributors to this piece explain the exciting journey of innovation within the DF, outlining the 2022 programme. We will feature the 2023 participants in a later An Cosantóir magazine. We finish our final edition with our regular PSS article which offers some timely advice on how to look after your mental health at this time of year. As always if you would like something featured in the magazine or have any ideas on further redesigning have your say by emailing connect@military. ie. We are also looking to expand our team internally with permanent positions or also on a detachment, if you have an interest in photography or journalism this could be the team for you. For more Information e-mail websmaster@military.ie "We should try to hold on to the Christmas spirit, not just one day a year, but all 365." — Mary Martin Manager Comdt Helen Hosback info@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5306 Editor Sgt John Rossiter connect@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5307 Photo/Journalist Vacant journalist@military.ie Photographer A/M Sam Gibney photo@military.ie Admin NCO Cpl Martin Bennett requisitions@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5312 DF/PR Information Cpl Eric Ryan magazine@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5308 DF Webmaster Sgt Louise McDonald webmaster@military.ie +353 (0)45 44 5307 Civilian Journalist Tony O'Brien Designer JM Publishing & Media Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland Tel: +353 (0)87 1344135 Email: info@jmpublishing.ie The fact that an article appears in this magazine does not indicate official approval of the views expressed by the author. © Published by OiC Public Relations Branch for the Defence Forces at DFHQ, Block 5, Ceannt Bks, DFTC, Curragh Camp, Co Kildare, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0)45 445312 Front Cover By Various Contributors Editorial Sgt John Rossiter — Editor

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