An Cosantóir

| 3 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE H ello, and welcome to our third issue of 2024, our 84th volume of the An Cosantóir magazine. We have another great issue lined up for our third magazine of the year, showcasing various aspects of the Defence Forces as well as informing our members of developments, such as the Infrastructure Development Plan 2022-2027 and also details about the new SDR Radio, replacing the SINCGARS which has been in use for over 20 years. This interview was conducted from the end user perspective, and we are grateful to the CIS Corps for facilitating the process and to Sgt Sheehan for conducting the interview. We are excited to announce that we have expanded the annual An Cosantóir 10k race which will take place on 09 Oct 2024 in the Phoenix Park. This should open up the race to more categories, with more prizes to be won, and hopefully more participation by serving and retired members of the DF, as well as invited guests. The "People of the DF" campaign, launched by the An Cosantóir Office in March of this year continues to go well with great interest from serving and retired members. This campaign features on our Instagram page and on the Connect App – if anyone is interested in featuring, or would like us to visit your barracks, please contact us at connect@military.ie 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. We also feature some pictures from the recent return of the final mission to UNDOF & more recent return of 123 Bn UNIFIL. Our first feature is an article by RSM David O'Connor who gives us an insight into the recent Tactical Combat Casualty Care training which was delivered to Ukrainian soldiers at the 3rd Medical Regiment Barracks Donrnstadt. The MTT training team consisted of 6 personnel from CMU who helped deliver lifesaving skills to frontline soldiers. The 99th Cadet Class were commissioned recently and we have a 2 page spread of their highlights over their cadetship, written by Lt Conall Gallagher. Moving on to the main focus of this edition, OC 123 Inf Bn UNIFIL provides us with an update from the ground of what they have being doing over the last 6 months. He gives us an insight into A Tour Less Ordinary where serving soldiers have faced a more challenging mission but have displayed huge professionalism throughout. Our centrefold piece is the An Cosantóir race poster which shows some of the changes to the race for 2024, this includes a new section to the race, check it out for details. In our 2024 editions we want to showcase and value our people both serving and those that have retired. In this edition, in our People of the DF Interview, Cpl Martin Bennett interviews Capt Ciarán Oman who speaks to us about his rewarding career to date including his time on the CIS Trainee Technician Scheme, and making the transition from NCO to Officer. As we are continuing to feature the new Leadership doctrine and information on leadership, we continue with a piece from Sgt Maj David O'Reilly in this edition. He brings an interesting piece on volunteerism, stewarding, ceremony & ethic and how the Strength of the DF is our soldiers. In our veteran's section we feature a piece about the Association for Retired Commissioned Officers, ARCO, who continue to advocate for and serving the needs of former officers of the DF. Their numbers currently stand at about 900, demonstrating how many officers have retired in recent years. Comdt Tom O'Neill, Comdt (RDF Retd) concludes his series about the Irish Volunteers At War, with Part III – The Civil War, a very interesting read. A huge thanks to Tom for all his contributions over the last few editions. We have our regulars as always with our Sports & Clubs section, Book Review and From the Archives. 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 webmaster@military.ie "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." — William Arthur Ward 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 Taken by Cpl Eric Ryan Picture of St Patrick's day medal parade, airstrike explosions can be seen in the background. Back Cover BQMS Casey McQuillan Recruit night shoot in the JTIC Editorial Sgt John Rossiter Editor

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